Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
About the Author
Acknowledgements
THE MARINE’S RED HOT HOMECOMING
A Sweetbriar Springs Novel: Book Three
by
Christine Glover
The Marine’s Red Hot Homecoming © 2016
Christine Glover
Edited by: Serena Sandrin-Tatti
Proofread by: Jayne Wolfe
Cover and Formatting by: Sweet ‘N Spicy Designs
This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to locales, or persons living or dead, is coincidental.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, and transmit in any form or by any means. For information about subsidiary rights contact the author via her website.
www.christinegloversite.com
Discover all of Christine’s future releases by signing up for her newsletter.
Dedicated to my YMCA Tribe of Friends! You make me smile every day, and you make sure I don’t just sit in a room, in a chair, by myself all day long!!
XXOO
Chapter One
Hannah Sullivan crossed her boutique’s refinished hardwood floor and climbed her two-step stool. She reorganized the product display shelf, but concentrating on her work seemed impossible. Her stomach contracted and her chest squeezed tight. Caleb’s back. It’s only a matter of time before he shows up here. By now he’d have read all the letters and emails she’d sent overseas while he’d been on his third tour of duty for a covert Marine mission. She understood the military’s strict rules against contacting spouses in deep cover—protecting the troops meant not compromising their positions. That had priority over everything. She’d known plenty of military wives who had delivered babies without their husbands by their sides.
A one night stand two weeks before Caleb officially accepted his orders and shipped out gave Hannah zero rights. Not even when she’d ended up pregnant, and alone.
Only his father’s stroke had the power to bring him home. Then the Red Cross contacted Caleb’s commanding officer and he’d been brought in from the field. Her sister Jessie, a former Marine herself, had explained what would happen from that point. He’d go through all of his correspondence while shuttling back to the states.
Jitters trembled beneath her skin while she repositioned her lotions and creams. Instead of Caleb’s father coming over to discuss the historic district’s grand reopening in four weeks, she’d be dealing with Caleb who had returned state side to take temporary control as CEO over Gibson Technologies. But she doubted that their first meeting would cover the finer details of the big project.
Nope. She had already acquired the necessary documentation to add his name to their son’s birth certificate. He’d know everything by now, though he hadn’t made any effort to contact her even when given the chance after being recalled from his mission.
That burned a hole in her gut more than she wanted to admit. But she’d made it clear two years ago that she had no intention of being involved with a military man again. Not after what had happened with her ex boyfriend. War had changed Brandon into someone she couldn’t save. Finally, she had to save herself.
Herhands trembled and a bottle of Sunflower Sensation body spray tipped. She hurried to right it, then accidentally knocked over three others. “Dang it,” she said. “Get a grip.” Still, a world of worry fluttered in her belly, making it difficult to concentrate. Nothing, not even her shop’s scents of lavender and jasmine, soothed the tension bubbling beneath the surface of her skin. Nor could anything hush the thrum of anticipation playing havoc with her senses.
Outside she heard the familiar sounds and smells of the historic shopping district coming to life. Car horns beeped, and the swish-swash of the baker next door sweeping the sidewalk mingled with the ongoing daily clatter of construction.
The distinctive roar of a V-rod Harley cut through the noise with the precision of a scalpel. Hannah’s heart rate accelerated and adrenaline pinpricked the tips of her fingers. Through her store’s front window, she caught sight of the motorcycle pulling into a parking spot.
The driver silenced the engine and removed his helmet. Every fiber of her being zipped into overdrive. Caleb’s eyes, blue as the color of the night sky just after the last rays of sun disappeared beyond the horizon, scanned the street before he swung off his seat. Mid-morning spring sunshine painted streaks of gold in his short-cropped hair as he rounded the back and opened a satchel to retrieve a round cylinder. The movement stretched his black leather jacket taut across his broad shoulders.
Hannah’s long lost inner vixen, which had been buried under mounds of laundry and midnight feedings, suddenly resurrected with a high kick to the solar plexus. And her hormones sang with a hallelujah chorus that made every woman part she possessed buzz with awareness.
Not good. Not good at all. She pushed down her spiraling desire with reality. What had happened between them had been a one night aberration during which she’d tried to convince him that he should stay in Sweetbriar Springs and claim his birthright. But his anger toward his father—born out of once again discovering another mistress in his father’s life—had propelled Caleb to leave.
Nothing she’d said then had made a difference. Not even after she’d shared what had happened with Brandon. Caleb had left the next day. Not that she regretted the outcome. Of all the mistakes she’d made during her life, she would never count Jason as one. He was her world. She’d do anything to protect her little boy.
Now Caleb walked toward the store’s door and she stood, transfixed, on her stool. Within moments, the welcome-inside bell chimed and he stepped into Harmony Landing.
He locked eyes with hers. All the harmony in her boutique evacuated the building.
He waited for several long, tense beats of silence. “Where’s my son?” he asked.
Her stomach nosedived to the floor, then bounced back into her throat. Though she hadn’t expected him to be Mr. Oh I’m So Sorry I Missed the Birth Announcement, Hannah had hoped for a gentler, kinder, maybe even a bit of a tender reaction. Clearly, her feelings still weren’t important to him.
No way would she let him know she had harbored a secret hope for more in one unprotected corner of her heart. “He’s at the park with his babysitter. Which is a good thing,” she injected a cool tone into her voice. “Otherwise you would have scared the shit out of him.”
A muscle twitched in his jaw, much to her satisfaction. “I came to see him as soon as I settled things with my father’s board of directors. We’re dealing with a takeover bid, but I’ve got that business temporarily squared away,” he said, crossing the floor to stand at the foot of her stool. “Now I can focus on making things right for Jason.”
Grateful for the advantage of the stool’s height, she looked down at Caleb. “For how long?” Because he’d never wanted to take the helm of his father’s vast conglomerate of business interests. Instead he’d opted to join the Marine Corps to serve his country. Whenever he returned to Sweetbriar Springs he had c
hosen to work for his cousin Kennedy, deliberately avoiding any contact with his father, Steven.
“For as long as it takes.” He opened the cylinder and withdrew a ream of papers. “I’ve got a marriage license and pre-nup drawn up. My lawyer’s arranged all the details. We can be married in less than a week.” He spoke in clipped tones, matter-of-factly and without a hint of emotion as he held the paperwork out.
The room seemed to spin in slow motion. Of all the things she’d expected him to offer her and Jason, marriage hadn’t been on her radar. Not when he knew that she never wanted to be with another military man again. She’d only contacted him after their falling out because he’d a right to know about his son. Hannah held the shelf next to her to steady herself before stepping off the stool to stand toe-to-toe with him.
“Gee, thanks for the proposal,” she said. “But I’m not in the market for a husband, especially not one who risks his neck.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Jason needs to know who his father is—according to your letters that guy is me.”
“I agree he needs to know his father. Whenever you’re here, that is. I’ve got the necessary paperwork ready for you to sign so you can be added to the birth certificate. Then we’ll set up a legal shared custody plan.” She inhaled a deep breath to calm her racing thoughts. “Plus, when I get married I’d like a husband who loves me.”
“But it’s my duty,” he argued.
“Your duty is to your country. Something we argued about two years ago,” she said. “I want nothing to do with a military man after what happened with my ex boyfriend. I thought I could change your mind about leaving me when you learned about what happened. After all, we’d known each other since we were kids. I thought that would make a difference, but you’re no different than Brandon.”
“I’m not like him.”
“Maybe not, but you know what happens when two people get married for the sake of a child.” She held his gaze. “Your father has never forgiven your mother for getting pregnant with you. That’s why he treated you so harshly, and the reason you refuse to accept what is rightfully yours.”
“There’s no way I want to take one step in that bastard’s footsteps. The only reason I’m here is to keep Gibson Technologies going for my family until he recuperates.”
“Once again proving my point that marriage is not an option for us.” Hannah folded her arms. “Your heart is with the Marines, not here.”
“Other military families make it through the ups and downs of serving their country.”
Once she would’ve screamed a great big yes to the dress and all the sexy possibilities that came with Caleb as the groom, but now she had to stand her ground. Not just for her little boy’s sake, but for her own as well. Because this time two hearts were on the line and she wouldn’t put either of them into emotional harm’s way. “Brandon’s post traumatic stress disorder almost destroyed me. I’ve watched other military family’s fall apart after the big welcome home from war reunion sours. That’s exactly why I won’t marry you.”
###
Pain pinged in Caleb’s temples and stabbed the back of his neck. Everything he’d been sucking back for over a week, all the self-recriminations and regret about not knowing he had a son, made his head ache.
He refused to take no for an answer. Not until he’d exhausted every avenue. “I can give you and Jason everything you need—a comfortable life, financial freedom, a home.” He wasn’t anything like her ex boyfriend. But proving that would be harder than he’d anticipated.
Her eyes widened slightly at his words, and her cheeks flushed bright red. “I’ve already provided him with those things.” She waved her hand to indicate the room. “Plus, you’re not going to stay here after your father’s back on his feet. He’s the reason you left the last time. Nothing I said or did stopped you from signing up again for a dangerous, covert mission because you were too angry to listen to me.”
He’d almost forgotten how pretty Hannah was when she was flustered, or aroused. His mouth suddenly went dry. “Look. I’m trying to make up for not being here when he was born—for missing out on being there for him while I was overseas.” He glanced around the tiny space and back at her. “I can give you so much more if you’ll let me in.”
“We may not live in a mansion, but the apartment upstairs is convenient to the shop and the parks. Plus, it’s reasonably priced.” She raised her chin ever so slightly. “Thanks to your father’s financial backing for the historic district’s restoration, I expect Harmony Landing to do better this year than last. So no. We don’t need your money, unless you decide to pull the plug on the project.”
Late morning sun reflected off the glass shelves in Hannah’s shop and highlighted her long honey-blonde hair. Her hazel eyes remained locked on his, unwavering and still as mesmerizing as the night he’d caved to their sensual promises. A night he’d never forgotten and that had played a front row show in his dreams while he’d been under cover in Afghanistan.
He tamped down the memory. What had happened between them two years ago had been a deviation from his standard operating procedure whenever he was around her. His resist the girl-next-door at all costs mantra had gone AWOL because of drinking too much alcohol, midnight confessions, and a healthy dose of serious kick-ass sexual attraction.
Then he’d been angry, upset with his father for fucking around on his mother again. No way would he takeover the helm of their multi-billion-dollar conglomerate of companies if it meant turning into a carbon copy of the man. A part of him, the part that had always been attracted to the innate goodness in Hannah, nearly caved. But she’d given him an ultimatum when she’d made it very clear that she’d never hook up with him permanently if he stayed in the Marines.
The Marine Corps were his out. His career. More family to him than his own.
How could he convince her that he wasn’t like her ex? That he was worth taking a shot on one more time, especially now that they’d made a child together? Sure, his father had felt forced, tricked into marriage by his mother’s pregnancy. Everyone, especially Caleb, had paid the price of his father’s bitterness. But he wasn’t anything like his dear old man.
Even if he did stay in the Marines to go back overseas after his father returned to takeover the helm of their conglomerate, he could be the right man for Hannah if she’d get over her no-more-military-guys mindset.
He held her gaze, willing her to budge just an inch. “I’m not the kind of jerk who uses coercion to get his way.” No way would he be like Brandon. He had to start proving to her right now that he was worth taking a shot on regardless of his commitment to the Marines.
“Good to know.”
He heard the relief in her voice and remembered the why behind it. Her ex-boyfriend had used every trick in the book to manipulate her after he’d returned from his tour of duty. Post traumatic stress disorder drove Brandon’s actions, but her ex refused to get help. Finally, he’d hooked his SUV around a tree, nearly killing himself and Hannah in the process. Only then had she gotten the courage to leave. Even now the story she had told him rattled around his brain like scattershot. He wanted to kill the bastard, but it was enough to know that she’d escaped and no longer let anyone push her around. But she’d sworn off military men, and had tried unsuccessfully to stop Caleb from leaving for his last tour of duty.
Unfortunately, that made convincing her to accept his shot gun proposal null and void.
For now.
Gently, he pressed on, determined to make sure he didn’t lose everything to her strong will. “You won’t accept my money or a wedding ring because I’m a Marine.” He shoved the contracts back into the cylinder. “That sucks, but I am not going to change who I am for anyone, not even you. Do you plan to use that against me where our son is concerned?” No one, not even the man she would eventually call her husband, could deny him his son.
She chewed her lower lip. A slow, primitive drum beat the blood through his veins. It pulsed low, hot, and hard. God, h
e so wanted to nibble it himself. Did she still taste as good as she smelled—sweet as ripe peaches picked straight from the grove?
Her pupils widened, her chest rose and fell quickly, drawing his attention to her breasts. Her coral V-neck shirt hugged them to perfection and man, oh man, she still had all the right curves in all the right places. His pants grew uncomfortably tight. Shit. He was hot for her, but this time alcohol had no part in the heat between them. He’d always been aware of Hannah—first as an outgoing little kid who constantly needed rescuing. Then he’d been super attracted to her as someone who had seemed to grow into an All-American sexy woman overnight. Too bad she’d lost that kind of interest in him.
She snapped her fingers. “Hello? Could you get your brain back into the custody game? Of course I want you to be part of Jason’s life—whenever you decide to park your boots in our neck of the woods, that is. I’ve got all the necessary paperwork ready for you to sign now that you’re here. We’ll hammer out the agreement together. Does that work for you?”
She’d never accept him for who he was today. His old man hadn’t wanted him either. He’d long ago given up seeking his father’s approval, but he couldn’t let her go without trying to convince her that they could have a future together. He gripped the cylinder’s handle and cleared his throat. “Absolutely,” he said.
“I’ll have my lawyer, Everest, draw up an agreement this afternoon.”
“Besides child support and equal billing in the parenting department, is there anything you do want?” Like a different kind of reunion? One where the fact that he’d chosen to remain a Marine didn’t overshadow her opinion of him?
“Actually, yes.”
He ignored his randy hormones’ booyahs and ordered his current state of arousal to stand down. Hannah had every right to wait for the kind of man who would be there for her no matter how much he wanted her again. He had to respect her for taking such a strong position.
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