“You’re right. I don’t know why I’m so emotional.”
Alex snorted.
Hand on hip, she turned to look at him like a mother might peer at a misbehaving child.
“What? We all know, you know,” he said. “You can’t keep much secret from us when we see you every day.”
“You…” She shook her head. “Not a word to Coop and Keira. This is their time.”
“Sure,” Alex said. “No problem. We understand.”
Gage led Hannah to a chair, and she sat, but before Gage could sit next to her, Coop came into the room his face beaming. Sam let out a long sigh and heard others in the room do the same thing.
“I’m a dad,” he announced, his voice filled with wonder. “A healthy girl. Eight pounds thirteen ounces. Kiera and the baby are both fine.” He let out a long breath and dropped to his knees.
Griff rushed over to Coop and gave him a once over then took his pulse. “You feeling dizzy. Weak. What?”
“Yeah, maybe all. But really just thankful. Maybe overwhelmed. We could’ve lost her.” His face creased, and he scrubbed a hand over it.
Gage joined them and clapped Coop on the back. “But you didn’t. Congratulations, Dad.”
“Wow.” He gaped at Gage. “It’s real. I’m a dad.”
“And a girl. How wonderful!” Hannah knelt to hug Coop. “I can already see the boyfriends running in fear of you.”
Coop smiled widely. “You better believe they will.”
He got to his feet and helped Hannah up. The others went to congratulate him.
Sam hung back. She was beyond happy for them, but felt a Grand Canyon of emptiness inside.
When it was her turn to congratulate Coop she hugged him hard. “You’re going to be a great dad.”
“You think so?” Usually confident, he sounded so unsure.
“I know so.”
He pumped up his chest. “Kiera should be in her room soon if you want to hang around.”
“We’re not going anywhere,” Hannah said.
The others muttered their agreement.
“Good, ’cause I want you all to meet my daughter.” Coop got tears in his eyes, something Sam never thought she would see. He swiped a hand over his face. “I’ll come back to get you when she’s ready.”
The tension in the room had all but abated except between Sam and Griff. She didn’t know if now was the right time to talk to him. Undecided, she stood frozen in the middle of the room.
Alex came up behind her. “No time like the present.” He gave her a gentle shove in Griff’s direction.
She approached Griff who was on his phone. He looked up.
“Do you have a minute to talk?” she asked.
“Sure.”
“Somewhere private.”
“I know just the place.” He got up and started out of the room.
She followed and heard murmurs from others.
“This better be what we think it is,” Hannah called after her. “Good luck, sweetie.”
Sam tossed a smile over her shoulder but kept after Griff. He opened a stairwell door and climbed two flights to the top floor. He reached into a fire hose holder and pulled out a key to unlock the door. He opened it and stood back. “The docs and nurses come up here to relieve stress.”
She stepped out onto the rooftop and walked to the wall. This side of the building overlooked the ocean, and she took a deep breath of the salty air to calm her nerves.
Griff came up behind her and slid his arms around her waist. The warmth wrapped around her, cocooning her in a blanket of joy. She rested her hands on his arms, and her heart sung.
“I don’t know why you want to talk,” he whispered against her neck. “But I’m hoping you reconsidered my proposition.”
She turned in his arms. His gaze was filled with hope. She didn’t say a word, but drew her finger over his full lower lip, then slid her hands into his hair and pulled his head down for a kiss.
Their lips met, and she couldn’t even begin to describe the warm, heartfelt feeling radiating through her body. She loved this man. More than anything. To finally be able to admit that and accept whatever might happen—to just love him—was beyond priceless.
He returned the kiss and deepened it, drawing her so tightly into his powerful arms that she could barely breathe. Or maybe it was the kiss that left her breathless.
He drew back, and she reached up to stop him.
“Uh-uh,” he said, not looking away. “Not until you tell me what this is all about.”
She leaned back. “I want to apologize for not trusting in your love for me. Mine for you. I’m letting that all go and trusting that you will never betray me.”
“Never,” he whispered. “How could I when I can’t even see straight when I think of you?”
“And I’ll do my best never to give you reason to want to stray.”
He frowned. “Where’s that coming from?”
“I went to see my mom. She said she was just as much at fault as my dad. She let the stresses and little things of life take over and let her love for him die. He just wanted to be loved again.”
His frown faded. “Knowing that will help us work hard not to let that happen to us.”
She nodded. “I love you, Griff. Can we start dating again?”
“Hmm. Let me see.” He grinned.
She didn’t like him joking so she grabbed his head and kissed the grin from his face.
He came up for air. “Man, I should tease you more often.”
“Don’t you dare.”
“So I guess now wouldn’t be a good time to ask if this means I’ll get to fire the TrackingPoint after all.”
She laughed. “Remind me again why I love you?”
His smile evaporated. “In all seriousness. I love you, Samantha Willis. Always have and always will. You can count on that through all eternity.”
His lips settled on hers again, and she reveled in the warmth and passion, never wanting to come up for air. He finally lifted his head and drew in a breath.
“We should head back downstairs,” she said reluctantly. “But maybe keep this news to ourselves so we don’t overshadow Coop and Kiera’s day.”
He took her hand and held it tightly in his. “Sure, but honey, I’m pretty sure the minute we walk in that door holding hands, they’re gonna know.”
“Yeah, but we won’t make anything official.”
He opened the door. “I’d like to make it more official by putting a ring on your finger, but I know you need to take it slowly.”
She turned to him and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for understanding.”
“Un-uh. No more of that kind of kissing between us. We have lost time to make up for.” He swept her into his arms again and kissed her until she couldn’t breathe. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
Laughing, he led her down the stairs and back to the lounge. They didn’t say a word, but before they could sit, applause broke out.
She held up her hands. “Enough. Just like Hannah and Gage, we don’t want to spoil the day for Coop and Kiera.”
They sat together and despite wanting to play it cool, when Griff’s arm went around her she snuggled up tight to him. “Don’t you have to go back to work?”
“My shift ended at the last call, and my partner took the rig back to the station.”
“So if we resurrect our beach party, you can attend?”
“Try to stop me.” He drew her closer, and she rested her head against his chest.
He sighed a long breath but not a contented sigh.
She pulled back and looked at him. “What was that for?”
“The baby. A cord wrapped around the neck can and does often go the other way. Or the very least leaves the child without oxygen long enough that there are deficits. God was smiling on them today.”
She nodded.
“On me, too.”
“Us, too,” she corrected.
“Yeah, we’re all blessed.”
&n
bsp; She looked around at the men and women she’d adopted as her family. “Gage really started something special here. I will forever be grateful to him.” She rested against Griff’s chest again and remained there until Coop came back into the room.
He was beaming even brighter. “Ready?”
“Can we all come?” Gage asked.
“Yeah, I warned the nurses, and they said it’d be okay for a few minutes.” He turned and almost bolted out of the room.
They followed, everyone jabbering with excitement. Kiera’s room was at the end of the hallway, and Sam felt such eagerness in seeing this precious new life that Griff said had been so threatened.
Kiera lay in the bed. She was a bit pale and looked tired, but her luminous smile as she gazed down at the swaddled baby in her arms eclipsed all of that. Coop stepped to the far side of the bed and stroked the baby’s thick cap of jet-black hair just like Coop’s. She looked so tiny and fragile next to his big hand. She had the tiniest button nose, and a heart-shaped face like Kiera. A perfect blend of her parents.
Hannah was the first to reach the bed, and she kissed Kiera’s forehead and then the baby’s. “Congratulations, Mama.”
Kiera beamed at Hannah. “I love hearing that word. Say it again.”
“Mama.”
Kiera looked at the group. “Thank you for waiting to meet her.”
“Name?” Hannah asked. “Does she have a name?”
“Yes. We just decided.” Kiera looked up at Coop, love radiating from her face. “You should tell them.”
“Grace Joy,” he said, his voice hitching. “It’s by God’s grace that she’s with us, and she has already brought so much joy to our lives.”
Spontaneous applause broke out in the room and tears flowed as one by one everyone went close to offer their congratulations. Sam took her turn standing by the bed, looking at the precious bundle who suddenly screwed up her face and started crying.
“Isn’t she something?” Coop asked in wonder.
Kiera looked up at him. “I’ll remind you of that when she wakes you up every night for months.”
“Go ahead, little bit,” he said touching his daughter’s cheek in awe. “Let the world know who you are, and I promise to be okay with that.”
Sam couldn’t believe how the big strapping guy was a puddle of love right now. She congratulated him over Grace and stepped back so Kiera could tend to the baby. She settled Grace on her shoulder and patted her back until she quieted down.
Griff eased up behind Sam and wrapped an arm around her waist. “I hope someday soon we’ll have our own little Grace in our life.”
She pressed her hand over his. “It’s clear we have God’s grace in our life so I don’t see why that won’t be a possibility.”
Hannah turned, ran her gaze over everyone. Her eyes filling with tears, she sighed. “My work here is done. Everyone in the family is now settled and at peace.”
“Until the next time one of us has a crisis.” Alex grinned. “You’ll be all over that.”
The others laughed, and Sam felt as light as a feather, floating on pure joy.
Gage put his arm around his wife. “I think she’s going to be far too busy focusing on something else to take care of all of you lugs.”
“You mean the baby?” Kiera asked. “When do you plan on making the official announcement?”
Hannah spun. “You knew, too?”
“Of course.”
“I didn’t want to ruin your day.”
“Ruin our day?” Kiera asked. “How could you with this beautiful bundle in my arms? I’m thrilled you’ll be the next one to give birth.”
“We won’t be far behind.” Trey tugged Eryn under his arm and smiled at her. “Remember I want four or five of these bundles. We may be newlyweds, but at our age we have no time to waste.”
Eryn poked him in the side. “We’ll start with one more and see how that goes.”
“Okay fine.” He pulled her even closer. “But I know it’ll go so well you’ll be begging to have more children.”
Eryn gaped at him, for once at a loss for words.
More laughter rang out, and Sam’s joy multiplied—if that was even possible.
She looked up at Griff. “After seeing all of this, are you sure you still want to start dating?”
“Oh, honey,” he said, a broad smile returning. “I’d go straight to marriage if you let me. Crazy team or not.”
She gazed up into the eyes of the man she loved, and thought his suggestion wasn’t such a bad idea. Not a bad idea at all.
Want to see more of the Cold Harbor characters in action? Keep reading for a sneak peek of the books in my new Truth Seekers Series where the Cold Harbor characters work side-by-side with the Truth Seekers of the Veritas Center.
TRUTH SEEKERS SERIES
People are rarely who they seem.
A twin who never knew her sister existed, a mother whose child is not her own, a woman whose father is anything but her father. All searching. All seeking. All needing help and hope.
Meet the unsung heroes of the Veritas Center. The Truth Seekers – a team, that includes experts in forensic anthropology, DNA, trace evidence, ballistics, cybercrimes, and toxicology. Committed to restoring hope and families by solving one mystery at a time, none of them are prepared for when the mystery comes calling close to home and threatens to destroy the only life they’ve known.
PRE-ORDER DEAD RINGER - BOOK 1
Coming April - 2019
DNA expert, Emory Steele with Sheriff Blake Jenkins
She was hiding from her past…
When a local woman goes missing and Sheriff Blake Jenkins delivers her blood sample to DNA expert Emory Steele for analysis, Blake discovers Emory is a dead ringer for the missing woman. Blake’s gut says the woman is related to Emory. But Emory rejects the notion, requiring a DNA test before she’ll concede that she does indeed have a twin sister she never knew about.
* * *
Now she’ll do anything to see it come to light.
Emory joins Blake in a search for her missing sister, but when an attempt is made to abduct Emory as well, they begin to think the abduction is related to Emory's birth parents. Blake vows to keep her under his watch until they discover what this maniac is looking for and bring him to justice. But Emory balks at Blake wanting to keep her under constant surveillance as she’s struggling to come to grips with a former brutal attack, and she wants nothing to do with a man who might want to get close to her. When it becomes clear that Blake is the only one who can keep her safe, will she let him get close enough to do so?
A special thank you to Marylin Furumasu, Rebecca Maney, Lisa Hudson, and Mary Ann Hake for providing the inspiration for Grace Joy’s name in Cold Dawn.
Dear Reader,
* * *
Thank you so much for reading COLD DAWN, Book seven in my Cold Harbor series. Here are links to all of the books in the series in case you missed one of them.
Book 1 - COLD TERROR
Book 2 - COLD TRUTH
Book 3 - COLD FURY
Book 4 - COLD CASE
Book 5 - COLD FEAR
Book 6 - COLD PURSUIT
Book 7 - COLD DAWN
I’d like to invite you to learn more about these books as they release and about my other books by signing up for my NEWSLETTER. You’ll also receive a FREE sneak peek of my latest book and learn about my monthly giveaways. I love to interact with and hear from readers, so hop on over and let’s connect via the newsletter, on social media, or even send me a message.
* * *
Thanks again for purchasing COLD DAWN!
* * *
Susan Sleeman
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Want to see more of the Cold Harbor characters in action? Keep reading for a sneak peek of the books in my new Truth Seekers Series where the Cold Harbor characters work side-by-side with the Truth Seekers of the Veritas Center.
TRUTH SEEKERS SERIES
People are rarely who they seem.
A twin who never knew her sister existed, a mother whose child is not her own, a woman whose father is anything but her father. All searching. All seeking. All needing help and hope.
Meet the unsung heroes of the Veritas Center. The Truth Seekers – a team, that includes experts in forensic anthropology, DNA, trace evidence, ballistics, cybercrimes, and toxicology. Committed to restoring hope and families by solving one mystery at a time, none of them are prepared for when the mystery comes calling close to home and threatens to destroy the only life they’ve known.
PRE-ORDER DEAD RINGER - BOOK 1
Coming April - 2019
DNA expert, Emory Steele with Sheriff Blake Jenkins
She was hiding from her past…
When a local woman goes missing and Sheriff Blake Jenkins delivers her blood sample to DNA expert Emory Steele for analysis, Blake discovers Emory is a dead ringer for the missing woman. Blake’s gut says the woman is related to Emory. But Emory rejects the notion, requiring a DNA test before she’ll concede that she does indeed have a twin sister she never knew about.
* * *
Now she’ll do anything to see it come to light.
Cold Dawn Page 26
