The Cowboy SEAL

by Laura Marie Altom

“Lord, angel, no. I need to get back to the Navy. I know you and your mom will work all of this out. Just please try not to grow up so fast, okay? Promise, you’ll have plenty of time for boys once you hit high school. But even then, I’ll expect you to shoot me an email about them—you know, just so I can run a background check and make sure they’re okay.”

  As moths danced in the porch lights’ glow, she laughed through tears—this time, genuine.

  Cooper’s eyes stung, and if he hadn’t had such a tight hold on his precious nephew, he’d have wiped them. As it was, he just let his tears fall. “I love you guys, so much. Be good for your mom, okay?”

  “I will,” J.J. said when Cooper set him down.

  “C-call when you get there safe.” Clint moved in for a hug. “I l-love you, son.”

  “Love you, too, Dad.”

  “P-please come home s-soon.”

  “I will. First chance I get leave.” He had to cut this off. He’d seen enough of his SEAL buddies leaving their families to know long goodbyes only dragged out the inevitable. “All right, guys...” He gave all of them one last hug. “I should get going. Talk to you soon.”

  He walked to his truck on wooden legs. He didn’t want to go. The whole time he’d been on the ranch, he’d kept a part of himself back in Virginia. But now? He’d give anything if he and Millie could’ve worked past their issues and made a go at being a couple. He would’ve taken it slow. He would do anything for her—including leaving, because she’d told him that was what she wanted.

  The sound of tires crunching on gravel alerted him to there being another vehicle on the drive. He glanced that way to see Millie behind her truck’s wheel.

  Damn. He’d hoped to have been gone before she got home.

  She parked alongside him, her expression startled when she looked in the truck bed to find his duffel, ditty bag and a few boxes of mementos he wanted with him. The beach diorama J.J. had made for him was precious cargo, so it rode on the front seat.

  “Are you leaving tonight? Now?” she asked.

  J.J. bounded down the front porch stairs. “Mommy, please make him stay! Please.”

  She hefted her crying son into her arms. “Honey, I wish I could, but Uncle Cooper has a very important job. The whole country needs him—not just us.”

  If only for a second he thought that was true—that Millie needed him, wanted him—dynamite couldn’t have pried Cooper from this place.

  “I don’t care...” J.J. grew inconsolable.

  “LeeAnn, could you please take your brother.” Millie set J.J. down, kissing both of his tearstained cheeks, before aiming him toward the house. “Clint, I need a minute alone with Cooper. If you all have said your goodbyes, do you think you could watch the kids for a few minutes while I say mine?”

  “W-will do.” Clint ushered the kids inside.

  “What do you want?” Cooper asked. He was sorry if his sharp words came off as cruel, but she hadn’t exactly been a sweetheart to him—more like a lipstick-wearing rattler.

  “We need to talk. I thought you weren’t leaving till the morning?”

  “Plans change.”

  “Coop...”

  “What, Millie? I can’t think of another thing you could say to me that hasn’t already been said.” Unless she wanted to admit she did feel something for him, and that she was as tired of pretending she didn’t as he was. Otherwise, he was done.

  “Well...” She licked her lips. “I’m not sure where to start.”

  “Then let’s leave it at that.”

  Her eyes pooled. She opened her mouth, but no words came out, only a strangled sob.

  He took it as his sign to go. Didn’t she have any idea how crazy he was about her? If she’d given the faintest green light, he’d have retired from the Navy to stay. But she hadn’t, and he’d grown weary of trying to please her when clearly, in her eyes, nothing he could ever do would be right.

  “Goodbye, Millie.” Before his own tears fell, he climbed in the truck. He refused to give her the satisfaction of seeing him fall apart.

  But he did—fall apart, cry and punch the damn wheel.

  He mourned not only the people he was leaving behind, but also his future that no longer held the slightest appeal. He’d joined the Navy looking for an escape, but all he wanted now was to be found.

  Brewer’s Falls—Millie, J.J., LeeAnn and his dad—were his home.

  Driving through town, he now saw the appeal. Like him, with the changing seasons, it’d been reborn. Cascading flower baskets hung from every light post, and empty shop fronts had been filled with flea-market-style booths of seasonal wares. Potted flowers lined the sidewalks. Mack’s bar and the restaurant had set out picnic tables—all currently filled by couples and families dining under the stars.

  Cooper wanted so badly to once again be part of this place, but it just wasn’t meant to be. And so he sped up, hoping the more miles he put between him and his pain, the better off he’d feel.

  *

  AFTER THE GLOW from Cooper’s truck’s taillights had faded, Millie didn’t seek the comfort of her children or father-in-law to cry out her frustration. Instead, she went to the one place where she felt most connected to Cooper—the chicken palace he’d created.

  She sat sideways on the swing, barefoot with her knees drawn to her chest.

  Why hadn’t she told him? She knew Cooper. One hint about her pregnancy would’ve kept him on the ranch. But what then? Would he marry her? Only to live out the rest of their lives resenting each other for being saddled in a loveless match? She deserved better. She demanded better.

  Trouble was, only with the finality of watching him drive away did she realize she did love him—with every breath of her being. He was the first thing she thought of in the morning, and the last thing at night. Of course her kids meant the world to her, but somehow Cooper had also earned his way inside their world, only he didn’t seem to know it.

  She cupped her hands to her belly, connecting with the tiny life inside. Would she tell Cooper before or after their child’s birth? She assumed once she did tell him that he’d want to be part of their baby’s future, but what if deep down he didn’t? He’d told her parenting sounded like a nightmare. Did she really want a man with that kind of attitude around her newborn?

  Eyes closed, she prayed for peace, but her stomach kept churning with the phrase I should’ve told him.

  *

  THE NEXT DAY Cooper made it to St. Louis before needing a nap.

  He’d always been fascinated by the Arch, so he pulled off I-70 to crash in the grassy park. To say his mood was dark would be an understatement. Judging by the amount of hyper kids and chasing parents, he’d have been better off at a grungy truck stop.

  After finding a shady spot under a tree, he tried shutting his eyes, but his mind kept replaying J.J.’s crying plea for him to stay. Or the way LeeAnn had assumed her wrongdoing had been the cause for his leaving when nothing could be further from the truth.

  He wanted the responsibility for his hasty departure solely on Millie, but that wouldn’t be true.

  When they’d made love, everything changed. They’d unleashed a genie that couldn’t be put back in its bottle.

  Even if he’d wanted to, he couldn’t stop wanting her. But no—there was more to it than that. What he felt went deeper, with an infinite number of layers. He could be furious with her one moment, but still crave talking with her the next. He loved everything about her, from her hair to her laugh and smile. The way she smelled all flowery with a hint of sweet. He loved her kids and her house that’d once been his. And damn, did he love her kisses...

  What did all of that add up to? Was he losing his mind, or could he possibly be in love with her?

  That thought forced him upright.

  Bracing his hands behind him, he stared out at the Mississippi River, breathing in the rich, musky smell.

  I love Millie.

  The solution to his every problem was so simple, he felt stupid for not having
seen it before. But there it was. His entire adult life, he’d been trained to handle any situation with maximum efficiency and minimum effort, so why couldn’t he apply those same ideals to a mule-stubborn woman?

  On his feet, he strode to his truck with new purpose.

  He had a lot of miles to go, but once he reached his destination, if his plan went the way he hoped, he might not travel again for a nice, long while.

  *

  IT’D BEEN AGES since Millie had checked the cattle on horseback, but with Cooper gone, Sassy needed the exercise, and she needed fresh air to help her forget his leaving. It’d barely been twenty-four hours since he’d been gone, but she still couldn’t seem to swallow past the knot in her throat.

  It didn’t help that she’d been up half the night, trying to console J.J. He didn’t understand how the man he’d grown to love could leave him. Millie tried explaining about Cooper’s job, but he was too young to understand.

  LeeAnn hadn’t fared much better.

  And then there was poor Clint. The only time Millie had seen him cry since losing Jim was after Cooper drove away.

  Millie had needed to be strong for her family, but how could she with Cooper’s son or daughter growing inside? She should’ve told him. He deserved to know. But pride had gotten in the way. She couldn’t bear begging for his affection.

  The day was beautiful, with the temperature near eighty. The sky kissed the snow-capped Rockies, and a light breeze swayed the rolling prairie’s tall grasses. She should’ve been tipping her head back, drinking in the sun. Instead, she focused on reaching the herd. She carefully counted heads then checked that they all looked healthy. This time of year, there was plenty of grass for them to graze on, and they drank from the spring-fed ponds.

  With her work done, she sat back in the saddle, taking in the view.

  How different would her life be if she had told Cooper about the baby? Would he be here with her now?

  From this part of the family land, she had a clear view of their dirt road. A dust cloud rose at the end nearest town. Was the vehicle a neighbor approaching, or maybe the FedEx man—feeding Lynette’s catalog addiction?

  Millie began the short ride back to the barn, keeping an eye on the vehicle as it approached, glad for the distraction of getting her mind off Cooper and her sense of loss. She hadn’t realized how much she’d appreciated his compliments about her cooking or appearance. Then there were those sexy, slow grins. He wasn’t just handsome, but kind—not only to her, but her kids.

  From her vantage, still a good half mile from the house, it looked as if the vehicle on the road had turned into their drive.

  Once the dust settled, a black Ford truck that looked an awful lot like Cooper’s sat parked in his usual spot.

  Her chest tightened. Was she seeing a mirage?

  Though the doctor told her riding should be safe as long as she didn’t try anything fancy, Millie quickened Sassy’s pace not quite to a gallop, but at least faster than her casual mosey.

  Could it really be him?

  If so, why? Had he forgotten something?

  The ten-minute ride seemed to take forever, but when she finally reached the barn, she was gifted by an incredible sight.

  There stood Cooper in all his glory—faded jeans, black T-shirt and his beat-up straw hat, which, to his credit, he removed when she approached.

  “Hey,” he said, taking Sassy’s reins.

  Millie gingerly climbed off her ride. “Hey, yourself. Forget something?”

  He took a step forward, and then another until before Millie had time to process what was happening, Cooper cupped her cheek and kissed her. “Hell, yeah, I forgot something—you. I love you. And before you go and throw out some excuse why we shouldn’t be together, I want to tell you why we should. You’re beautiful and you and J.J. and Lee make me so happy. I said I didn’t want kids, but I lied. I want dozens—but only if they’re yours and mine—ours.”

  Was this really happening? Millie’s eyes welled and the tension that had caused a constant knot in her stomach vanished. “You love me?”

  “Yes.” He took a step back, adopting a defensive posture. Hands out, as if welcoming a fight, he said, “Come on, I’m sure you have an argument all loaded up to shoot, but I’m not having it. We’re going to get married and that’s that. I’m not taking no for an answer.”

  Millie’s emotions had gotten the best of her, and all she felt capable of doing was crying.

  “Well? What do you have to say?”

  So much. But nothing seemed to matter other than kissing him again. Even though she hadn’t gone anywhere, pressing her lips against him felt akin to coming home. In only a few short months, he’d come to mean the world to her, but then hadn’t he always in one way or another? For as long as she could remember, they’d always been friends. Now, they’d just change their status to friends with benefits and kids.

  “That was nice,” he said when they paused for air, “but you still haven’t answered my question.”

  She bowed her head. “First, there’s something you need to know. For weeks, I’ve tried finding the right way to say this, but I kept flubbing it up. Anyway...” After forcing a deep breath, she blurted, “I’m pregnant.”

  For a second he looked pale, but then his color returned along with a broad smile. “For real?”

  She nodded. “Is that okay?” Such a stupid question. Even if it wasn’t—okay—there wasn’t a whole lot they could do about it now.

  “Oh, sugar, it’s way more than okay...” Dropping Sassy’s reins, Cooper hugged her, lifting her feet off the ground to spin her in a slow circle, all the while kissing her till she wasn’t sure how she’d ever lived without this man’s love. After setting her to her feet, he tossed his hat high and let out a whoop. “I’m gonna be a daddy!”

  Hands pressed to her flushed cheeks, Millie wasn’t sure whether to laugh, cry or both. “I was so afraid to tell you. The last thing I wanted was for you to feel trapped. You’ve got your career back in Virginia. What’re you going to do?”

  “I’ve put about twelve hours of thought into that and I want to run something past you. That cattle auction I scheduled should bring in a pretty penny, but not enough to get the ranch totally out of the red. Plus, we’ll have some lean years while we rebuild the herd. What would you think if I retire from the Navy so we can open a sideline business?”

  “What were you thinking? Teaching riding lessons?”

  “Bigger.” He grinned. “You know how I’ve been helping Zane and some of our other friends work off their beer bellies?”

  She nodded.

  “Okay, picture this—we’ll build a bunkhouse, and an obstacle course, and then run weekend retreats for guys—and gals—who want to push themselves hard enough to see if they have what it takes to be a SEAL. What do you think?”

  “I think most anything you do sounds great to me.”

  He drew her into another kiss so hot she was surprised the ground didn’t have scorch marks beneath her boots. “I love you, Millie Hansen.”

  “Mmm...” They kissed again. “I love you, Cooper Hansen.”

  “When we get married,” he teased, “are you gonna keep your last name?”

  She feigned deep thought. “Being a modern girl, I might go with a hyphen.”

  “Anyone ever told you you’re a sassy little thing?”

  The horse heard her name and neighed.

  “Uh-oh.” Millie laughed. “Looks like I have competition for your affections.”

  Cooper waved off her concern. “I’m man enough for both of you. So where are the kids? I want to tell them our news.”

  She gasped. “Oh, no! I totally forgot. Remember Lee’s detention? They’re both still at school.”

  After a quick run inside to tell Clint their news, Millie was all too happy to sit alongside Cooper while he broke a few speed laws to get them to Wagon Wheel Elementary in time.

  At school, Cooper took Millie’s hand, giving her a light squeeze. “Rea
dy?”

  “Absolutely. They’re going to be so excited.”

  Since the detention kids still had five more minutes, they found J.J. in the library.

  He caught sight of his uncle and rocketed in his direction, colliding into him. “You came back!”

  “I love you and your mom and sister too much to stay away.” Cooper lifted the boy into his arms for a hug. “I’m sorry I left you for even one night.”

  “It’s okay.” J.J. rested his head on his uncle’s shoulder. When he closed his teary eyes, his smile was so serene that Millie had to grab a few tissues from the librarian’s desk to blot her own eyes.

  The happy trio went to find LeeAnn in the cafeteria.

  “Uncle Cooper?” She had the same reaction as her little brother, running to hug him.

  “I missed you,” Cooper said. “Have any pretty dresses?”

  “A few. Why?”

  Millie couldn’t contain her own excitement. “We’ll have to get you a new one. That is, if you’ll agree to be my maid of honor.”

  “Wait—are you two getting married?” LeeAnn looked to her mom, then her uncle. “But would that make Uncle Cooper our dad?”

  “Your stepdad,” he said. “Your real dad should come first in your heart, but I hope you’ll save a little room for me.”

  “Well, yeah, but...” She stopped to cross her arms. “Does this mean you’re always going to be around to see if I’m with boys?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She groaned. “Mom, is it too late to call the wedding off?”

  “Afraid so.” Millie slipped her arm around her daughter’s shoulders and laced her fingers with Cooper’s. The happiness inside her was indescribable. She’d never dreamed of getting a second chance at love, but here it was, all shiny and new and hers for the taking. All she had to do was get her cowboy SEAL to a preacher. And she planned on accomplishing that pretty darned fast. “I’ve got my heart set on becoming a June bride.”

  “Cool!” On their walk to the truck, J.J. took Cooper’s hat and set it on his own head. “Can we have wedding cake?”

  “You bet,” Cooper said.

  “And punch?”

  He kissed her son’s freckled cheek. “All you want.”