SEAL's Technique Box Set (A Navy SEAL Romance)

by Claire Adams

  "Right, but on the same token, people who live their lives full of mistakes and bad choices can change in a heartbeat, too. It just takes the right person coming into their lives, and they want to be someone different. Not for themselves, but for that special someone. You know what I mean?"

  Tears burned my eyes. "I think so. I'm just not sure that's me. I'm honestly terrified of letting someone like Brody into my heart. It wouldn't be a fling that I could just discard as summer fun, Clay. It would be so much more."

  "Yeah. It would be fucking amazing." He smiled and touched my shoulder. "You would be amazing for him, and man, do I think he would rock your world, too."

  I chuckled and let a few tears roll down my cheeks. "Alright. I'm going home. I need to think things through a little more. Tell him to call me when he gets up?"

  "Absolutely." He winked and let me go without another word.

  I drove down the few blocks to our cabin with indecision rushing through my heart. I knew what the right answer was, but it seemed like a huge risk to take on someone I didn't know that well. I'd been straightforward with Brody over the fact that I really wasn't a fling-type of girl. And, I wasn't. I wanted long-term again, but I knew I wouldn't be much good at it until I could process everything that had happened with Brandon.

  "Or maybe that's just an excuse." I growled and pulled into our driveway. My phone sat in the cup holder beside me, and before I chickened out, I reached down and grabbed it to call my mom.

  She answered on the first ring, which was a little surprising seeing that it was so early.

  "Baby? What's going on? Are you hurt?" The concern in her voice was enough to melt me.

  I let out a soft sob and sunk back in my seat. "I'm fine. Just so torn right now, Mom."

  "About what, Cora? Talk to me. Do I need to come get you?" She cared. I could hear it for the first time in a long time.

  I wiped at my eyes. "No. I just met someone and he reminds me so much of Brandon, but I don't think he's anything like him. I want so badly to figure out if there's something between us, but I need more time, Mom. Coming home is something I'm doing for you and Dad, but I don't want to live my life for you guys, anymore. I'm almost twenty-three. I want to live it for me."

  "Oh, Cora. Why didn't you just say something? Your father simply thought you were being timid about coming to work because you're so unsure of yourself with all this legal stuff. Remember last summer when you helped us out and you were scared like hell you were going to mess something up?" she laughed softly.

  "Yeah. Who wouldn't be scared? Dad fired some poor guy the first five minutes I was there." I reached for a napkin in my glove-box and wiped at my nose. "I just don't want to let you guys down, but I really like this guy, Mom. I need more time. More time to spend with him, to make sure he's the one before I do something stupid."

  "Then take it, baby. I'll talk to your dad about all of it when he wakes up."

  "He's going to be upset. I don't want him taking that out on you." I sniffled and got out of the car as the darkness started to give way to daylight. The sunrise was sure to be beautiful and seeing that I was never up this early, I didn't want to miss it.

  I walked down to the pier and let my eyes move across the lake as my mom's voice filled my ear.

  "Get mad at me?" she laughed. "That wouldn't happen in a million years. You only see the demanding side of your father, baby, but he treats me like a queen when no one is around. We're just old school. I love him and would follow him anywhere. If I could have more time at the lake when we were younger, I'd have upset my parents and his, too, without thinking about it." She laughed again.

  "Really?" I crossed my arm over my chest.

  "Absolutely. Stay out there and we'll tape everything for you. We support you and your decisions, too, Cora. You just need to start making more of them with your future in mind. The future you want." She sighed. "I love you, baby. Call me later, and we'll chat some more."

  "Okay, Mom. I love you, too." I slid my phone into my back pocket as realization washed over me. I'd completely seen what I wanted to with my mom and dad. He was demanding and seemed to always be in charge where she or any of us were concerned, but to hear it from her... she liked it that way.

  "Cora." Brody's voice was thick and full of emotion.

  I turned and smiled, walking toward him and sinking into his embrace. "Hey, baby."

  "Why did you leave?" He leaned down and touched the side of my face. "Was it something I did? Something I didn't say?"

  He was so precious in his navigating our relationship. I needed to keep that in mind as we moved forward.

  "No. It was me needing to think through what I wanted most for my future." I lifted to my toes and brushed my lips by his. "My parents are good with me staying the rest of the summer. I told them I might have a chance at something really great and I wanted to explore it more."

  "Oh, yeah?" A smile broke out on his face that would rival the beauty of the sun rising across the lake just behind me.

  "Absolutely. Let's figure this out." I squeezed him tightly to me.

  "You figure it out for yourself. I already know that I wanna try this thing between us. I want to see if forever is really what they say it is." He brushed my hair back and gave me a cheeky grin as my heart melted in my chest. "You know what?"

  I smiled and watched him closely. "What, baby? Tell me."

  "We are totally a chick-flick right now."

  "Or a horror movie?" I laughed as his expression changed.

  "Never. Not in a million years." He picked me up and pressed his lips to mine. Even though I was scared to death to take another risk, a larger part of me was far too afraid not to.

  It seemed to right. Too good. Like so much more than a summer fling.

  Epilogue

  One Year Later

  Cora

  "To us." Clay lifted his beer in the air and smiled around the table as we all sat on the patio of the restaurant we'd gathered at.

  "To us." We all called out and lifted our beers to hit them against one another.

  It'd been a year since we all met on Lake Havasu. A long year. A great year.

  Brody wrapped an arm around my shoulders and leaned down to kiss me. I lifted up to meet him halfway, pressing myself against his side and deepening the kiss until we got the usual catcalls. I moved back and smiled at everyone.

  "Why are we back here at the lake eating at a restaurant instead of having our own personal chef whip us up something good?" I glanced over at Cindy, who was sitting in Derek's lap. They'd gotten engaged a few months back, much to all of our surprise. Their plans of expanding Derek's parents’ ranch and starting a small restaurant at the front of the property had panned out over the last year, and they were great together.

  Clay and Emily had moved in together and were looking at rings, but nothing had been planned just yet. Emily was extremely particular about the idea of what her wedding should look like, which shocked the shit out of all of us, seeing that she was the least likely to act like a bridezilla. They were sitting side by side, reading something on the beer bottle Clay held between them as I glanced their way.

  Dedra was already off to dance with a handsome football type, and Daniel wasn't able to join us due to something related to his schooling. He had already started to pull away from the group, but the guys almost seemed to expect it.

  I'd taken on the burden of the apartment myself, but I was rarely alone, seeing that the junior high football coach down the road seemed to like the idea of rocking my bed most nights of the week. I glanced up at him to find him watching me like a hawk.

  "What?" I smiled and took a quick sip of my beer.

  "You. You're what." He glanced around as his smile widened. "This place brings back so many fucking memories. I can't imagine my life without last summer... without you."

  He was a different man. One completely committed to me, and if my mom thought my father treated her like a queen, she hadn't seen anything yet. Brody was at my beck a
nd call, no matter what was going on in his own life. We supported each other in a way that made my other friends jealous and left me breathless when I thought about it.

  We hadn't talked much about marriage and kids, though I knew our turn was coming up sooner rather than later. It was just the natural progression of things.

  "What's for dinner?" Clay stood up and stretched. "You guys wanna order a big platter of ribs and chicken and go out on the patio?"

  "Sounds good to me." Derek stood up and wrapped his arm back around Cindy. There was rarely any space between the two of them when they were together. They'd have kids on the way before any of the rest of us, no doubt.

  The thought of kids caused my pulse to race. It was a subject that I would be bringing up soon just to figure out exactly what my handsome boyfriend thought of it.

  "The baked potato casserole is stupid good, too." Brody picked up a menu and glanced down at it. "And the green beans. Let's just get a family style platter thing and eat until we're stuffed.”

  "And then, we can go back to mine and Derek's cabin. I made a few desserts this afternoon before coming up here." Cindy smiled at us, looking far too cute for her own good. She'd put on a few pounds, which actually made her even more attractive.

  "Come dance with me." Brody tugged at my arm and I turned, following him onto the dance floor. I wrapped my arms around his waist and smiled up at him.

  "I'm glad we get these two weeks. I need it." I pressed a kiss to his chest and snuggled against him as he moved us around the room.

  "We can come out here any time you want to, baby. I've been thinking that once you get your license, we could look at building a house out here. A log cabin like we both want." He brushed his lips by the top of my head just before I moved back and looked up at him.

  "I would love that. The commute would be a bitch, but I'm thinking we could work something out with my parents to stay with them when we were in the city for cases and meeting with clients."

  A thought brushed by my mind.

  "Wait. What about your job? You love what you do with those kids." I ran my hands over his strong back and forced myself not to squeeze his butt, though I wanted to so damn bad.

  "There are schools out here, too. Did you see that one on the left just before we pulled into town? They're going to have an opening in the fall. I want to apply for it. If you're down with moving out here with me."

  "Are you asking me to move in with you? To build a house with you?" Warmth flooded me as my heart skipped a beat in my chest.

  "Yeah, that's exactly what I'm asking." He stopped moving and cupped my face. "I'm so scattered. Building a house together is a little out of order, hmm?"

  He turned and winked at someone, catching my attention. I gazed to my right to find Clay walking toward the DJ booth.

  "What are you guys doing?" I turned back to find Brody on one knee in the middle of the floor. Our friends crowded around us, and I realized that the trip to the lake hadn't been Clay's doing, but Brody's. The handsome man on his knee before me had pulled everyone together and set everything up for this moment.

  "I never in a million years thought that I would find someone powerful enough to make me want to give up my wanton ways and settle down. The moment I laid eyes on you a year ago, I knew without a doubt that you were her. I'd never been so damn scared in my life. Well, except now."

  Everyone chuckled as I tried to catch my breath.

  "I love you more than words can express, Cora Ross. Marry me and make me the happiest man in the world. You're that woman, baby. The only one I see anymore." His eyes were filled with unshed tears, and I let out a soft sob as I took the ring and shook my head.

  "I wouldn't be with anyone else," I mumbled.

  He stood up and pulled me into a tight hug. "Good. I'd hate to have to kick some dude’s ass."

  We laughed, and he spun me around before letting me slide down his hard body.

  "I love you, Cora." He pressed his lips to mine, swallowing my response and overwhelming me completely. He moved back and smiled.

  "I love you, too. Only you. Forever."

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  CONVICTION

  By Claire Adams

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2016 Claire Adams

  Prologue

  Ollie

  I had told her not to, but she went ahead and did it anyway.

  “Of course I’m gonna make a cake for my baby on his eighteenth birthday!” my mother said when I protested. She was having trouble sticking the candles into the cake; the latest round of chemo had left her weaker than I’d ever seen, her bones brittle, her skin papery and translucent.

  “Ma,” I said. “Two candles is fine. Really.”

  She had that look on her face, though, and I knew she’d press on until all eighteen candles were in place.

  “Now, Ollie,” she said. “I don’t want you to be too disappointed this year. It’s been hard for me to get around, you know that, so getting you a birthday present was a bit of a challenge.”

  “You don’t need to get me anything.”

  My mother coughed, a painful, wet hacking sound. I gritted my teeth so I wouldn’t cringe. Her last round of chemo had been exactly that—her last. At her appointment last week, Dr. Gordon had given her a hug, the look on his face clearly saying he knew this was probably the last time he’d see her. There was no reason to continue the chemo, he’d told us. The cancer, which had started in her lungs, was everywhere. Now it was just a matter of making her as comfortable as we could until she finally decided to let go.

  Somehow, though, while I’d been at work over at Garrett Wilson’s ranch, she’d summoned enough energy to bake a cake. From a box, but still. She still had to pour, stir, and measure a few ingredients. Cooking and baking had always been her thing, though, and I knew she still felt that anything from a box was subpar.

  “It looks great, Ma,” I said. She sang happy birthday to me, pausing every couple of seconds to cough. I blew out the candles, knowing the wish I wanted to make wasn’t going to come true.

  I didn’t feel like eating cake right then, but I started picking the candles out and putting them on a folded up paper napkin.

  “So, you’ve had a good birthday?” my mother asked, watching me as I pulled the candles out.

  “Yeah, Ma. It’s been good.”

  “You worked on your birthday! I would’ve thought you’d at least have taken the day off.”

  “Garrett would’ve given it to me if I asked, but I wanted to work.” It occurred to me after I said it that maybe she’d been hoping I would take the day off; this would be my last birthday she’d be around for. “I’ve got most of tomorrow off, though,” I said. “Just have to go over there in the morning. Early, though, and it shouldn’t take too long.”

  “What about Carolyn? Are you planning to see her tonight?”

  “Not tonight.” I decided to leave it at that, not wanting to elaborate that the next time I saw Carolyn would be to break up with her. We’d been high school sweethearts, and I thought at one point, I probably really did love her, but the feelings had just faded. It’d be better to break it off with her than to keep stringing her along. She didn’t deserve that.

  The problem was my mother’s feelings for her hadn’t faded, and if anything, had grown stronger over the months because she liked to imagine the grandchildren she thought we might give her one day.

  “And I know Darren should be calling any second to wish you happy birthday!” my mother said brightly. “I can’t wait to talk to him and hear all about the big city.”

&n
bsp; I looked at the stove clock, the glowing green numbers. My mother would be asleep soon. He wouldn’t call, I knew that, but I forced a smile.

  “He’s just so busy,” she said.

  My older brother had fled Colorado the second he turned eighteen, landing in San Francisco, where he promptly came out of the closet and declared himself gay.

  I cut two slices of cake. She picked at hers, and I ate mine in four big bites, the sugar hurting my teeth and landing in my stomach like a big lump.

  “This is for you,” my mother said, pushing a rectangular wrapped box toward me.

  “Oh, Ma, you didn’t need to go out to the store and get me anything.”

  “It was no trouble at all. Marie and I went together and made a day of it. It was the nicest outing I’ve had in a while. I hope you like it,” she said.

  I began unwrapping the box. I didn’t even want to think about how long it must have taken her to wrap the thing in the first place. What a pointless waste, wrapping presents. Just to tear the paper off in about two seconds flat. So I went slowly, sliding my thumb underneath the first seam, popping the tape off. I set the paper aside and sat there with the box on my lap for a few seconds, before lifting the lid. There was tissue paper to be moved aside, which revealed a bright pink Scully shirt, embroidered across the torso with a floral design. It was about the ugliest thing I’d ever seen.

  “Wow,” I said, pulling it out of the box. “Would you look at that.”

  My mother beamed. “I wasn’t sure about it, but I called Darren and he said that you’d love it. He’s got such good fashion sense.”

  “He sure does.”

  I stood up and slid the pink shirt over the black t-shirt I was wearing. The thing fit all right, and my mother smiled in approval.

  “That looks wonderful!” she said. “Let me take a picture, and we can send it to your brother. I bet he’s going to call any second now.”