by Lea Coll
Impassioned
Lea Coll
Contents
Letter to the Reader
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Epilogue
Bonus Scene
The Salvation Society
Books By Lea Coll
Acknowledgments
IMPASSIONED
Lea Coll
Copyright © 2020 by Lea Coll
All Rights Reserved.
This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.
All characters and storylines are the property of the author and your support and respect is greatly appreciated.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design by Okay Creations
Editing by Evident Ink
Editing by My Brother’s Editor
Proofreading by My Brother’s Editor
Photography by Sara Eirew
Letter to the Reader
Thank you so much for your interest in IMPASSIONED.
I’m a huge fan of Corinne Michael’s and I’m honored to be part of the Salvation Society world!
I fell in love with Mark and Charlie in Defenseless. When I was accepted to write a story in this world, I knew immediately I wanted to include Mark and Cole Security Forces.
I have a friend who fosters dogs through Dogs on Deployment. The program finds people who are willing to care for deployed servicemen and women’s dogs. This gave me the idea for a Navy pilot, Mason, deployed to an aircraft carrier needing someone, Mia, to watch his dog. This is how they meet but most of the story takes place in Virginia Beach where Mason works for Cole Security Forces. You’ll see some of your favorite Salvation Society characters and meet some of mine.
I hope you love Mia and Mason’s story. If you want to read more, Mason’s sister, Avery is in my Annapolis Harbor Series. You can start with book one, Only with You or read Avery’s story in book two, Lost without You.
Happy reading!
Love,
Lea
Chapter One
Mason
“Grandma and Grandpa don’t want to deal with a dog.” A strand of his dark hair fell in his hazel eyes, looking so much like his mother.
Sometimes I worried they didn’t want to deal with Everett either.
Stark’s chocolate brown head popped between us as he stepped onto the console, panting. I forcefully pushed him back. At one-hundred pounds, he was solid.
“I’m sorry. I know you want Stark with you, but it’s not possible.” Thankfully, my buddy told me about this program that found foster parents for deployed servicemen’s dogs. I don’t know what I would have done otherwise.
Everett pushed his hair back, his eyes full of the pain from the last few months with Rebecca, his mother, leaving. I went from visitation every other weekend to being a full-time single parent, preparing for deployment.
“We can do anything for six months, right? School starts soon. You’ll be busy and before you know it, I’ll be back.” I tried not to think about what the start of middle school meant. One thing was certain, if Rebecca didn’t return, we’d need to make some decisions. Starting with my career in the Navy. My term was up at the beginning of next year.
Everett steeled his face, nodding before he pushed the door open. Stark clambered over his seat, out the door. Everett caught his collar when he landed.
“Here.” I tossed Everett Stark’s leash.
I climbed out, joining Everett and Stark on the small porch. Knocking on the door, Everett’s gaze was on the phone in his hand. I’d planned to wait to give him one, but he was starting middle school and I wanted to keep in touch with him while I was gone.
The door opened and a young woman with long dark hair stood there wearing a form-fitting green tank top and tiny white shorts. My eyes traveled down her tan, muscular legs to her bare toes with nails painted light pink.
“Mr. Arrington?”
My eyes shot to hers, hoping she hadn’t noticed me checking out her legs. I held my hand out to her, tucking the dog bed under my arm and holding the large bag of dog food in my other. “Mase Arrington.”
“Mia Hatton.” Her grip was firm, the bangles on her wrist clanged when we shook, a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
I placed the dog bed and food on the living room floor. A piano stood against the wall, white curtains fluttered from the open windows, a white modern couch, and gray upholstered chairs faced a large mirror mounted over a wood-burning fireplace.
Mia closed the front door softly. “Is Mase a nickname?”
“Mase is my call sign. I’m a pilot.” Having her use my shortened name seemed wrong. “You can call me Mason.”
Our eyes locked and something passed between us—understanding, acceptance. I averted my eyes. She was as beautiful as her name.
“And who’s this?” She tilted her head toward my son who stood slightly behind me.
“This is my son, Everett.”
“Nice to meet you, Everett.” Mia offered her hand to him.
Everett straightened his shoulders, placed his cell phone in his back pocket, before shaking it.
The way she’d acknowledged him made me think she had experience with kids.
Mia shot a questioning look at me.
I was probably being paranoid. I worried she’d question why I needed her help when I had a son and presumably, a wife or girlfriend to do so.
My lips pressed tightly together. I didn’t offer an explanation. I’d filled out the form indicating I had no one to care for Stark, but I wasn’t sure how much of that information was passed on to the foster.
“Thanks for taking Stark for us.”
“How did he get that name?”
“Everett named him after his favorite superhero, Tony Stark, who’s Iron Man.”
“Ah, that makes sense.” She offered her hand to Stark, letting him sniff, before she lowered herself to the hardwood floor, scratching his ears with both hands. “Nice to meet you, Stark.”
When he licked her face, she turned her head, laughing.
In an effort to ignore the way her white shorts tightened around her thighs when she knelt, I lifted my gaze down the hall where framed family photographs hung to the bright white kitchen and sliding glass door leading to a back yard.
“You have a yard?” She’d said so in response to my inquiries, but I wanted to see it for myself. Mia’s was the only registered foste
r home in the program near my parents’ home where Everett would be staying for the next six months.
She rose to her feet, dusting off her white shorts which were now covered in black dog fur. “Want to see it?”
Not waiting for a response, she proceeded down the hall through the kitchen and out the sliding door to a wooden deck.
I followed, watching her hips sway in those white shorts which molded to her ass. I stepped outside to see the small manicured yard, telling myself I’d only noticed her because I was about to be deployed for six months.
“You can let him loose if you want. It’s fenced.” Mia gestured to her yard.
“Wait to let him off the lead,” I said to Everett. I walked the small perimeter to make sure there weren’t any breaks in the fence. When I returned to the deck, I nodded at Everett and he unhooked the leash. Stark took off, Everett following him down the steps to the grass. Stark galloped around the yard, periodically stopping to sniff.
“Are you sure you can handle him?” Stark was solid and energetic.
“Why do you ask?” She cocked a brow at me.
“The yard is great, but he’ll need daily walks. He’s young, high energy.” Mia was small. There was no way she could stop the rambunctious lab from pulling if he saw a squirrel.
“I can handle him. I walk dogs for a dog walking service when I’m off in the summers. Sometimes, I walk three or four dogs at once. Don’t worry.” She was silent for a few seconds observing the way Everett played with him.
“I’m sorry they can’t be together while you’re gone. Looks like it would be easier on both of them.”
I didn’t want to tell her anything—especially not something so personal but something about her concern made me want to explain. “Everett is staying with his grandparents while I’m gone. They don’t like dogs.”
I sensed her studying my face, but I kept it carefully blank and my eyes on Everett. I didn’t want to see sympathy on her face or think about what it would be like to be away from my son for six months.
“Oh.”
That one word was soft and gentle, telling me everything she was thinking. It sucked. I was glad she hadn’t asked about Everett’s mother, Rebecca. It was usually the first thing people asked. Where’s his mother? Why can’t she watch him?
She chewed her bottom lip. “How does Everett do when you’re deployed?”
Normally, I would have shut this conversation down but something about her uncertainty made me want to answer her questions—ease her mind. “He stayed with his mother before, so his routine didn’t change much.”
Her face flushed as if she was embarrassed to have asked a personal question. “I’m sorry. It must be hard to be away from your son and your dog for so long.”
I braced my hands on the deck railing. “It’s my job.”
“I know, but still—”
She’d touched on something I didn’t want to think too hard about the day before my deployment. This time was different. I’d always been the provider, seeing Everett for visitation when I was home. Rebecca was there for the day-to-day stuff. I felt confident leaving him with her.
“Being a Navy pilot, your family must be so proud of you.” Her words hung in the air until she shifted on her feet.
I didn’t want to hear her backtrack when she hadn’t said anything wrong. She couldn’t know that my parents weren’t like other parents. It was time to go. “Thank you for taking Stark.”
She smiled, her brow raised. “I’ll take good care of him.”
My eyes tracked her hand as it lowered to my forearm and the warmth of her fingers seeped through my skin. When she lightly squeezed, my breath caught. When was the last time I’d been touched? Overwhelmed with the thought, I pulled my arm from her grasp. “I know you will.” Raising my voice, I said, “Everett, say goodbye. It’s time to go.”
“The organization suggested I send you pictures and updates once a month.”
“I don’t see that it would be necessary—” But Mia turned her attention to Everett as he clambered up the steps, Stark on his heels. “School starts in a few weeks. Does Everett go to the middle school in town?”
“He will.”
“Oh, did you just move here?” Mia asked.
“I was stationed in Norfolk, but my parents live here.”
“I’m the counselor at the middle school. What grade are you going into?” Mia asked Everett.
“I’m in sixth grade.”
“That’s great. I’ll meet with you either the first or second week. The first few days are so hectic.” She chewed her bottom lip. I couldn’t look away from her shiny lips. “Maybe I could set up times to bring Stark to Everett?”
That jarred me from my fixation on her lips. I didn’t like that she’d asked in front of Everett, but she flushed almost immediately probably realizing her mistake.
Everett smiled at me. “Can we?”
Mia was right, separating Everett and Stark was not a good idea but there was no way my parents would agree to this. They didn’t see any value in having a pet. “I’m not sure they’ll have time to meet up.” I knew they wouldn’t. Anything that took time away from their business was a waste as far as they were concerned. They certainly didn’t understand our bond with Stark—how he’d saved Everett after his mother left.
The light in Everett’s eyes dimmed.
I hated disappointing him. He’d already had so much of it in his life. “I’ll ask, okay?”
Everett dropped to his knees to give Stark a hug. I hated that he’d be separated from him and not for the first time, rage soared through my body that my parents didn’t want what was best for Everett, but what was easiest for them.
Everett kept his head down after patting Stark one more time. He was at the age where he felt the need to mask his feelings, but I knew he was upset. Following Mia to the front door, she opened it, and Everett stepped out, but before I could as well, she stopped me with a hand on my arm. “Can I contact you? Ease your mind while you’re over there?”
I cleared my throat. I didn’t want to maintain contact with anyone other than Everett while I was deployed. It made everything harder. “I trust you. Stark will be fine.”
“Please, I know it’s hard to be away from your child. I’m happy to send you updates about Everett as well as Stark.”
I chuckled humorlessly. “Oh, you’re never alone on the carrier.” I bunked with other men. We were below deck unless we were flying. Sleep was difficult since our beds were located beneath the flight deck.
Her hand remained on my arm and the other went to her chest. “I’d just feel better if I could send you messages to let you know that Stark and Everett are fine.”
Why did the idea of this woman—this stranger—worried about me send tingles through my body? Instead of feeling uncomfortable like I usually would, it felt nice, and that, freaked me out. “I communicate with Everett through Messenger. That’s the easiest way, but I should warn you—”
Her warm brown eyes were steady on mine as she took in every word I said.
“Sometimes there are blackouts and there’s no communication. You won’t get a warning. You just won’t hear from me. It doesn’t mean I’m unsafe.” As good as it felt, I didn’t want her worrying about my safety. It made me uncomfortable.
“Okay, thanks for the heads-up.”
I wasn’t sure my parents would update me like Rebecca had during my prior deployments. “Everett doesn’t always tell me if there’s an issue. Maybe having someone else looking out for him, letting me know how he was doing would be okay. I’ll email you my profile.”
She grabbed her phone from a side table in the hallway. “I can pull it up now.” I watched her tap to open the app and without looking at me, she asked, “What’s your name on here?”
“Mason Arrington.”
She shook her head and smiled. “I don’t know why I thought you’d have something different—or secretive.” It wasn’t my imagination, but her cheeks turned red.
She looked up at me and smiled. “Well, now you have two. Let me send you a message so you have mine, just in case.”
She probably didn’t trust I’d respond to her message. She wasn’t wrong. I wasn’t sure I would or if it was a good idea even though I’d want to know how Stark was doing.
While she typed, my attention drifted to the framed family photographs on her walls. There were dozens of framed photographs, some in color, some in black and white, but in all of them—she was smiling, differently than when she’d smiled at me, almost resigned. She stood apart from what looked like her parents and possibly a brother, who looked about eight to ten years younger than her, at graduations, holidays, and dinners. Was it intentional? Mia had dark hair and eyes, but her family was blond.
“Be safe, okay?” She tucked her phone into her back pocket, her words softly spoken and filled with so much concern for me.
Another tingle shot through my chest and I resisted rubbing my hand against it. “I will.” Then I turned away from her, her hand dropping from my arm. I missed her soft touch and warmth immediately. Why did she affect me when no one else ever had? I purposely kept women at arm’s length. I wasn’t capable of anything more. Not when there was always a possibility of deployment. Not when I was the single parent of a child. Not when I felt nothing.
She followed me down the sidewalk to my truck.
“Thanks for keeping Stark for me.”