The SEAL's Baby

Author:Laura Marie Altom
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9781460333662
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-06-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Not only was Heath hungry and tired, but Sam looked as though he was wearing down, too. Heath had believed he was alone when he left his mother’s property, but apparently Sam was even smarter than Heath gave him credit for since the dog must have nosed open the screen door to follow.

“Right about now, I’m guessing you wish you’d stayed home, huh?” He rubbed behind the dog’s silky ears.

Sam licked his hand.

It was one thing to run himself to his physical limits, but now he had the added guilt of worrying about his dog.

They’d walked quite a way down the shore, rounded a bend and had just made it back to the public parking lot when Heath groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding me....”

The lot was deserted save for one familiar truck. His.

Even worse, farther down the beach tottered Libby.

Lord...

He sharply exhaled, then swiped his fingers through his hair. He didn’t know how to face her. He hadn’t just botched their situation, but annihilated it.

Sam adored Libby. One look at her and the traitorous mutt found his second wind, bounding down the shore, barking the whole way.

While his dog and Libby shared a touching reunion, Heath regrettably knew what he had to do.

Facing her, bolstered by the rhythmic waves that had always brought solace, he blurted, “Sorry.”

“No—I’m sorry.” She wiped tears. “I never should’ve said anything about Patricia. It was heartless and cruel and mean-spirited.”

He couldn’t help but cast her a faint smile. “There you go again. All of those mean the same.”

“Does it matter?”

“Nope.”

“All right, then. Accept my apology, I’ll accept yours and let’s get on with our day.”

Hands in his pockets, Heath kicked at the sand. “What if I feel like there’s more to say?”

“Then say it. You’re a grown man, Heath. You used to be a navy SEAL. Do you have any idea how amazing that is? You’ve seen and done things I can’t even imagine—probably don’t want to imagine—so I can’t for the life of me understand what you’re doing holed up in Bent Road, fishing or lounging around your mother’s house when you could be off saving the free world.”

Heath hung his head in shame.

Her words hurt, but he couldn’t deny their truth.

“I know we hardly know each other,” she said, “so maybe I don’t have the right to say any of this, but on the other hand, your mother’s so kind that I almost feel like she’s doing you a disservice by not giving you an earful. Last night...” She flopped her hands at her sides. “It was hot. Beyond unexpected. And really, really great. The way you ran off, I got the feeling you’re ashamed of what happened between us, but you don’t have to be. You’re a single, handsome man who acted on natural feelings. End of story. No, actually—”

“Okay, whoa.” Hands to her shoulders, he held her at arm’s distance so she’d be sure to face him while he took a turn at venting. “Everything you said is true. Me running away was the equivalent of slapping a Band-Aid on a gaping wound.

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