Geri Krotow - Navy Rescue

She saved a baby, but can she save her marriage?

Navy commander and pilot Gwen Brett is shot down in a disastrous mission—and survives six months in terrifying circumstances. She manages to escape with an orphaned baby she rescued and is determined to bring home.

Devastated when she was presumed dead, her ex-husband, Drew, is overjoyed by her survival. He offers Gwen and the baby a place to stay, to recover. Gwen accepts, convinced their love is gone. But almost losing her for good makes Drew realize he wants her back—and Gwen feels the same…. However, this rescue might be the hardest one yet!

Gwen saw him as soon as the plane pulled up to the hangar

Drew.

He was the tall one with the sure stance, waiting for her with a group of other people. Relief eased some of the tightness in her chest.

She straightened and walked to the hangar. She was at least one hundred feet from the open doors and the welcoming group, but Drew’s features were as sharp as if he stood six inches away.

His sunglasses hid his eyes so she had only his facial features and posture by which to judge his demeanor. He looked taller, his face defined, more mature. Not as young as she’d remembered him for six long months.

Before she finished her train of thought, Drew was in front of her. She hesitated. Was he angry about taking her in? Having her stay at his house?

“Gwen.” He closed the distance between them and embraced her. He kept his arms tightly around her, and she relished the feel of his winter jacket against her cheek. Relished the way she could almost convince herself she still had him to come home. That this was real.

She felt a sudden urge to pull back, look him in the eye and tell him that now she understood what really mattered in life.

Dear Reader,

Thank you so much for your support of the Whidbey Island series! Your positive comments on Facebook and Twitter, and your emails, mean so much to me. It’s heartening to know you’ve enjoyed meeting the fictional heroes and heroines of Naval Air Station, Whidbey Island, as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them. While my characters are always made up, their virtues are not—courage under fire being the most common. Whether the heat is felt on a war-torn battlefield or in the home of a military spouse who’s keeping the family together while his or her warrior is deployed, it’s what makes today’s military family stronger than ever. I’m honored to bring you these stories, and I hope they lift the spirits of our friends and families in service.

Navy Rescue started in my mind years ago when I had the gift of a conversation with a senior enlisted aircrew man who survived a P-3C ditch in the ocean. Unfortunately I don’t remember his name but I’ll never forget how he so honestly described the details of the ditch. His real-life story made me think about the repercussions of one of the crew getting lost at sea, and how difficult it would be to come back home after being assumed dead.

Gwen and Drew have been divorced for several years when the story starts. Two life-changing events for both of them force the reassessment of why they split, and make them consider whether the love they shared is worth resurrecting. Or maybe they now have a chance at a newer, deeper love.

I look forward to your thoughts on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads. For the latest news on the next book in the Whidbey Island series, check out my website, www.gerikrotow.com, and sign up for my newsletter. As always, thank you for your unwavering support of our men and women in uniform and the families they love.

Peace,

Geri Krotow

Navy Rescue

Geri Krotow

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Former naval intelligence officer and U.S. Naval Academy graduate Geri Krotow draws inspiration from the global situations she’s experienced. Geri loves to hear from her readers. You can email her via her website and blog, www.gerikrotow.com.

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For Bob Coughlin and Jack Stoner, two heroes who rescued me when I didn’t even realize I needed rescuing!

Acknowledgments:

Much appreciation to John Weiss, DPT, and his staff for their professional insight and patience with my very fictional questions.

Contents

PROLOGUE

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

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

NAVY RESCUE/WHIDBEY ISLAND SERIES ACRONYMS

Extract

PROLOGUE

COMMANDER GWENDOLYN BRETT adjusted the power levers on her P-3C-Orion aircraft as another gust of wind racked the airframe. Lightning lit up the night sky over the Philippine Sea and she wished they’d finished the mission hours earlier.

Terrorist insurgents in the remote southern islands of the Philippines hadn’t shown their hand until the last possible moment before she had to turn the plane around while there was still enough fuel to make it back to base. Besides streaming live video to government troops on the ground, her crew got their location, captured excellent photos of their camp and transmitted them via satellite to be disseminated to the intel weenies who’d figure out what it all meant.

They’d completed the mission; now she had to get her crew back to base.

Alive.

Thirteen souls, including herself.

That awareness kept her from letting the monotonous drone of the four turbo-prop engines lull her into drifting off—into thinking about anything other than the flight...

For some reason, the image of Drew as she’d driven off just before deployment had haunted her all day. She’d wondered why he’d bothered, why he showed up at the hangar. He’d said, no one should go off on deployment alone. He’d given her a friendly hug.

They were friends, in spite of all the hell they’d put each other through as young junior officers. So why had his platonic hug been worse than if he’d tortured her with a kiss, reminded her of all she’d lost when they’d divorced five years ago? More important, why was she allowing thoughts of him now, during a key mission?

The old mesh fabric pilot’s seat gave little support to her spine, and she shifted her position, trying to stretch her lower back.

“You’ve got to do those ab moves I told you about, XO.” Her copilot’s gentle chiding made her smile.

“No amount of exercise is going to shave the years off me, David.”

“Aw, ma’am, you’re still young.”

She chuckled, even as the sharp stab of a lower back spasm made her wince. Simple tasks that she’d managed through brute strength as a junior officer were becoming more difficult as her birthdays added up.

Thirty-seven was young in the civilian world, but not in the navy.

She was tired of the constant reminders of the years passing too quickly. When she got back from deployment she was going to follow her best friend, Ro’s, advice and get herself back into the dating scene.