Laura Altom - A SEAL's Secret Baby

Boot Camp Didn’t Prepare Him For This!

Navy SEAL Deacon Murphy’s tryst with Ellie Hilliard was white-hot, but quickly forgotten when she met her husband, his best friend, Tom. That was fine by Deacon. As a rule, he avoided making commitments, at least to anything other than the navy.

But when Tom died, Deacon promised that he’d watch over Ellie and her daughter, Pia—not knowing that Pia was actually his, and never expecting that he’d fall for them both in the process.

Ellie is terrified of getting too close to Deacon, and not just because of his high-risk career. Losing Tom was hard enough. If Tom’s parents knew the truth about Pia, she could lose them, too—and they’re the only family she has left.

Deacon made a beeline for Ellie, making her stomach somersault

“Hey, gorgeous.” Hand casually about her waist, he bent to deliver a platonic kiss to her cheek. Why was she wishing for more?

“Hey, yourself. Glad you could make it.”

“Looked dicey for a bit, but considering the fancy hair you’re sporting, it was worth the effort.”

Like a giddy teenager, Ellie’s spirit soared at the compliment.

“Stop. My hair always looks like this.”

He snorted. “I don’t know what mirror you’ve been looking in, but I haven’t seen you look this hot since…well…” He whispered in her ear, giving her shivers, “Since that time back when—” She reddened, and he had the good grace to look away and clear his throat. “But we probably shouldn’t discuss that here.”

Cheeks still flaming, she elbowed him before leading the way to their seats. When he squeezed her hand, she squeezed back. Her usual guilt was there, but so was something else she hadn’t felt in a long time—anticipation for what might be next to come.

Dear Reader,

Never have I written a story more about family—not just blood ties, but the relationships we form with friends and coworkers and the entire network of people who comprise the colorful quilts of our lives.

If you’ve read any of my books, you know I adore kids of all ages. In real life I’m pretty much the same. I’m honored that my kids’ friends are usually mine, too, and once I learn their struggles, I add those to my already full worry list.

Deacon Murphy spends a large portion of this book struggling to figure out if he’s even capable of love. Love for his family and friends and most especially Ellie, his best friend’s widow.

With the recent loss of my last surviving grandparent, my blood family has grown perilously small, yet the more friends I make, the more reassured I am that since they, too, count as family, I will never be truly alone.

My daughter’s friend Louisa is having a baby and I find myself more and more excited to welcome this little boy or girl into the world. That, in turn, makes me excited for when my kids start having kids. Eeeek! (But not too soon! LOL!) By the time this story hits shelves, I will have held this new addition to our extended family and in doing so, will have found a whole new person to love.

Whomever you count as your family, give them a hug!! And cross your fingers for Deacon to figure out what love means to him, before it’s too late….

Happy reading!

Laura Marie

A SEAL’s Secret Baby

Laura Marie Altom

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

After college (Go, Hogs!), bestselling, award-winning author Laura Marie Altom did a brief stint as an interior designer before becoming a stay-at-home mom to boy-girl twins and a bonus son. Always an avid romance reader, she knew it was time to try her hand at writing when she found herself replotting the afternoon soaps.

When not immersed in her next story, Laura teaches art at a local middle school. In her free time, she beats her kids at video games, tackles Mount Laundry and of course reads romance!

Laura loves hearing from readers at either P.O. Box 2074, Tulsa, OK 74101, or by email, BaliPalm@aol.com.

Love winning fun stuff? Check out www.lauramariealtom.com.

For one soul leaving this Earth and another entering…

My grandfather, Frederic William Alisch,

and

Louisa Margarita Hamilton and Ian Keserich’s sweet baby.

Wherever they lead, I wish you both blessed journeys.

Contents

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

Excerpt

Chapter One

Tell him.

Ellie Hilliard caught herself staring at Deacon, her dead husband’s best friend. He stood at the surf’s edge, glaring at the angry Atlantic. For August, it was a gloomy, miserable day. The rest of the crowd gathered at her in-laws’ to commemorate Tom’s life was inside, clustered about the big screen TV, which flashed home videos of happier times. Family clips had been merged with lighter moments shared with his Navy SEAL team. The worst to bear were intimate scenes caught with him and his daughter. Hard to believe a year had already passed since Tom had been gone.

The rain had stopped, but wind still whipped Ellie’s hair. Holding it back, and kicking off her heels at the foot of the beach house stairs, she picked her way through saw grass on the dune and then across the beach. Seagulls shrieked over a find farther down the shoreline.

Reaching Deacon, she said, “We need to talk.”

“’Bout what?” At six-four, he towered over her by nearly a foot. His black hair was cut in a military buzz, and his square jaw was as hard as his muscled body. Tom used to say once you got to know him, Deacon was a big softie. Ellie had known him in the most intimate way a woman could. He’d led her to a dangerous ledge, then had urged her to jump….

She wanted to spill everything, but found her pulse racing to an uncomfortable degree.

“Ellie! Deacon!” Tom’s father, John, stood at the deck railing, hands cupped to his mouth. “Dinner’s ready!”

Ellie’s spirits both soared and deflated. It had taken her a while to work up the courage to tell Deacon her most closely guarded secret. This latest interruption had been hell on her emotions.

He sighed. “Guess we better head for the house.”

“Deacon, wait.” Instinctively reaching out, she clasped his forearm, only to just as quickly draw away. Considering their past, touching him was never a good idea. “We really do need to talk.”

“Later.” His back was already turned, and his size allowed him to take one step for three of hers.

Swallowing her disappointment, Ellie doggedly followed.

Deacon wasn’t even supposed to be here. Well, he’d been invited, but no one had expected his team to have returned from their latest mission.

Deacon had come to her after Tom’s funeral, explaining that as his friend had lay dying, he’d asked Deacon to watch after Ellie and his one-year-old daughter, Pia. Each week, Deacon faithfully mowed the lawn and performed light maintenance on the Cape Cod house. When he was off on a mission, he arranged for a lawn company to tackle outside chores. He even insisted on regularly changing her car’s oil. In the physical sense, Deacon worked hard to live up to the promise he’d made. But emotionally?

He barely spoke to her. Probably a good thing, but it still bothered her. Why, she couldn’t have said. It just did.

Entering the house, she and Deacon joined the crowd of just over forty seated around the dining room table and folding tables, which had been draped in Tom’s favorite color, royal blue. Tom’s father stood, raising his champagne. “Helen and I didn’t invite all of you here to mourn our son, but rather to celebrate his amazing life. We want you to rejoice, as we do, in the blessings of his daughter, Pia, and dear wife, Ellie. On this anniversary of his…”