Brianna's Navy SEAL (27 page)

So she still didn't get to talk to Cable.

She saw him, of course, across the hall and then as they made their way out to the bus to go to the nature center. But the kids were too excited and rambunctious to allow them to talk. She watched him from her position in the back of the bus, and he looked normal, moving with ease and talking to the kids with smiles and no hint of tension.

"You okay?” Elyse asked at one point, moving down the aisle from her position in the center of the bus.

"Fine. The ibuprofen's doing its job.” She smiled at her mother, but couldn't stop herself from looking at Cable.

"You know, I think you're both being foolish. If you want to be together—"

"Steve found a replacement,” Brie interrupted. “Today's his last day, and he's leaving next week."

"Oh.” Sorrow overtook the determination in her expression. “I'm sorry, Brie."

"It doesn't matter. I'm not letting him go."

Elyse smiled. “That's my girl."

"If I can get
near
him, for God's sake,” she muttered. Elyse shushed her and cast a significant look at the nearby kids.

"Leave it to me."

Finally, after they'd arrived at the nature center, unloaded the kids and gear, and gotten them started on the tree, Elyse dragged Cable over to Brianna.

"You two talk. Mr. Peterson and I will watch the kids.” She pointed to the director of the center. “He has three interns to help. So you should have a good amount of time to straighten things out."

"Thanks, Mom.” Brianna turned to Cable.

"You okay?” they asked together, then gave matching smiles.

"I'm okay,” Brianna said. She tucked her mittened hands under her arms. “It's a bit colder than I'd expected. That's not helping my sore muscles. But it's better than being dead. You?"

"Banged my knee taking that last guy down. I'm out of practice."

"You seemed in perfect form to me. Thank you,” she added softly. “You saved my life."

He shook his head and looked away, toward the kids. “You were doing fine without me."

"Actually, it was more like, we made a great team.” She made her tone firm, and he looked back at her.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. And you know all that stuff about not wanting to wait for you to change your mind, and always wondering what could happen?"

"Yeah..."

"Crap."

He laughed, automatically checking how close the kids were. “Crap?"

"Crap.” She stamped her feet on the hard ground. “Last night proved how stupid we are. Bad things can happen without your past being involved. Staying apart just makes us cowards."

"So, what are you going to do about it?” He looked amused, and she relaxed, not realizing how scared she'd been that he'd disagree with her.

"I'm going to marry you."

Several nearby kids heard her unquiet assertion, and turned to look. Cable unwrapped her arms from around herself, and replaced them with his own.

"Are you, now. Not even going to let me be the one to ask?"

"I'm not asking, I'm telling.” But she looked up at him, and felt the worry in her eyebrows. “Will you marry me, Cable Addison? Be by my side, through good times and attacks on Wal-Mart?"

The children had all gone silent, and she felt dozens of pairs of eyes on them.

"Yes, Brianna Macgregor, I will marry you. But let's stick to the classroom, okay?"

She grinned. “Yeah?"

He shrugged. “Steve stopped me this morning, said the sub backed out. And Karen Plummer left a message asking me to apply for a full-time position, after she read the petition. And Dina quit for good,” he added. “That helped."

"You're okay with that?” she asked, a glimmer of uncertainty still making itself felt. “Even when it has nothing to do with you, you attract trouble."

"I think that's you.” He grinned. “I'm done worrying about the future. Let's just make the best present we can, okay?"

"Okay. Now kiss me.” Before he could, she turned to the kids. “Everyone, close your eyes."

To her amazement, they did. At least, for a moment. As Cable's mouth met hers in a kiss full of promise, a cheer rose around them, accompanied by heartfelt words from her mother.

"It's about time."

Natalie J. Damschroder became a writer the hard way—by avoiding it. Though she wrote her first book at age five (appropriately titled,
My Very First Book
) and received accolades for her academic writing (Ruth Davies Award for Excellence in Writing for a paper on deforestation her senior year in college), she hated doing it. Colonial food and the habits of the European Starling just weren't her thing.

Shortly after graduating from college, however, she found her niche—romantic fiction. After an internship with the National Geographic Society, customer service for a phone company just wasn't that exciting. So she began learning how to write the books she'd loved to read all her life. Four books and six years later, she finally sold. Now she struggles to balance her frenetic writing life (how else can she get all the stories in her head on paper?) with her family, the most supportive husband in the world and two beautiful, intelligent, stubborn, independent daughters (one of whom has already declared her desire to be a writer, too). She somehow also fits in a day job and various volunteer positions in and out of the writing industry.

More can be found at www.nataliedamschroder.com.

Sophie Macgregor should be satisfied with her life, but her high-paying job and country-club social life aren't quite fulfilling enough. She wants a family and refuses to consider a relationship with a playboy, even if he is as attractive as Parker Cornwall.

Parker's reputation is well-earned, and he uses it to keep women at a distance. Though deep down he, too, craves a family, his own has a legacy of pain, a legacy he won't continue. But he can't seem to stay away from Sophie.

When they end up working together, love takes over. Sophie realizes the right playboy can be a good risk. But Parker can't get over his fear of hurting Sophie—and of being hurt—and reverts to old habits. She can't convince him that the past can be overcome. Only when tragedy strikes does Parker understand that having and losing is better than never having at all...