A Family For The Soldier. Carolyne Aarsen

      His words shouldn’t have made her feel as good as they did.

      Mamie, who wore plain dress pants and a shirt partially covered by her apron, entered and set a platter of ham beside bowls of steaming potatoes and salads and vegetables. At least she looked more casual.

      “Do you need any help?” Chloe asked her.

      Mamie waved off her offer as she removed her apron and laid it on a side table. “No, dear. This is the last plate. Please sit down.” Mamie pulled a chair away from the table, leaving the only empty spot available opposite Vanessa but beside Grady. Chloe sat down and plucked her napkin out of the ring, ignoring Vanessa’s calculating look.

      “Is Cody sleeping?” Vanessa asked, leaning close to Grady, as if staking her claim on him. Again.

      “He is.”

      “Poor baby. I think I wore him out playing with him,” Vanessa said with a smug smile.

      “Well, here we are all together,” Mamie said, but Chloe caught a strained note in her voice.

      “One big happy family,” Vanessa chimed in, and reached for the salad bowl. “Grady, can I serve you some salad?”

      “I thought we would pray first,” Mamie said.

      “Oh. Right.” Vanessa fluttered her hands in an “I’m silly” gesture, then gave Grady another arched look. “I always forget.”

      Just before Chloe lowered her head, however, she couldn’t help a glance Grady’s way and was disconcerted to see him looking directly at her.

      Then she felt a tinge of nausea, a remnant of what she had been struggling with the first four months of her pregnancy, a reminder, and she quickly drew her gaze away.

      Mamie prayed a blessing on the food, asking as well for some solution to the thefts, thanks for family and another request for Ben’s recovery.

      Chloe kept her head bowed a moment, adding her own prayer to stay focused on her work here and not be distracted by inappropriate feelings better left buried.

      “I heard there was another theft at the McKay spread,” Vanessa said, her voice bright, her expression holding a forced gaiety when Mamie was done.

      “I’m sure Byron was upset about that,” Mamie replied.

      “And you guys haven’t had anything stolen?” Vanessa asked, taking a tiny bite of her salad.

      “Not yet, thankfully.” Grady handed the platter of ham in front of him to Chloe. “Would you like some?”

      Chloe felt a start of surprise, her mind as much on the job Lucy had asked her to do here on the Stillwater ranch as trying not to be so aware of Grady sitting only a few feet from her. “Sure. Thank you.” As she took the plate, however, she caught Vanessa’s narrowed gaze.

      “That’s interesting,” Vanessa said, dragging out the word, larding it with innuendo. “Makes one wonder if it’s not that foster girl you’ve got working here who could be behind the thefts. Maddy something or other. She doesn’t come from the best family. Sort of like Chloe here. Having an alcoholic father can’t be easy.”

      “I think that’s enough,” Grady said, a harsh note of reprimand in his voice.

      “Well, it’s true.” Vanessa stabbed at her salad. “About Maddy anyway.”

      The supper conversation limped along after that. Vanessa picked at her food, shooting glances over at Grady, who steadfastly ignored her. All the while Chloe was far too aware of Grady’s eyes on her and of Vanessa’s occasional glower. The tension was noticeable and Chloe was thankful when the meal was finally over.

      Chloe declined dessert as she got up from the table, saying she should check on Cody.

      As she hurried up the stairs, second thoughts nipped at her heels. She shouldn’t have taken this job. How long could she put up with Vanessa and her judgmental attitude and snide comments?

      But even as those questions plagued her, she knew Grady’s presence created the tighter tension.

      She slipped into the nursery and stood by the crib, her arms wrapped tightly around her midsection. She could feel a bump that she knew would start to show soon. For now, however, she could still wear her regular clothes.

      And what will you do when you can’t?

      She doubted Mamie would let her go. After all, they had taken in Vanessa, who was an unwed mother. She doubted Mamie would judge her.

      But even as that thought formulated, she thought of how Grady avoided Vanessa in spite of her flirting. She wondered if his attitude toward her had something to do with Vanessa’s situation—being an unwed mother.

      Cody lay on his side, arms curled up, looking utterly adorable.

      A confusing brew of emotions stirred within her as she pressed her hand to her abdomen in a protective gesture.

      “He’s sleeping?”

      Grady’s voice from the doorway made her jump. She spun around just as he joined her by the crib.

      “He looks so peaceful,” Grady said, leaning on the rail as if to get a closer look. Then Grady looked over at her and gave her a cautious smile. “I’m sorry about what Vanessa said over dinner.”

      “You don’t have to apologize,” Chloe said. “I heard a lot worse growing up.”

      “I keep forgetting you two are sisters.”

      “Stepsisters,” Chloe reminded him. “And Vanessa only lived at the ranch for a while.”

      “If I may ask, what made her mother leave?”

      Chloe’s conscience fought with a desire to tell him the bare truth. There hadn’t been enough money for Etta Vane. The ranch hadn’t been as prosperous as she had thought.

      “I don’t think ranch life suited Etta. Or Vanessa. The reality was a shock for them.”

      “Somehow she seems to like our place just fine,” Grady said.

      Because there’s money here.

      But she dismissed the thought. The little boy sleeping in the crib in front of her was her stepsister’s reason for returning. As was the man standing beside her.

      “I...I should go,” she said.

      To her dismay, she felt Grady’s hand on her shoulder as she straightened. The warmth of his fingers through her shirt sent a tingle of awareness down her spine; the glint of his eyes in the soft glow of the night-light created an unexpected and unwelcome attraction. “Don’t take to heart what Vanessa said to you.”

      “I’m used to it,” Chloe said, struggling to keep the breathless tone out of her voice.

      “Was it hard? Living with her?”

      Chloe shrugged, then gave him a faint smile. “I just wished we could have been closer. But maybe there’s time now that she’s here.”

      He held her gaze, his expression earnest. “I feel as if I need to tell you because you’re working here now, with Cody, that while I know I’m not his father, neither do I believe she’s Cody’s mother.”

      “What?” Vanessa’s screech from the doorway broke into the moment. “How dare you say things like that? I’m his mother, Grady Stillwater.” She rounded on Chloe. “You were feeding him some lies, weren’t you? You always were jealous of me. You’re so plain and dumpy. You could never compete with me. You and your useless father. I can’t believe my mother even married him. He was a lousy rancher and a crippled drunk.”

      Chloe fought her inborn urge to defend her father. It wasn’t his fault his grandfather hadn’t left as much money as Etta had hoped. It wasn’t his fault he’d been injured when he had his ATV accident.

      “Vanessa,