“The baby’s crowning, Selena. One more push.”
Dr. Sanderlin had already said the same thing several times. He didn’t believe it anymore.
“The head is out. Don’t push, Selena. Don’t push.” The doctor’s voice held an edge. Her hands worked frantically below, doing something neither of them could see. Her frantic movements and her tone gripped Oliver by the throat.
“Push one more time, Selena. One last big one.”
Her face lined with exhaustion, Selena dragged in one more breath and held it. Her grimace of effort scored deep lines around her eyes and mouth. The moment the baby slipped free he saw the relief in her face.
“It’s a boy. Hurry—take him,” Dr. Sanderlin said, passing a bundle wrapped in white cloth off to the NICU nurse standing by. She rushed the baby to the small hooded table and was joined there by two other medical personnel.
He barely heard Dr. Sanderlin when she said, “You’re going to feel a little pressure, Selena.”
The silence in the room stretched for an eon. Selena’s gaze swung upward to him, panicked fear stretching her features into a mask. His arms tightened around her as a cry of pain and denial built in his chest.
A high-pitched squeal shattered the terrifying quiet, followed by a trembling cry. The entire room took a breath.
“Sounds like someone’s mad,” Dr. Sanderlin said, with a quick smile.
Tears streamed down Oliver’s face. “I didn’t mean what I said in your office the first day.”
Dr. Sanderlin set her the medical instrument on the tray the nurse held out to her. “I know.”
“I didn’t mean it, Selena.”
Selena turned her face into his chest and gripped his scrubs in her fists. “I know, Oliver. I’ve always known. It’s okay. We’re okay.”
Epilogue
‡
Selena dried her sweaty palms on her pants legs while she shivered from the doctor’s office air conditioning. How many trips to this office had she made in the last six months? At least twenty. Not counting the trips for blood work, X-rays, mammograms, biopsies, all the procedures she’d been unable to have before Micah’s birth.
Oliver bounced and weaved in his daddy dance while he gave the baby his bottle. Micah was her miracle baby. He’d not only survived having the cord wrapped around his neck at birth—something they only learned from Dr. Sanderlin after the heart-numbing moment in her hospital room—but he’d also survived the targeting chemo she’d needed while she carried him. He had no lasting effects from either.
Following the birth she’d been bombarded with tests and procedures in a rush to knock out the cancer which had spread to her liver, but not to her other breast. Then came radiation, more chemo, and hormone suppression therapy, all of which she prayed had done the trick. She’d had another MRI just this week and now they were here to learn the diagnosis.
How many miracles could one person receive before God said, “Sorry, but you’ve reached your quota?” All she needed was one more.
Oliver settled Micah in his carrier, which was waiting on the floor between them, and handed him a set of plastic keys to chew on. He was teething, and he gnawed on the toy with quiet attention while he made a happy humming noise. She bent to put a cloth diaper beneath his chin to catch the slobber. He had Oliver’s curly hair, just as Lucia did, and she curled a strand around her finger.
Oliver sat down beside her. She straightened and brushed her bangs back with her fingers, then clenched her hand into a fist in her lap to hide their trembling.
Oliver grasped her hand and laced their fingers. “The wig looks great—natural and sexy,” Oliver said. “I like the short ’do on you.” His smile would have looked natural to anyone else, but she noticed the tightness at the corners. He was as anxious as she was.
“I thought it looked more like a kick-ass heroine in an action movie. I’m getting well. I wanted to look the part.” She had worked hard to regain some of her self-confidence and leave behind the clinging vine she’d become…even though Oliver repeatedly denied any evidence of it.
He bent to brush her knuckles with his lips. “Hooyah!” he said with feeling.
The door opened behind them and they both turned to look.
Dr. Sanderlin walked through first, but she wore no lab coat, and her hair was loose about her shoulders. She smiled at Selena, then Oliver. Dr. Dixon, tall, gray-haired and studious, followed.
Selena dragged air into her lungs, but her breath stuck in her throat. This was either very, very good or—She didn’t want to think about it.
“I wanted to be included in this meeting,” Dr. Sanderlin said. “Since it all started in my office nearly a year and a half ago, I asked Dr. Dixon if I could sit in.”
The tight, anxious ball of nerves wedged beneath Selena’s ribs began to ease.
Dr. Dixon cleared his throat. “There is no sign of cancer anywhere in your latest scans. Two other radiologists and I have gone over them. There’s nothing there.”
Selena’s composure dissolved in relief and she covered her face with her hands and burst into tears.
Oliver pulled her to her feet and wrapped her in his arms. They clung, hard, and when she raised her face to him, he kissed her.
“We’ll want you to stay on your regimen for a few more months before we switch you over to suppression therapy to maintain your status,” Dr. Dixon continued. “You’re ready for breast reconstruction now, whenever you feel up to it.”
“I can give you a list of Board Certified plastic surgeons your insurance will cover,” Dr. Sanderlin added.
A sound of joy, half laugh, half sob, broke from Selena. She’d have her breast back. She’d look like a healthy woman again. It’s what she wanted. She left Oliver’s arms to hug first Dr. Sanderlin, then Dr. Dixon.
“You did all the heavy lifting, Selena,” Dr. Dixon said, patting her back.
“Not without Oliver,” Selena said.
Dr. Sanderlin held Micah and admired his new tooth. Dr. Dixon loosened up and held him for a moment as well. They celebrated for a few more minutes, and then gathered Micah, the diaper bag, and returned to the van.
“We need to call everyone and give them the news,” Selena said while she paced and watched Oliver strap the baby in and pull the door closed.
“Later, after we’ve celebrated a little on our own,” Oliver said, flashing her a grin. He rested his arms on either side of her and leaned in, pushing her back against the van, and nestling his body in perfect alignment with hers.
Her heart raced and a small tingle settled in intimate areas. It took more effort these days to get her going, but Oliver was patient. At times it must have seemed almost as big a challenge to him as one of his missions. Thank God he was a SEAL. They never gave up.
He kissed her, then rested his cheek against hers.
As though he’d read her thoughts, he whispered, “Hawk once told me I’d never break the ties I have to my team. And I thought, because of everything I’d been through with them, I’d never have as strong a bond with anyone else. But I was wrong.
“When you’ve shared a life-and-death struggle as we have, it either makes you cling to one another, or it breaks the ties between you.” His brown eyes were liquid with love and emotion. “I know there have been times when things were stretched pretty thin between us, especially when I was acting like an ass at the beginning. But, every time, we’ve rebounded and our ties have just grown stronger. I’m so lucky, Selena. I could have lost you so many times, so many ways.”
Her eyes filled and her lips trembled as she whispered, “When I couldn’t fight for myself, you helped me fight for you, and Lucia, and Micah. When I believed I had nothing left, you showed me I did. I couldn’t have survived this without you.” She rested her cheek against his chest until her tears and shakes abated.
He pulled back an inch or two and ducked his chin so he could look right into her eyes. “And you know the saying, the only thing tougher than a Marine is his wife?”
“Well those women ain’t got nothin’ on me and my girls.”
The End
Books by Teresa Reasor
SEAL Team Heartbreakers Series
Breaking Free
Breaking Through
Breaking Away
Breaking Ties (Novella in Hot Alpha SEALs Anthology)
Building Ties (Coming August 2014)
Historicals
Highland Moonlight
Captive Hearts
Highland Moonlight Spinoffs
To Capture a Highlander’s Heart: The Beginning (Short Story)
To Capture A Highlander’s Heart: The Courtship (Novella)
To Capture A Highlander’s Heart: The Wedding Night (Coming Soon)
Paranormals
Timeless (Paranormal Romantic Suspense)
An Automated Death (A Steampunk Short Story)
Contemporary Romance
Caught In The Act (Comedic Short Story)
To contact Teresa Reasor or for more information on upcoming books:
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Box Set Contents
The Kiss of a SEAL
Title Page
About The Kiss of a SEAL
Dedication
Epigraph
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Epilogue
About Anne Elizabeth
Also by Anne Elizabeth
Night with a SEAL
Title Page
About Night with a SEAL
Acknowledgments
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
About Cat Johnson
Also by Cat Johnson
Hot Bayou SEAL
Title Page
About Hot Bayou SEAL
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
About the Author
Other Books by Cindy Dees
Connect with Cindy Dees
Copyright Page
Delta: Retribution
Title Page
About Delta: Retribution
Dedication
Author Note
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
Epilogue
About The Author
Books by Cristin Harber
Watch Over Me
Title Page
About Watch Over Me
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Other Books from Delilah Devlin
About Delilah Devlin
SEAL’s Obsession
Title Page
About SEAL’s Obsession
From the Author
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
About the Author
Other Titles by Elle James
The SEAL
Title Page
Copyright Page
Foreword
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
About the Author
Other Books by Gennita Low
Unbreakable SEAL
Title Page
About Unbreakable SEAL
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Epilogue
Other Books from J.M. Madden
Connect with the Author
About the Author
Mister Black: A Billionaire SEAL Story
Title Page
About Mister Black: A Billionaire SEAL Story
Acknowledgements
Before I Learned to Look for Rainbows
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
P.T. Michelle Books
Other works by P.T. Michelle writing as Patrice Michelle
Connect with the Author
Stone Hard SEAL
Title Page
About Stone Hard SEAL
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
About Sabrina York
Follow Sabrina
Books by Sabrina York
SEAL’s Promise
Title Page
Author’s Note
Author Bio
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
About the Author
The SEAL Brotherhood Series
Other Books by Sharon Hamilton
Breaking Ties
Title Page
About Breaking Ties
Dedication
Bio
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Epilogue
Books by Teresa Reasor
Connect with the Author
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