Cinderella Liberty

by Cat Johnson

  "Okay. I trust you. If you thought you needed to tell him, that's fine."

  "You trust me?"

  She smiled at the happiness she heard in his voice. "Yes, of course I do."

  "I'm glad."

  "So, uh, how'd Danny take the news of our little fling?"

  "He wasn't happy about it, but he never beat the crap out of me the way he said he was going to so that's something, I guess."

  Trish laughed. "That's good. I'm glad to hear it. Is he the one who gave you my phone number?"

  "No, actually, he'd called you from my phone that one time. My service is cut off but the phone still had the outgoing call log in it. I'm sorry, it's probably out of line for me to just call—"

  "No, not at all. It's fine. Really." Trish smiled. She'd made love to this man three times over the course of two days, and he was worried he'd taken liberties by calling her? Southern men really were a different breed. Different, but nice.

  "Okay. I'm glad you don't mind." He dragged in a breath. "So the reason I'm calling . . . you know how we said that weekend was just for fun, and that it wouldn't mean anything later on?"

  "Yeah."

  "Well, what if I changed my mind about that? I think it did mean something. And I think we should take some time to get to know each other better, and see if we can make it work. At least, I want it to try, if that's what you want."

  Now it was no longer fear that had Trish's heart pounding. "Yeah, I'd like that."

  "Good." He let out a loud breath. "That's real good. But I gotta warn you, life as a Marine girlfriend isn't easy."

  Hearing him use the word girlfriend in relation to her being with him sent a thrill through her. "That's okay. We Jersey girls are pretty tough. I can handle it."

  "I'm very happy to hear that. So, um, now that we've talked, maybe I can Skype you sometime?"

  "Definitely." She felt like a schoolgirl. Like the quarterback had just asked her to the prom. Giddy. Excited. Nervous. Unable to stop smiling. It was too much to absorb all at once and she loved every bit of it.

  "A'ight. Good. So I'll be talking to you then. And I'll email you too."

  "Okay." Warmth spread through Trish just from the promise of hearing from him.

  "I better get going before this phone card runs out and cuts us off."

  "Um, Crash. Can I ask you something real quick before you hang up?"

  "Sure. Shoot."

  "How'd you get your nickname?"

  He chuckled. "I was afraid that would come up. It's kind of an embarrassing story, but here it goes—I backed a jeep into a building during Marine Combat Training. Been called Crash ever since."

  Trish smiled. "Thanks for sharing."

  "You're welcome. Now, I really better go. Bye for now?"

  She bit her lip at his sweetness. "Bye for now."

  The line went dead and Trish lowered the phone.

  What a difference five minutes could make. She had to call Dawn back and tell her everything was okay. More than okay. Trish had to tell her the crazy but incredible news about her and Crash. She just wasn't sure she'd be able to make the call. She was still shaking, but it had nothing to do with the coffee.

  ~ * ~

  Crash couldn't help the goofy smile on his face as he pushed through the door of his CLU, but he tried to control it for Zippy's sake. "Hey."

  "Hey." Zippy responded without looking up from his computer screen and the TV show playing there.

  Crash glanced at his friend's back from across the can. "You still mad at me?"

  Still not making eye contact, Zippy said, "I'm deciding."

  "A'ight. Fair enough. While you're deciding, I wanted you to know I called Trish."

  That got Zippy's attention. He paused the show and turned in his chair. "You what?"

  "I called her from the phone center."

  "Why?" The wariness in Zippy's tone told Crash he wasn't out of the woods with his friend yet.

  "Because I like her, Zip. A lot. I wanna get to know her better. And then, when we're home, I wanna see her."

  "So you didn't just want to fuck her then?"

  "Jesus, Zip." Crash set his jaw. Yeah, he'd been in the wrong doing what he'd done with Trish behind Zippy's back, but Zippy had no right to talk like that about a lady, especially his own sister. "Please don't say that word again in relation to Trish."

  Zippy's brow's rose. "Fine. You two do whatever you want to do. It's her life."

  Not exactly a blessing, but at least no blows had been exchanged. For now, that would have to be good enough.

  "Thanks." Crash turned to leave.

  He'd finished his workday and gone directly to the phone center. Now that the nerve-wracking phone call was over, he was starving. He could grab something, bring it back to his desk and log into email. Send Trish a nice long message. He liked that idea.

  "I'm hitting the gym in about an hour. Wanna come?" Zippy's question stopped Crash with his hand on the doorknob.

  "Yeah, sure."

  "Okay. See you there." Zip turned back to his computer and hit play on the show again.

  "A'ight." Maybe things were good between them after all.

  A few minutes later, armed with a take out container from the chow hall, Crash was back at his office, but this time, not to work. He leaned his weapon against the wall behind him and sat.

  While chewing on a big mouthful of tuna salad sandwich, he logged into is email and saw a name from the past sitting in his inbox. His old friend Beau. Crash hadn't seen him in close to a year. That's what happened when a guy got married, he guessed. It was hard to get out with friends. Add to that the double whammy of Beau being in another squadron now on another base and they didn't cross paths too often.

  It was still good to hear from an old friend now. Crash took another bite and clicked to open the email.

  To: O'Malley GSgt John

  From: Adams GSgt Beau

  Hey, Crash,

  I've got some news for you. Since you were there from the very beginning, and you were my best man, I wanted you to be the first to know that Carrie's pregnant. I couldn't be happier. She's real excited too, except when the morning sickness had her ralphing while she was up in the bird. Don't tell her I told you that!

  Otherwise, things are status quo here in Cherry Point. What's up with you? How's summer in sunny Afghanistan? Can't say I envy you being there. I still remember the heat in Djibouti too well. Though, I'll admit, I am pissed you'll have the Afghanistan campaign medal and I won't.

  Say hey to Zippy for me. I'm gonna have to shoot him an email as well.

  Catch ya later,

  Beau

  Crash smiled. His buddy Beau was going to be a father. He was happy for him and his wife. They'd had a long haul in the beginning with them both being military and deployed when they'd met, but it had all worked out in the end.

  Their relationship should have been a lesson to Crash. Even when the obstacles looked insurmountable, things could work. He realized that now though.

  After the entire base had been pinned down by the enemy for hours during the attack, little things such as being separated for a few more months from Trish seemed like nothing. Piece of cake. Even the distance between New Jersey and North Carolina seemed manageable. Where there was a will, there was a way. When he got back they'd see about making it work. That was definitely something to look forward to.

  Smiling just thinking about being home and on the same continent as Trish again, Crash hit reply and started to type.

  Hey, Beau.

  Congrats! Great news about the baby. Send Carrie my love.

  Yeah, hot as hell here, in more ways than one if you get my meaning, but you, me and Zip can talk about that over a beer when we get back in January.

  So, I do have some news of my own. I've met someone. She's amazing! And you're not going to believe whose sister she is . . .

  If you enjoyed Cinderella Liberty please leave a review. And don't miss Crossing the Line, featuring Beau and Carrie's story a
nd introducing Crash and Zippy. Sign up at catjohnson.net/news for new release alerts.

  FROM THE AUTHOR

  A huge thanks to my Marine consultants who without fail willingly and good heartedly provide me with the details of their lives that I use in my stories. Whether at an Air Station in North Carolina or deployed to Afghanistan, these men never fail to give freely what I need by way of inspiration and, after a bit of begging, even a fact-checking proofread. Any mistakes made or liberties taken with the facts are purely my own.

  A note on the events contained herein—the attack Crash and Zippy are involved in during the opening chapter of this story is fictional, however the September 2012 attack on Camp Bastion mentioned is very real. I humbly ask you to spare a moment to remember the two brave Marines lost during that fight.

  Happy Reading!

  Cat

  ABOUT CAT JOHNSON

  Cat Johnson is a New York Times bestseller and the author of the USA Today bestselling titles Saved by a SEAL (Hot SEALs) and One Night with a Cowboy (Oklahoma Nights). She writes contemporary romance featuring sexy alpha heroes. Known for her unique marketing and research practices, she has sponsored pro bull riders, owns a collection of camouflage and western wear for book signings, and a fair number of her friends/book consultants wear combat or cowboy boots for a living. She writes both full length and shorter works and is contracted with publishers Kensington and Samhain.

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  ALSO BY CAT JOHNSON

  Hot SEALs Series

  Night with a SEAL

  Saved by a SEAL

  SEALed at Midnight

  Kissed by a SEAL

  Red, Hot & Blue Series

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  Jack

  Jimmy

  Red Blooded (print compilation)

  BB Dalton (bonus read)

  Jared

  Cole

  Bobby

  Smalltown Heat (print compilation)

  A Few Good Men

  Model Soldier

  A Prince Among Men

  Bull

  Matt

  The Commander

  USMC Military Romance Series

  Crossing the Line

  Cinderella Liberty

  Oklahoma Nights Series

  One Night with a Cowboy

  Two Times as Hot

  Three Weeks with a Bull Rider

  Fish Out of Water (He's the One anthology)

  Two for the Road (In a Cowboy's Bed anthology)

  Midnight Cowboys Series

  Midnight Ride

  Midnight Wrangler

  Midnight Heat

  Studs in Spurs Series

  Unridden

  Bucked

  Ride

  Hooked

  Flanked

  Thrown

  Champion

  Spurred

  Maverick Ranch Series

  A Cowboy for Christmas

  Valentine Cowboys

  Texas Two-Step Series

  Texas Two-Step

  Cowboy Shuffle

  The Trilogy Collection

  Opposites Attract

  Nice & Naughty

  Just Desserts

  Sex, Lies & Wedding Cake

  New Orleans

  Private Lies

  Gillian's Island

  Bundles/Anthologies

  Olympus

  Cat Snips

  Standalone Titles

  The Ex Files

  Beneath the Surface

  The Naughty Billionaire's Virgin Fiancée

  Rough Stock

  Educating Ansley

  Billionaire Bad Boys

  Cat Haus ~ The Complete Story (Parts 1, 2, 3)

  Before Cate ~ John’s Story

  Cat Haus (Part 1)

  Cat Haus (Part 2)

  Cat Haus (Part 3)

  More info at www.CatJohnson.net

  CINDERELLA LIBERTY

  Cat Johnson

  Copyright © 2013 by CAT JOHNSON

  License Statement

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to www.catjohnson.net to find locations to purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.