His Secret Son

Dionne took a sip of her tea, hesitating. The dawdling was driving Bristol crazy. “For Pete’s sake, Dionne, will you just get it out and tell me what you found out about Laramie?”

Dionne held her gaze and drew in a deep breath. “Some mission he was on went bad and he was killed. He’s dead, Bristol.”

One (#ube58158b-e8a2-5bc9-81e5-8504e7cd5817)

The Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, San Diego, California, three years later

“Let me get this straight, Lieutenant Cooper. You actually want to give up your holiday leave and remain here and work on base?”

Laramie “Coop” Cooper forced his smile to stay in place while answering his commanding officer’s question. “Yes, sir. I actually want to do that.”

He wouldn’t tell anyone that he’d looked forward to going home for the holidays, because honestly, he hadn’t. The phone call he’d gotten from his parents that they would be jet-setting to London again this year was expected. They’d done so every holiday for as long as he could remember. He doubted they’d even canceled those plans that Christmas three years ago when they’d thought him dead.

At thirty-two, he had stopped letting his parents’ actions affect him. As far as Ryan and Cassandra Cooper were concerned, the universe revolved around them and nobody else. Especially not a son who, at times, they seemed to forget existed. It wasn’t that he thought his parents didn’t love him; he knew they did. They just loved each other more. He had long ago accepted that his parents believed there were different degrees of love, and that the love they shared for each other outweighed the love for their child.

In a way, he should be glad that after thirty-five years of marriage his parents were still that into each other. They shared something special, had this unbreakable bond, and some would even say it was the love of a lifetime. But on the other hand, that love never extended to him in the same degree. He knew their lack of affection had nothing to do with his deciding to become a navy SEAL instead of joining his parents’ multimillion-dollar manufacturing company. His father had understood Laramie’s desire to make his decisions based on what he wanted to do with his life, and he appreciated his dad for accepting that.

More holidays than not, for as far back as Laramie could remember, he’d been packed up and shipped off to his paternal grandparents’ ranch in Laredo. Not that he was complaining. His grandparents had been the best and hadn’t hesitated to show him the degree of love he’d lacked at home. In fact, he would admit to resenting his parents when they did show up at his grandparents’ ranch to get him.

So, here he was volunteering to give up his holiday leave. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t received invitations from his SEAL teammates to join them and their families for the holidays, because he had. Bane Westmoreland—code name Bane—had been the first to invite Laramie to spend the holidays with his family in Denver. But given the fact that Bane’s wife, Crystal, had given birth to triplets six months ago, Laramie didn’t want to get underfoot.

Same thing with Thurston McRoy—code name Mac—with his wife, Teri, and their four kids. Gavin Blake—code name Viper—would be celebrating his first Christmas as a married man so Laramie didn’t want to intrude there, either. The only other single guy in the group was David Holloway—code name Flipper. Flipper came from a huge family of four brothers, who were all SEALs, and a father who’d retired as a SEAL commanding officer. Laramie had spent the holidays with Flipper’s family last year and didn’t want to wear out his welcome.

“I’m denying your request, Lieutenant.”

His commanding officer’s words recaptured Laramie’s attention. He met the man’s gaze and tried to keep a frown off his face. “May I ask why, sir?”

“I think you know the reason. SEAL Team Six, of which you are a vital member, has been pretty damn busy this year. I don’t have to list all the covert operations successfully accomplished with very few casualties. You deserve your holiday leave.”

“Even if I don’t want to take it?”

His commanding officer held his gaze. “Yes, even if you don’t want to take it. Military leave is necessary, especially for a SEAL, to recoup both mentally and physically. Don’t think I haven’t noticed how much you’ve been pushing yourself. It’s like you’re trying to make up for the time you were a captive in Syria.”

Laramie remembered all eleven months of being held prisoner in that guerilla hellhole. He hadn’t known from one day to the next if he’d survive that day. The bastards had done everything in their power to make him think every day would be his last. They’d even played Russian roulette with him a couple of times.

It was on one of those particular days when he’d been rescued. Leave it to Bane, who was a master sniper, to bring down the four men from a distance of over a hundred feet. Laramie was convinced there was no way he would have survived if his SEAL team hadn’t shown up.

During those eleven months he’d fought hard to stay sane and the one memory that had sustained him was the face of the woman he’d met in Paris just weeks before the mission.

Bristol Lockett.

It had been a three-day holiday affair. Sadly, there was little he knew about her other than sharing her bed had been the best sexual experience of his life.

“However, since I know you’re going to insist,” his commanding officer said, reclaiming Laramie’s thoughts again, “I’ve got an important job that I want you to do. However, it means traveling to New York.”

Laramie raised a brow. “New York?”

“Yes. An important delivery needs to be made to a member of the United Nations Security Council.”

Laramie wondered what kind of delivery. Classified documents no doubt.

He’d heard how beautiful Manhattan was when it was decorated for this time of year. He’d been to the Big Apple a number of times, but never around the holidays. “Once I make the delivery, sir. Then what?”

“That, Lieutenant, is up to you. If you decide to take your holiday leave, then you won’t have to report back here until the end of January as scheduled. However, if you still want to give up your leave, then you’re free to come back here and I’ll find more work for you to do.”

Laramie nodded. He might take a week off to enjoy the sights and sounds of New York, but there was no doubt in his mind that he would be returning to San Diego for more work.

* * *

Bristol glanced around the art gallery. She always felt a sense of pride and accomplishment whenever she saw one of her paintings on display. Especially here at the Jazlyn Art Gallery of New York. She wanted to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

She had worked so hard for this moment.

“Looks good, doesn’t it?”

She glanced up at her manager, Margie Townsend. “Yes, I have to admit that it does.”

Margie’s tenacious pit bull–like skills had landed Bristol a showing at this gallery, one of the most well-known and highly respected galleries in New York. She and Margie had met last year on the subway and struck up a conversation. When Bristol discovered what Margie did for a living, she felt their chance encounter must have been an omen. She’d invited Margie to her home to see her work, and the excitement reflected in the woman’s eyes had been incredible. Margie promised to change Bristol’s life. She promised that Bristol would get to the point where she could quit her job as an assistant magazine editor and make her living as the artist she was born to be.

Less than eight months later, Margie had sold one of Bristol’s paintings. The buyer had been so taken with her work that he’d also purchased several others. The money had been enough to bring about the change in Bristol’s life Margie had guaranteed. She had turned in her resignation and now painted full-time in her home.

Bristol was happy with the direction of her career. She got to spend more time with her son since she kept him with her every day instead of taking him to day care like she used to do.

Her son.

She smiled when she thought about her rambunctious two-year old—the most important person in her life. He was her life. Every decision she made was done with him in mind. She’d already started a college fund for him and couldn’t wait to share the holidays with him. Last night they had put up their Christmas tree. Correction, she thought, widening her smile. She had put up the tree. Laramie had gotten in the way with his anxiousness to help.

Laramie...

It was hard not to think of Laramie’s father whenever she thought of her son. She had named him after his biological father, Laramie Cooper, who had died way too young, and without knowing about the child they’d created together. Sometimes she wondered what he would have done had he lived and gotten the letter she’d tried to send him.

Would he have been just as happy as she’d been? Or would he have claimed the child wasn’t his? She might not have known Laramie Cooper long, but she wanted to believe he was a man who would have wanted to be a part of his child’s life. The way her father had wanted to be a part of hers. The two years she’d shared with the man who’d fathered her had not been enough.

“Are you ready to go? You have a big day tomorrow and I want you well rested.”

She chuckled as she tightened her coat around her. “And I will be.”

Margie rolled her eyes. “I guess as much as you can be with a two-year-old running around the place.”

She knew what Margie was hinting at. Bristol was spending less and less time painting now that Laramie was in the terrible twos. It was also the get-into-everything twos. The only time she really got to paint was during his nap time or while he slept at night.

“Did you give any more thought to what I said?”

Margie had suggested that she send Laramie to day care two to three days a week. “Yes, but I’m thinking of hiring someone to come to my home instead of me having to take him somewhere.”

“That might work, but he has to start learning to interact with other kids, Bristol.” As they walked toward the waiting private car that was compliments of the gallery, Margie changed the subject. “Have you decided to go out with Steven?”

Bristol shrugged. Steven Culpepper was nice enough, and good-looking, too. However, he was moving too fast. At least, faster than she liked. They’d met a few weeks ago when she’d closed a huge deal for a commissioned piece. He was the corporation’s attorney. He’d asked for her number and, without thinking much about it, she’d given it to him. Since then he’d called constantly, trying to get her to go out with him. So far, she hadn’t. She hated pushy men and Steven, she thought, was one of the pushiest.