Happy New Year, Baby

by Laura Marie Altom

  The lone person in the ballroom who wasn’t happy? Her.

  It was now ten minutes to twelve and Brody still wasn’t there.

  What was wrong with him? If he’d intended to pull another full-on disappearing act, after all they’d recently shared, after all the deeply personal confessions, even after making love, couldn’t he have at least had the courtesy to give her a heads-up that he was bailing? That he’d lied about loving her. Wanting to spend the rest of his life with her and Donny.

  A minute before midnight, when he still hadn’t shown, she left the dance floor in favor of stepping into a shadow-filled alcove behind the stage.

  I hate him.

  Tears fell freely.

  Unfortunately, she also loved him. But after this ultimate show of disrespect, she’d force herself to once and for all raze him from her heart and life.

  “Ten…” the crowd chanted.

  “Nine…”

  “Eight…”

  Why? Why is he hurting me this way? What had she done to deserve this new pain?

  “Seven…”

  “Six…”

  “Five…”

  After losing Brandon, Lilianna had believed she’d never hurt like that again. She’d been horribly wrong. Brody’s rejection stung like a slap to her face.

  “Four…”

  “Three…”

  “Two…”

  Turning her back to the crowd, not caring about her makeup or hair, Lilianna was glad for the noise that drowned her grief-filled sobs. She’d already lost Brandon. To have now lost Brody was more pain than she could possibly bear.

  “Happy New Year!”

  The band launched into “Auld Lang Syne.”

  The balloons and confetti she’d feared wouldn’t drop flawlessly did. All around her, most everyone she’d ever known reveled in the hopeful promise of a new year. Only she was left alone with her grief.

  Hugging the room’s shadow-filled perimeter, she escaped the lodge as if it were Cinderella’s castle—only Lilianna had failed to find her prince.

  Chapter Seventeen

  THE COLD WAS brutal. The realization that she’d need her purse for the car keys and coat to avoid frostbite made Lilianna all the more despondent. Too much champagne fought the frigid air, making her movements sluggish and mind slow.

  Where had she even parked?

  “Lilianna!”

  Brody?

  Trace.

  Her heart sank.

  Carrying her coat, he ran to her. “I saw you run from the lodge and worried you were sick, but then it occurred to me how you’ve been watching the door all night. This is about Brody, isn’t it?”

  “I feel s-stupid for having trusted him again.” Was the fact that Trace was the one rescuing her from the cold a sign? Had Brandon sent him to signal that he was the right man for her and her son?

  Trace helped her into her coat, but that didn’t make her insides warmer. “Am I missing something?”

  “At midnight, Brody and I were supposed to meet.” She flopped her hands at her sides. “As you can see, he’s a no-show.”

  “Aw, angel, I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “No—it’s not. You deserve better. Let me give you the kind of life you’ve only ever—”

  “Lili!”

  “Speak of the devil…” Trace shook his head, wrapping his arm protectively around Lilianna’s shoulders. “Don’t listen to a word he says. He’ll only hurt you.”

  “Lili! I’m here!” Brody was running to her, zigzagging through the lodge’s crowded lot. “I’m so sorry, baby…” Upon spotting her with Trace, he froze. “What’s going on?”

  “You tell me,” she said. “You promised you’d be here, but again, you lied.”

  With a cold laugh, he shook his head. “Trace, I appreciate you looking after my girl, but we’re good. I can handle it from here.”

  “Can you?” Trace raised his brows.

  “Don’t doubt for a second I can. A long time ago, I conceded to my brother. But not only are you not my brother, but not even my friend.”

  “Brody…” Lilianna warned. “There’s no need for you to be rude. Trace was trying to help.”

  “Bull. Trace was trying to take advantage of my crap luck, but he’s leaving now, right?”

  “Depends?” He looked to Lilianna. “You need to choose. Do you want a lifetime of security and comfort with me? Or a lifetime of being stood up and continually disappointed by him?”

  Lilianna watched in horror while Brody removed his gloves, tucking them into his coat’s pockets before squeezing his hands into fists. If these two men came to blows, there was no question Brody would annihilate Trace.

  “Well?” Brody raised his chin. “When my truck battery was dead, I literally just ran over ten miles in the snow to be with you. Think your suit would do that?”

  Trace laughed. “Her suit would never have to because I’m enough of a grown-up to properly maintain my car.”

  Wham…

  With one punch, Brody sent Trace flying backward, landing in soft snow.

  “Brody!” Lilianna cried. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “Not a damned thing. You once asked why I never fought for you, well, now I have. Pick. Are you going to be with this cocky S.O.B. or me?”

  “Maybe neither…” She marched back inside, leaving both men outside to chill.

  On his way to chase after Lilianna, Brody offered his hand to help the suit from the snow. “Sorry, man. No hard feelings?”

  Trace glared.

  Brody ignored him, too intent on his goal of finding his future wife to waste one more second on things that don’t matter. The suit could definitely be lumped in that category—things that no longer mattered. Along with what anyone else thought about he and Lilianna spending the rest of their lives’ together.

  Luckily, he didn’t have to go far.

  He’d assumed she’d avoid the ballroom’s crowd and he’d been right. He found her in the lodge’s relatively quiet closed restaurant.

  “Go away,” she said upon seeing him.

  “Nope.” He pulled a chair from the table beside her, straddling it to allow him to be as close as possible. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “W-why don’t you want me? Why didn’t you come?”

  “For the record, I’ve always wanted you. I didn’t meet you at midnight by choice, but like I said outside because my freaking truck battery finally died for good. I ended up jogging here.”

  “That really is over ten miles.”

  “You’re worth it.”

  When she let him frame her face with his hands, then kiss her, the panic in his racing heart finally slowed.

  “I was so scared,” she said.

  “I’m sorry. Please know the last thing I wanted was to hurt you. I love you.” He took his class ring from his pocket. He’d added a silver chain, which he now slipped over her head. The heavy ring dangled against her chest, still warm from his hands.

  “I love you, too.”

  He kissed her again and again, and as outside a light snow began to fall, he whispered, “Happy New Year, baby…”

  Epilogue

  ONE MONTH LATER, Brody and newly pregnant Lilianna were on a Chunky Monkey run when the alert sounded on the radio he kept in his truck for rescue calls. Now that his business was back up and running—he’d even added a few retired SEALs to his staff—he typically handled alpine rescues, but this call gave him chills.

  “All hands needed at 411 Otter Lane. Structure fire. Over.”

  “Isn’t that Tanner and Jenny’s house?” she asked.

  “I forget the exact address, but if not their house, then it’s a neighbor too close for comfort—not that a house fire is good for anyone.” Tanner and Jenny were officially divorced, but since finding out she was indeed pregnant, they’d been trying to work things out.

  “On my way,” Brody said into the radio. “Over.”

  He wasted no time peeling out of
Pearl’s freshly plowed lot to head south on New Gold Road. It took eight agonizing blocks and two right turns onto smaller neighborhood streets to reach his destination.

  Fire trucks were already on the scene, but that didn’t make him feel better.

  The three-bedroom ranch was engulfed in flames so hot they’d melted through the yard’s two-feet of snow, scorching the brown grass below.

  Colby pulled up behind him.

  They both hopped from their vehicles at the same time, meeting behind the pump truck.

  Lilianna stayed in the truck with a napping Donny.

  “Anyone inside?” Brody asked Kent, the fireman manning the hose pressure valves and gauges.

  “Hope not,” Kent said. “If so, hate to be blunt, but they’re toast.”

  Another car sped down the road at a speed fast enough to have the vehicle fishtailing on the plowed layer of ice and snow. Tanner.

  Parking in the middle of the road, he leapt out, running for the house.

  “Hey!” Brody chased after him, grabbing him by the back of his down coat to try pulling him to safety. “You can’t. It’s too dangerous!”

  “The hell I can’t! Jenny’s inside!”

  Keep reading for an excerpt of the next story in my

  SEAL Team: Holiday Heroes series: BE MY VALENTINE, BABY

  BE MY VALENTINE, BABY

  SEAL Team: Holiday Heroes

  Book Three

  Laura Marie Altom

  Chapter One

  “LET. ME. GO.” Retired Navy SEAL Tanner Muldoon shrugged free of his coat to escape his best friend Brody’s hold. Flames shot through his ranch-style home’s roof. Sprinting around the side yard, he dodged right when a window exploded, ignoring the glass shard sticking out of his forearm.

  Lungs burning from rolling clouds of smoke, he braced his hands atop the backyard’s chain link fence, vaulting himself over. The instant both feet hit the ground, he ran again, pumping his arms and legs faster and harder.

  Through the smoke he eyed the deck Jenny sweet-talked him into building off their master bedroom. The French doors were closed and thank God he didn’t see fire beyond them. He tried the knobs only to find the deadbolt locked. Shit.

  Turning sideways, slightly ducking, again and again he slammed his right shoulder against the seam between the doors until they splintered.

  With a roar, he backed up, giving himself enough space to kick his way through.

  Smoke poured from the house in rolling waves.

  “Jenny!” He snatched a T-shirt from the back of a chair to hold over his mouth and nose.

  He eyed the bed where his pregnant ex-wife was supposed to have been napping, but she wasn’t there. Heart pounding to a painful degree, coughing, eyes stinging, he darted his gaze around the room, but didn’t see her. “Jenny!”

  For an instant, the smoke cleared enough to see the open bathroom door.

  Charging that direction, he ignored the ever-rising heat, flinching from mini-explosions, knowing the next crashing support beam could mean certain death.

  “Jenny! Ohmygod.” In the bathroom, he found her lying motionless on the floor. “No, no, no…” he said with a low, anguished groan. For the baby, they were working things out—or, at least trying. Kneeling, he placed his middle and index fingers to the side of her carotid, checking her pulse. It was weak, but steady.

  Relief shimmered through him.

  But then his gaze skipped to the side of her head. Blood. So much blood.

  The smoke thickened. He was out of time.

  He had to get her out of here, then assess her damage later.

  After scooping Jenny’s lifeless form into his arms, he rose, only to wobble from lack of oxygen. Still, he forged ahead, only to get more bad news.

  At the open bathroom door, where there should have been a straight shot out the same route through which he’d entered, there was now only smoke. Years of fighting fires taught him once he entered that black cloud, he’d instantly lose his bearings—assuming he didn’t first pass out from smoke inhalation.

  Okay—time for Plan B.

  He kicked the door shut.

  Gingerly set Jenny in the tub.

  There was a smallish window over the john. He’d open it, feed Jenny through, then follow.

  From beyond the bedroom the fire had grown into a growling monster, chewing its way closer. In his capacity as fire chief, when encountering a fire this hot, with this fast of a flashover, he would advise his men to stand down, only attacking it from a safe distance, ensuring no nearby structures were impacted. But this wasn’t any structure, it was his home.

  The smoke was thick enough in the bathroom that it became a struggle to even find the window.

  Allowing the diffused sunlight to guide him, he unlatched the window’s center lock, then tried pulling up the frame, but it was stuck. Seriously? After repeated tries and it still wouldn’t budge, he grabbed the wooden-handled plunger from behind the toilet, standing back while ramming the handle into the glass.

  It thankfully shattered, and for an instant, Tanner dragged fresh air into his lungs. But then his training kicked in long enough for him to remember a cardinal rule of fire—it needed oxygen, and he’d just given it the human equivalent of a caffeine-laden energy drink.

  Flames licked the underside of the bathroom door. How long until the wood ignited?

  Working at a frantic pace, he used the plunger handle to punch out the remaining bigger sheets of glass, then scrape the rest from the sides.

  Back at the tub, he again hefted Jenny into his arms, gritting his teeth, working his screaming muscles harder than they’d ever been worked before to force her limp frame through the tight space. Moving her with a serious head injury was ill-advised, but the alternative? Leaving her here to burn alive—not happening on his watch.

  “Tanner! Get out of there!” From outside, Brody shouted at him. He and Colby stood behind three guys on his crew.

  One of them snatched up Jenny, carrying her to what Tanner hoped was a safe distance.

  Approaching sirens signaled more help was on the way.

  With Jenny presumably cared for, Tanner stood on the john’s closed lid, planning to dive through the open space, but then the unthinkable happened when the adjacent wall shuddered. Moments later, the falling ceiling rained fire on his head…

  Dear Reader—

  I so much appreciate you spending time with Brody and Lilianna!

  This story was tough to write and oh-so-emotional. I often found my mood mirroring those of this grief-stricken couple.

  The theme of a soldier struggling with PTSD is one I’ve dealt with before. It’s such an insidious, often invisible disease except to those who suffer so greatly from it—and of course, to those who love them. To anyone currently fighting this often-debilitating condition, please know help is a Google search away. There are hundreds of resources and probably thousands of people eager to help with what can sadly be a lifelong journey to recovery.

  On a happier note, I’m excited for you to get to know the residents of Kodiak Gorge. SEAL Team: Holiday Heroes will feature a new couple each month, centered around two of my favorite things—babies and holidays! Since I know many of you love my romantic suspense series, I’ve also added a dash of danger to each book. Hope you’ll join me in celebrating not only these twelve new couples, but the kooky citizens of this small Alaskan town.

  Happy Reading!

  xoxo

  SEAL Team: Holiday Heroes

  Book One: Christmas Cookie Baby

  Book Two: Happy New Year, Baby

  Book Three: Be My Valentine, Baby

  SEAL Team: Disavowed

  Book One: Rogue

  Book Two: Outcast

  Book Three: Shunned

  Book Four: Exiled

  Book Five: Renegade

  Book Six: Forsaken

  Book Seven: Scorned

  About the Author

  Laura Marie Altom is the author of over sixty novels. Her aw
ard-winning work has appeared on numerous bestseller lists and worldwide, she has over a million books in print. Laura lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with her husband of thirty years. This former teacher has been blessed with boy/girl twins and a menagerie of dogs and cats. For fun, Laura’s content to garden, thrift-shop or curl up with a great book.

  Laura loves hearing from readers, and can be reached at the following social media outlets:

  E-mail balipalm@aol.com

  Website: www.lauramariealtom.com

  Facebook:www.facebook.com/LauraMarieAltom

  Twitter: @LauraMarieAltom

  Instagram: www.instagram.com/lauramariealtom

  Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/lauramariealtom

  Copyright © December 2017 by Laura Marie Altom

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.

  All characters and incidents within this book are fiction, and works of the author’s imagination.