A SEAL's Struggle

by Cora Seton

  “I want us to take stock. Figure out what’s working and what isn’t. Figure out what we can let go of and what to double down on. We need to get back to basics. We need to help each other live the lives we want to lead. And we need to keep Fulsom out of it. Tomorrow, I want everyone to take a day off.” He raised his hands in a placating gesture. “I know, I know, we all have chores we have to do, and we’ll do them. In fact, we’ll help each other get the basics done, but for one day that’s all we’re going to do—the basics. I want you all to spend the rest of the day thinking about what you want your lives to look like after the show is over. At dinner we’ll come together and talk about it. See if we can get our lives looking like that right now.”

  “That sounds like a good idea,” Nora said from where she sat. “It’s been a long time since any of us took a rest.”

  The others murmured their agreement. Angus had some ideas about how he wanted to spend his day, and he thought Win might share them, given the way she was looking at him.

  “Lecture over,” Boone said, “except Walker. Seems to me you have planning of a different kind to do.”

  After a moment Walker nodded, and that was an end to it.

  Win found herself humming two days later as she walked through the manor’s ballroom, daydreaming about what it would look like on her wedding day. In seven days she’d marry Angus, and in a month and a half, they’d have their baby. The show would be over. They’d all be free to live their lives—

  As long as Walker got his act together.

  Everyone had taken Boone’s words seriously and gotten their chores done quickly the day before, then spent time thinking and talking in small groups about their ideas for the future. She’d spent most of the day with Angus—enjoying their present solitude—but she went out for a walk by herself midafternoon to clear her head. She wanted to think about her plans, too, how she’d combine motherhood with what she wanted to accomplish in the gardens and greenhouses. Angus was consumed with what he could grow inside all year round, but Win liked it outside better and wanted to design ways to conserve water and increase the yield of their gardens. As she paced the land, she let her imagination run free and soon moved on to designing patterned textiles in her head. She’d only started learning how to weave, but Win knew someday she’d take her new hobby a lot further. She imagined a whole line of coordinated household linens, but first she’d have her baby, help grow Base Camp and spend time with Angus. She had plenty of time to launch a company when she was ready.

  She was distracted from her thoughts when she spotted Walker walking by himself. The man had grown more taciturn than usual, and her heart went out to him. No matter how many gifts he gave her, Avery refused to relent.

  Meanwhile, she didn’t think Avery was any happier. It didn’t seem like she was working on films anymore. When Win came across her at her laptop, she wasn’t editing clips together. More often than not she was staring at news stories, idling on chat forums. Once Win was pretty sure she’d caught Avery on a dating site.

  She wished Avery and Walker could both be as happy as she felt, and when Avery joined her to discuss the wedding, Win couldn’t help but ask about Walker.

  “He’s obviously sorry about what he’s done,” Win said. “All those sweet little gifts.”

  Avery shrugged. “Those gifts don’t mean anything. Sure, they’re sweet,” she added reluctantly, “but they don’t answer any of my questions, do they? He still hasn’t told me anything about this woman he was promised to, or what he’s done about it, or why it happened in the first place. He hasn’t asked me out on a date or tried to kiss me. He hasn’t given me a single indication of what he’d like for our future. He’s as closed a book as ever. That’s not good enough.”

  “I guess I can’t blame you for feeling that way,” Win said, thinking about the way she and Angus had been baring their souls—not to mention their bodies—to each other. “I wish it was different, though.”

  “So do I,” Avery said. “But let’s talk about your wedding. What kind of decorations do you want?”

  “I want it to look like a forest in here,” Win told her. Every time she thought about her wedding, she pictured it that way. The weather was too uncertain to hold the reception outside, but her best moments with Angus had taken place out in the woods, and she wanted to feel that wild, romantic energy when she celebrated their marriage vows.

  “I love it,” Avery said instantly. “We can use large branches stood on end to make trees, and pine bough swags to decorate the walls and tables. Lots of pine cones and ribbons…” And she was off. Win added her own thoughts, and soon they had a plan that they shared with Angus and some of the other men and women who would help with the setup.

  “What about your family?” Angus asked later, back in the bunkhouse. “Will your parents come?”

  “I won’t invite them,” she said simply. “What about your family?” Douglas was still around, helping out wherever he could, waiting for his chance to narrate the film Renata, Avery and Eve were working on and hoping to talk to Fulsom after it was done.

  “I’m sure my dad, my stepmother and my sisters will come. Don’t know about my mom and stepfather.”

  “We’re going to have to be family to one another,” she told him.

  “I can do that,” Angus said. He nudged her suddenly. Jutted his chin in the direction of Walker, who had just entered the bunkhouse. Avery, who was going through her duffel bag near the shelves where they kept their things, pulling out clothing and refolding it, ignored him as he approached, took his own duffel bag off the shelf and unzipped it.

  Conversations around the room faltered and stopped as one after another, people noticed what was happening. Walker drew out the ceremonial fan he’d gotten back from Clem weeks ago and considered it. When he didn’t move for some moments, Avery finally looked up, took in what he was holding, flushed and looked away.

  She shoved her duffel bag back on a shelf and stood up.

  Walker stood up, too. Paced closer to her.

  Put the fan in her hands. He turned and bent down, zipped up his bag again and replaced it.

  Then walked out the door leaving Avery still standing there, fan in her hands.

  Tears sliding silently down her cheeks.

  Chapter Sixteen

  ‡

  “I guess the best man won,” Douglas said with a grin to Angus on the day of his wedding. He’d caught Angus on his way to changing for the ceremony, and they stood under a clear blue sky. Angus had issued a blanket invitation to everyone in his family, whether in the United States, Canada or Scotland.

  His Scottish relatives had sent their regrets and good wishes, as he’d expected. His father, stepmother and sisters had happily replied they would come. More surprisingly, his mother and stepfather had RSVP’d that they would attend, as well, which had made him happier than he’d anticipated.

  Now that he had Win in his life, he found that he could let go some of his old grievances.

  “You’d better not try for my girl again,” he said, only half joking.

  “I won’t. Need to find someone who wants me as much as she wants you, though.”

  “Have you ever thought about staying on here?”

  “Not enough action. Win’s going to put in a good word for me with Fulsom, and I’ll see what happens then. If nothing pans out, I’ll go back home, but as soon as I get there, I’ll figure out how to get back. I’m going to make my mark on this country, one way or another.”

  “Tell me how I can help,” Angus said, clapping him on his back.

  “I will,” Douglas promised and went to rejoin the others.

  His father, Maureen and his sisters found him next. They’d arrived the day before, participated in the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner and gotten to meet Win.

  “I’m proud of you, son,” his father said.

  “We’re all proud of you,” Maureen said, enveloping him in her trademark warm embrace. “I’m going to cry all through the cerem
ony,” she promised him as his sisters crowded around them to get in on the hug.

  When his mother and stepfather caught up with him, Angus wasn’t sure how to react. He’d never quite gotten over his stiffness with John—or his mother, for that matter.

  “Angus, look at you—you’re so handsome,” his mother cried and threw her arms around him. “We’ve watched every episode of Base Camp, and I swear I feel like I finally know my son. I hate how distant we’ve gotten. I loved getting to see who you’ve really become—rather than the stiff phone calls and stilted emails we send each other. I wish I was part of a reality television show, too, so you could get to know me.”

  “Be careful what you wish for,” Angus told her as a camera crew bore down on them, but he relaxed a little.

  “Let’s do better,” she implored him. “I want to know you—and Win. I want to know my grandchild when he or she arrives. Is that all right?”

  Angus found he could answer in the affirmative with little hesitation. “I’d like that,” he said. “Kids need to know where they come from.”

  His mother embraced him again, and his stepfather stepped closer to pump his hand.

  “Congratulations. I hope your marriage leaves you as happy as mine has me,” he said. “Your mother is the best thing that ever happened to me.”

  “Win’s the best thing that ever happened to me, too.” For the first time, he felt a connection with his stepfather, and all at once he realized that his mother hadn’t left New York in order to abandon him—she’d gone to Canada to be with a man she’d fallen in love with. Maybe—just maybe—he could forgive her for that and forge a new relationship with her now. He wondered if he’d been making everything too complicated for a long time. Time for simple things. His wife, his family and his community. That’s what mattered.

  He caught up to the other men of Base Camp in one of the large guest rooms at the manor, where everyone was putting the last touches on the Revolutionary War–era uniforms they traditionally wore to their weddings. Angus quickly changed and joined Walker in front of a large mirror to check that everything was right. The large man nodded at him. Before Angus could greet him, Boone burst into the room, holding up a single straw in his hand.

  “You know what time it is,” he said to Walker, crossing the room to present it to him.

  Walker sent him a disgusted look but plucked the straw from his hand and held it up for all to see. It was short, of course. Walker was the only one left to marry.

  “Think you can pull it off?” Boone asked him, his tone even but deadly serious. All their futures rested on what Walker did next.

  “I’ll get it done,” Walker said. Angus thought of the fan he’d placed in Avery’s hands. Avery’s tears. He hadn’t seen the two of them together since then, but he hoped that exchange was a symbol of what was to come.

  “It’s time,” Boone said to Angus. “You ready?”

  “Hell, yeah,” Angus said.

  It was strange not to have her parents at her wedding, and even Andrea, whose bridesmaids’ weekend was the event that had brought Win first to Base Camp, stayed away. Win knew she’d been excised from all good society back in San Mateo. Her parents were under investigation, and the media was having a field day with the knowledge that they’d orchestrated their daughter’s kidnapping, but she had a feeling it was only a matter of time before her father’s star would rise again. Meanwhile, she’d learned Lenore was campaigning hard, making the most of the opportunity. Win wished her well in the endeavor but was glad to get away from politics herself.

  Meanwhile, Maria, Rosa and Maria’s daughters had accepted her invitation to attend. They all helped her dress in the beautiful silver-white gown Alice Reed had hand-stitched for her. It was a far cry from the royal gown her mother had ordered for her wedding to Leif, but Win thought she’d never felt so close to being a princess as she did today.

  “It’s lovely,” Avery breathed, setting the veil on her head.

  “You’re stunning,” Maria affirmed.

  “I hope I get to wear a dress like that someday,” Maria’s oldest daughter chimed in.

  “You will,” her mother promised her. “And I’ll attend your wedding, not like some people I know…” She trailed off into muttered imprecations.

  Win waved them off. “I’m happy without them,” she promised Maria. “I’m happy you’re here. You were more of a mother to me than mine ever was.”

  “It should be a man walking you down the aisle,” Rosa said. “Not a washed-up old nanny.”

  “You’re not washed up, and I’m more grateful than I can say to have you by my side when I walk down the aisle. You’re the one who taught me what love is,” she added, “which is how I recognized it when I met Angus.”

  “Oh.” Rosa dissolved into tears. “Win. You are the daughter of my heart.” She hugged her tightly. “And I will always be there when you need me.”

  “I know.” Win hugged her back.

  “Now straighten up,” Rosa ordered. “Wipe those tears. Gently. Don’t ruin your makeup!”

  The women fussed over her until Riley came to tell them it was time. Then Avery took her place at the top of the stairs. Maria and Win stood behind her. When the music started, they began to walk slowly down.

  Win’s heart was in her throat as she entered the ballroom, walking down an aisle between rows of white folding chairs filled with guests. Her family might not be represented, but scores of friends from Base Camp and Chance Creek smiled and waved as she walked. This was her true home. Her true family. With a heart fairly bursting with happiness she searched for her husband-to-be—

  And found him waiting for her at the altar.

  Her breath caught in her throat. Angus was so handsome, and the love he held for her shone so brightly in his face it nearly blinded her. Or maybe that was the tears pooling in her eyes. She’d never felt so hopeful—so happy—

  Maria placed Win’s hand in Angus’s when they reached his side and took her seat as they turned to face the reverend.

  “We are gathered here today,” Reverend Halpern intoned. Angus squeezed her hand, his signal that he loved her. That he wanted her forever.

  Win squeezed his hand back. This was how they’d go through life. Together. Helping each other.

  Holding each other.

  Loving each other.

  For all time.

  And when their vows were spoken and Halpern had pronounced them man and wife, Win tilted her head back, met Angus’s kiss with her own—and knew she’d come home for good.

  “Good wedding,” Walker said when he met Avery at the drinks table later in the evening.

  “It was a beautiful wedding,” Avery agreed.

  “They seem happy.” He nodded at Win and Angus dancing together, gazing at each other like there was no one else in the world.

  “They do.”

  Soon we’ll be like that, he wanted to tell her, but of course he couldn’t. Old promises stood in his way, and promises weren’t supposed to be broken—

  No matter how much you wished they could be.

  Walker searched for his grandmother in the crowd. Sue Norton had always been a force to be reckoned with, the rock his life was tied to after his father and mother had cast him adrift. He owed her his respect and he hoped he’d always given that to her. Still, she owed him something, too, after all this time.

  “We’ll play by the rules,” she’d told him months ago. “Base Camp’s and our own.” Which meant no matter how he’d urged her, how he’d gone beyond the norms of politeness in his culture and pushed her to discuss those old promises and how they had to change, she’d refused to say a word about it—

  She couldn’t refuse to discuss it anymore.

  It was no secret he’d drawn the short straw this afternoon. Who else was there to draw it? Sue didn’t need to wait for the show to air to know that he had forty days to get a woman to the altar or Base Camp would be flattened by the bulldozers of the developer who wanted Westfield ranch. Th
ose were the rules. He couldn’t let the others down.

  Which was why he was searching for his grandmother. She owed him answers now.

  “About the fan,” Avery said, turning toward him. “I appreciate the gesture, but I’m not sure what to make of it. Doesn’t it belong to your family—?” She trailed off to follow his gaze, since he was no longer listening to her.

  Walker couldn’t help it, because he’d found Sue. She was entering the ballroom, dressed in a neat navy-blue skirt and blazer with a pale-blue blouse buttoned up to the top. Her straight black hair was done in one long braid down her back, glints of silver running through it like decorative thread.

  She wasn’t alone. Beside her walked another, taller woman, with the straight, dark hair of his people, high cheekbones, a full, curved mouth and sharp eyes that missed nothing, just as he remembered them. A woman Walker hadn’t seen in fifteen years.

  Elizabeth Blaine.

  His promised bride.

  And now Avery had caught sight of her, too.

  To find out more about Greg, Renata, Boone, Clay, Jericho, Walker and the other inhabitants of Base Camp, look for A SEAL’s Triumph, Volume 10 in the SEALs of Chance Creek series.

  Be the first to know about Cora Seton’s new releases! Sign up for her newsletter here!

  Other books in the SEALs of Chance Creek Series:

  A SEAL’s Oath

  A SEAL’s Vow

  A SEAL’s Pledge

  A SEAL’s Consent

  A SEAL’s Purpose

  A SEAL’s Resolve

  A SEAL’s Devotion

  A SEAL’s Desire

  A SEAL’s Triumph

  Read on for an excerpt of A SEAL’s Triumph.

  A SEAL’s Triumph

  By Cora Seton

  Chapter One

  One more day, Walker Norton thought as he lounged against a tree by the side of the two-lane highway that ran towards town. One more day until he finally secured his freedom from an obligation that had pressed down upon him since nearly the day he was born. In the gray light before dawn, when the songbirds had just begun to peep and trill, a light breeze played with the early spring flowers in the fields and the last star winked out of the sky, Walker waited and allowed himself to speculate how it would be to stand before Avery Lightfoot and tell her he could finally be hers.