“But you continued, anyway?”
“We were behind enemy lines but so close to finding one of the terrorist cell leaders. Our unit wanted to send a message. Eddie was adamant we move forward. He was worried we were going to let the bad guy slip through our fingers again. It’s hard to understand, but there’s so much time on a mission spent waiting. So many close calls when you almost get the enemy but you’re too late. Guys get antsy. We were SEALs because we could produce, Bianca. We were good at what we were trained to do. Eddie wanted a last chance at making something happen before he got out for good. Whether it was another feather in his cap or to prove to himself he still had what it took...” He shook his head. “We’ll never know, but all hell broke loose when we came over that ridge.”
“Oh, Nate.”
“It was an ambush. We managed to hold them off for several hours, waiting for a rescue force, but a few of our guys got injured.” He shrugged. “There was a lot of gunfire. My shoulder. Eddie’s leg. He insisted I move everyone down into a ravine where there was more shelter in the rocks. He was going to cover us.”
“That sounds like Eddie,” she said with a small smile. “He wanted to have everyone’s back.”
“He had mine that night,” Nate told her without hesitation. “Most of us were okay, but there several who were injured. I got three of them out then went back for the one who lost his right leg from the knee down, Dave. I had to carry him out. I got him up to the extraction point and planned to go back for Eddie. The explosion happened as I got to the bottom of the ridge.” He pressed his palms to the sides of his head, like it was pounding and he couldn’t make it stop. “The hillside had been blown apart. He was gone. I didn’t get to him in time.”
“You tried,” she whispered, wiping at the tears streaming down her face. She couldn’t stand the distance between them any longer and scooted closer, gripping Nate’s biceps. Needing to connect herself to him. He immediately lifted his arm and wrapped it around her shoulder, pulling her closer.
“The extraction happened so fast.” Bianca could hear the tears in his voice. “There was nothing I could do except leave.” He took a shaky breath. “I couldn’t even bring him home.”
“What happened to the other SEAL?” she asked. “You said his name was Dave, right?”
Nate nodded. “He’s back in Michigan with his family. He’s got a wife and two young girls. I’ve talked to him a couple of times. It’s been an adjustment, but he was fitted for an artificial leg about a year ago and now he’s coaching football at the local high school.”
“And his daughters have their dad with them.”
“Yeah.”
Bianca tipped up her head and kissed the underside of Nate’s jaw. “Eddie would have wanted that.”
“But I failed,” Nate insisted.
“Don’t say that.” Bianca put a finger over his lips when he would have argued. “Don’t say that to me ever again. You were a hero, Nate. If Eddie were here he’d tell you the same thing. I don’t blame you for what happened to him, and it’s past time you stop blaming yourself.”
“Then why did you leave?”
She sighed. “I was scared. Not by what Brett told me or listening to you trying to take responsibility for Eddie’s death. I know you, Nathan Fortune.” She lowered her hand and placed it over his heart. “I know you in here. But I was afraid you didn’t care the same way I did.”
“I told you I was all in,” he said, as if that explained everything.
She rolled her eyes. “Which sounds like you’re playing poker or something. I asked you to talk to me about something difficult and you walked away. You wouldn’t let me in. It felt like you weren’t willing to fight for us. One thing I’ve realized in the past few weeks—something being on the ranch and in Paseo helped me realize—is that I’m worth fighting for. I needed a little space to figure out what was going to happen next.” She felt one side of her mouth curve up as hope, buoyant and light, bloomed in her chest. “And what happened is you came after me.”
“Always,” he told her.
Her heart stilled. “Always?”
He shifted so they were facing each other and cupped her cheeks in his hands. “I came back to Paseo because I needed a home to make me whole again. You are my home, Bianca Shaw. I felt it the moment I opened the door to find you on the other side. It was like the universe sent you to me so I’d have a reason to deal with all the crap I couldn’t stand to face on my own.” He pressed his mouth to hers, the touch gentle but firm. “I love you. And I’m all in with you. Forever if you’ll have me.”
“Mr. Nate?”
Bianca turned to see EJ in the motel doorway, sleepily rubbing his eyes.
“Hey, buddy, look what Mr. Nate brought to you.” She held up the ragged teddy bear, and EJ ran forward.
“Roscoe!”
EJ took the bear then wrapped his arms around Nate’s neck. Nate pulled him onto his lap so the boy was balanced between the two of them. Bianca thought her heart might burst from the happiness of the moment.
She met Nate’s eyes and couldn’t wait any longer. “I love you, too,” she whispered over EJ’s head. “I want—”
“I told Mommy not to leave,” EJ interrupted matter-of-factly.
“It’s okay,” Nate assured him. “Your mommy needed a little time-out, but I’m hoping you both will come back to the ranch real soon.”
“Like now?” EJ asked hopefully, his brown eyes wide as he looked at Bianca.
“Now seems like a good time to me,” she said with a smile.
EJ jumped up and bounded toward the motel room. “I’ll pack,” he called over his shoulder, then stopped in his tracks when a dog bark sounded.
“I forgot I had a copilot with me,” Nate said, standing then pulling Bianca up with him. He opened the passenger door of the truck, and Otis hopped out, trotting over to give EJ a sloppy lick on the cheek.
“I missed you, boy,” EJ whispered then looked from Bianca to Nate. “We can keep him, right?”
Nate chuckled. “I don’t think Otis would have it any other way.”
EJ grinned before disappearing into the room.
“I told you SEALs are big teddy bears at heart,” Bianca said.
“Will you come back to the ranch for good?” Nate asked, lacing his fingers with hers. “I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how much. I want you and EJ and I to be a family.”
She leaned in and brushed her lips across his. “We already are, Nate. We’re yours. Forever.”
Epilogue
“I still owe you a honeymoon, Mrs. Fortune.”
Bianca rested her head on Nate’s shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her waist. “I can’t imagine any place I’d rather be than right here.”
It was almost two weeks since she’d returned to the ranch, and Bianca knew she’d come home for good. They’d gotten married three days after applying for a license in the county courthouse. Bianca and Nate both understood how precious life could be and neither of them wanted to wait to join their lives together. As she’d told him at the motel, they were already a family.
The wedding might have been short and simple, but nothing had made Bianca happier than becoming Nate’s wife.
They’d celebrated with Jayden and Ariana, who’d left soon after for a research trip to Fort Worth. Now they sat on the porch swing Nate had crafted for Bianca—with EJ’s help—as a wedding present, gently rocking as EJ and Otis played fetch in the backyard.
“I’m glad to hear it, sweetheart.” Nate dropped a tender kiss on the top of her head. “I’ll be counting my lucky stars for the rest of my life that you found me.”
“I think we have Eddie to thank. He always said you’d take care of me if he couldn’t.”
“Did he also mention that I was going to end up needing you like I need the heart beating in m
y chest?”
She smiled. “I don’t think he understood that part.”
“Well, it’s more than true.” Nate’s arm tightened around her waist. “I wish I could promise you things will be perfect, Busy Bee. I’m working on it.”
“We’re working on it,” she corrected. “And I don’t need perfect. I want you, Nate, and everything that comes along with loving you.”
“Everything? Are you sure?”
She held up her left hand. “Sure as this ring on my finger.” The diamond sparkled, set in a delicate band of gold with a subtle filigree design on either side. It had been Cynthia Thompson’s wedding ring, and Bianca was beyond proud to wear something that had belonged to the woman who’d taken in Deborah Fortune when she’d most needed help.
Deborah had been the one to suggest Nate give Bianca the ring when the two of them had called to tell her about their whirlwind engagement. Nate’s mom had been sweet and gracious and Bianca was looking forward to meeting her new mother-in-law when Grayson was on his next break from the rodeo circuit and his sponsorship commitments.
“I need to show you something,” Nate said, his tone suddenly serious. He shifted, pulling a folded envelope from his back pocket. “This came today in the mail.”
Bianca slipped the one-page letter from the envelope, felt her jaw drop open as she read it. “Do you think it’s a scam?”
Nate shook his head. “Jayden already told me about his suspicions that Gerald’s father, Julius Fortune, held just as many secrets as his son. Ariana uncovered something while working on the Becoming a Fortune series last year. I don’t know who this Schuyler woman is, but if she is some kind of a con artist, there are Fortunes with a lot more money and power than me she could have gone after.”
“But she contacted you,” Bianca said with a nod. “In the letter she said she’s looking for an honest opinion.”
“Why didn’t she just call?”
Bianca laughed at that. “You’re not exactly the easiest person to reach out here, Nate Fortune.”
“I like it that way,” he said and took the letter from her, refolding it and putting it back in the envelope. “All I want is a simple life...”
“But complications just keep showing up on your doorstep.” Bianca smiled and tipped up her head to kiss him. “EJ and I were a complication.”
“You two are the greatest blessings of my life.”
EJ let out a whoop of delight at that moment as Otis caught the tennis ball in midair. “Did you see that, Mommy?”
“He’s getting to be a heck of a ball catcher,” she called.
“Because you’ve got a heck of an arm,” Nate added. “Hey, EJ, what do you think about looking into a T-ball team come spring? There’s a community center in the next town over that runs a rec league for kids.”
“Awesome,” the boy shouted, and the happiness on his small face made Bianca’s heart melt.
“Complicated or not,” she told Nate, “we’ll get through it together.”
“I can handle anything.” Nate chuckled. “Even a whole new batch of Fortunes, as long as you’re with me.”
She closed her eyes as he kissed her again, then rested his forehead against hers. “Forever and always,” she whispered.
* * * * *
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THE FORTUNES OF TEXAS:
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Carlo Mendoza always thought he had the market cornered on charm, something that comes in very handy in his job at the family winery. But when he meets the alluring Schuyler Fortunado, he learns quickly that she’s a force to be reckoned with—and yes, she’s also a Fortune!
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The Arizona Lawman
by Stella Bagwell
Prologue
“Tessa, you are now an heiress.”
The legal document Tessa Parker gripped with both hands looked real enough, and Orin Calhoun was the closest thing she had to a father. He would never lie to her. But the words he’d just spoken didn’t make sense.
Staring at the rancher, she asked in an incredulous voice, “Are you making some sort of joke?”
Orin glanced over to Jett Sundell, longtime attorney for the Calhoun family and the Silver Horn Ranch.
“Help me out here, Jett.”
The younger man left his comfortable seat in an armchair to walk over to Tessa.
“The document is genuine, Tessa. I’ve already read the will in its entirety and talked at length with the deceased man’s attorney. He assures me his client had full control of his faculties at the time he made out this bequest.” Jett placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. “In short, a man by the name of Ray Maddox has willed you a sizable piece of property in southern Arizona. Along with a very tidy amount of money, which is already waiting for you in a bank account with your name. Congratulations, Tessa.”
Her hands began to tremble violently, causing the document to fall unheeded to her lap.
“That can’t be!” She stared wildly up at Jett then swung her gaze over to Orin. “I don’t know anyone in Arizona! This has to be some crazy mistaken identity!”
Orin held up a hand to calm her escalating doubts. “According to the attorney in Prescott, your identity has been verified several times over. He’s assured Jett that you are the correct beneficiary.”
“So the next step we need to discuss is what you want to do with this windfall,” Jett continued while directing a meaningful glance at Orin. “If it were me, Tessa, I’d want to take a look at the property before I made the decision.”
“Yes, but Tessa isn’t you,” Orin retorted. “She hardly needs to go traipsing off to Arizona to look at a piece of land she doesn’t need. Her home is here on the Silver Horn with us. It won’t be difficult to locate a trustworthy real-estate agent to handle all the details of selling it.”
Frowning, Jett walked over to his father-in-law’s desk. “Orin, I understand that Tessa is like your daughter but—”
&n
bsp; “Like a daughter! Hell, as far as I’m concerned, she is my daughter! And as such—”
“You want her to have every opportunity to be happy. She’s been willed a small fortune by someone who obviously cared a great deal for her. It would hardly be in her benefit to get hasty and dump the property before making an effort to see the place.”
Orin rose from his chair and began to pace around the large, plush study. “It’s not like I’m a pauper, Jett,” he argued. “I can give Tessa whatever she needs. And, frankly, she’s too young and inexperienced to go off to Arizona alone!”
The idea of Orin as a pauper was just as laughable as Tessa being an heiress. Orin and his father, Bart, owned the Silver Horn Ranch, one of the largest, most profitable spreads in the whole state of Nevada. The family possessed holdings in gold and silver mines, oil and gas companies, along with other lucrative stocks. To say that Orin could supply her with whatever she needed was very true, but she would never accept wealthy gifts from him, or anyone in the Calhoun family. She was a Parker and possessed her own brand of pride.
“Tessa is twenty-four years old. She’s just acquired a college degree,” Jett reminded him. “She’s certainly capable of making a trip to Arizona. And making decisions about her own future.”
The arguing between the two men pushed Tessa to her feet. “Orin, you’ve given me a home here on the Silver Horn for the past eleven years. As much as I love you, Jett is right. I’m not about to make a hasty decision about something so—life-changing. Anyway, right now I... I’m so shaken I can hardly think! But I can tell you one thing. If a person cared enough about me to leave me a small fortune, then I’m going to make the effort to travel to Arizona. To see the place and find the reason behind this.”
Her Soldier of Fortune Page 18