But despite—or possibly because of—their humble beginnings, Nate, Jayden and Grayson were the famous Fortunes in Paseo. Particularly Grayson, of course, who was so famous he was mainly known by his first name. But all during lunch, she heard a litany of stories and compliments about the brothers and their mom.
After buying enough food at the grocery store to make several days’ worth of meals, Bianca stopped into the RV that housed the town’s public library. She logged on to their Wi-Fi to check her email, surprised to find a note from her former boss, asking if she’d be willing to make another batch of personalized gift boxes for the shop she’d gotten fired from a week ago.
“He’s got some nerve,” she muttered under her breath and promptly deleted the email.
“Man trouble?” the older woman behind the counter asked.
Bianca glanced to where EJ was positioned in front of one of the computer screens, a pair of retro-looking headphones engulfing his small head. She’d allotted twenty minutes for him to have a screen break and watch two episodes of the Elmer the Elephant cartoon he loved so dearly. Reassuring herself he was engrossed in the show, she turned to the woman.
“I was working in an upscale retail boutique before we came to Paseo. The woman who’d owned the store for years sold it six months ago, and the new owner wouldn’t allow any flexibility in my schedule to take care of my son.”
“Big city folks,” the woman said, spitting out each word like venom.
“I guess,” Bianca agreed, not bothering to mention that she was, in fact, born and raised in San Antonio. “I had a great babysitter for EJ. A woman who lived around the corner from the store ran a small day care out of her home. EJ loves her, but he got a bad case of the flu right before Christmas, so I had to take time off work. I had vacation hours banked, but the owner said I couldn’t use them during the holidays. I offered to come in on the weekends and afternoons when I could hire a sitter to be with him at the apartment, but he wouldn’t budge.”
The librarian rolled her eyes. “So much for ‘lean in.’”
Bianca felt a grin split her face that this woman had heard of the popular movement.
“I stayed home and raised my two kids,” the woman offered. “They’re twenty-eight and thirty now. My daughter works as an attorney in some hoity-toity law firm in Houston. She just had her second baby, and I went down there to stay for a couple weeks. She was answering phone calls from one of the senior partners in the hospital. They barely honored her maternity leave, and that’s a law. The stress moms are under these days is crazy. It’s not right.”
Bianca felt a lump of emotion clog her throat at this stranger’s sympathy. Her own mom lived in San Antonio, but when Bianca had swallowed her pride and called to ask for help during EJ’s illness, Jennifer Shaw had lectured her about how she shouldn’t have taken on more than she could handle in the first place. As if Bianca had had a choice about working since Brett deserted them. She certainly hadn’t seen one cent of child support from her ex-husband.
“So does the man want to hire you back?” the librarian asked.
“Not exactly,” Bianca admitted. “I like to sew and do crafty stuff, so I spent evenings making specialized gift boxes for the store, celebrating birthdays and other occasions. I knew they sold well, but apparently they were more popular than I realized. He sold out and has customers asking for them. He wants to put in an order.”
“Congratulations.”
Bianca shrugged. “With what he paid me, I barely covered the money I spent on materials, although he sold them for almost triple the cost. I mainly did it to have something to keep me occupied at night after EJ went to bed.”
“Seems like you could use a boyfriend for that,” the woman said with a cheeky grin.
“Oh.” Bianca pressed a hand to her chest as an image of spending a quiet night at home with Nate popped into her head. “I don’t really date.”
“You’re young,” the librarian said, pointing a finger at Bianca. “I tell my daughter she needs to schedule regular date nights with her husband.”
Bianca swallowed. “I don’t have a husband.”
“But that blush tells me you’ve got someone who’s caught your eye. No one would blame you if it was one of Deborah Fortune’s boys. Those three are far too handsome for their own good.” She tapped a finger against her chin. “Although Jayden got married last year to a lovely girl.”
“Ariana,” Bianca confirmed. “They’re traveling while she researches a book.” It felt strange to talk about Nate’s brother and sister-in-law as if she knew them.
“Well, that’s the great thing about triplets.” The woman laughed. “We still have two of them up for grabs.” She pushed away from the counter and reached up to one of the bookshelves behind her. “I’ve got something that might come in handy for you.”
Bianca was half afraid the woman would pull out a book on spicing up a single mom’s sex life, but instead she handed Bianca a thin paperback titled Starting a Business That Stands Out.
“I ordered this when Steph Renner decided she was going to start selling her jewelry on Etsy. She’s got a steady revenue stream going now, and I’m sure she’d be willing to give you some tips if you want.”
“But I don’t have anything to sell.”
“Sure you do,” the woman countered. “If those gift boxes can sell in a boutique, they can sell online. You could create a business and still be at home with your boy.”
Bianca sucked in a breath. She’d never thought of her boxes as a viable business, but why not? If it would give her more time with EJ, she’d try anything. For the first time since she’d gotten fired, hope bloomed in her chest. Maybe she really could get her life back on track here in Paseo.
She stood and impulsively wrapped her arms around the older woman’s shoulders. “Thank you,” she whispered, “for listening and for the idea.”
“You remind me of my daughter,” the woman said, patting Bianca’s cheek. “You’re a good girl.”
“Mommy, Elmer ended.” EJ pulled off his headphones. “Can I watch another?”
“Not today, buddy.” Bianca tightened her grip on the book in her hands. “But I’m sure we’ll be back to the library to visit...”
She glanced at the woman who said, “My name’s Susan.”
“I’m Bianca. Nice to meet you.” She took EJ’s hand. “We’ll come back and visit Susan because Mommy’s going to start making the gift boxes again. I’ll need to order supplies online.”
Susan smiled. “I’ve expanded my hours now that my husband’s retired. He and I need a little space to keep our marriage happy. I’m open ten to two Monday through Thursday and from nine to four on Saturdays.”
“Well, then, I’m grateful for your happy marriage,” Bianca said and led EJ out of the RV.
She drove back from town feeling happier than she had in ages and couldn’t wait to share with Nate her plan for a new business venture. Not that she wouldn’t still pull her weight around the ranch, but the idea of having an actual career was so exciting after all the speed bumps she’d hit in the past two years.
It was nearly six before Nate’s big silver truck pulled down the driveway again. Bianca had started to think she’d really scared him away after that scene in the barn.
Had