The Seal's Second Chance Baby

The Seal's Second Chance Baby
Laura Marie Altom

A SEAL’S REDEMPTION…What Navy SEAL Marsh Langtree needs is to make sense of his life. What he gets is a near-fatal snakebite. If it weren’t for Effie Washington, Marsh would be a goner. Her blue eyes and gorgeous smile make him thankful he’s still breathing. But he shouldn’t be flirting with a single mom…With rambunctious twins and an infant at home, Effie’s love life has stalled. Despite the obvious sparks between them, Effie can tell Marsh is holding back, and she won’t fall for another man who’s not all-in. Will the possibility of a future with Effie finally force Marsh to forgive himself for the past?

“What’s up?”

Effie was already behind the wheel with the motor running when Marsh approached the window.

“I wanted to tell you to drive careful and thanks again for the laughs. It felt good.”

“I know, right?” There went her pulse again. He’d pressed his open palms against the door frame, which raised his T-shirt enough to bare a strip of skin and his wholly masculine abs.

Mouth dry, she forced her gaze to his eyes, but that didn’t do much to stop the tingly awareness that lately took hold whenever he was around.

“Anyway, good night, Effie.”

“Night.” The sound of her name, pronounced nice and slow with a hint of a Southern twang, produced all manner of havoc in her belly. If she hadn’t been crammed into an old minivan that smelled like Cheerios with her grandmother and a pack of kids, would he have kissed her?

The SEAL’s Second Chance Baby

Laura Marie Altom

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

LAURA MARIE ALTOM is a bestselling and award-winning author who has penned nearly fifty books. After college (Go, Hogs!), Laura Marie did a brief stint as an interior designer before becoming a stay-at-home mum to boy-girl twins and a bonus son. Always an avid romance reader, she knew it was time to try her hand at writing when she found herself replotting the afternoon soaps.

When not immersed in her next story, Laura plays video games, tackles Mount Laundry and, of course, reads romance!

Laura loves hearing from readers at either PO Box 2074, Tulsa, OK 74101, USA or by email, balipalm@aol.com (mailto:balipalm@aol.com).

Check out www.lauramariealtom.com (http://www.lauramariealtom.com) to win fun stuff!

This story is dedicated to my precious family: Terry, Not-So-Little-Anymore Terry, Hannah & her sweet Steven, Russell, Mom & Dad, and my adopted sisters—Margaret & Amy. You all make my life worth living. Xoxo

Contents

Cover (#u2a4c954d-da98-5e02-8ef7-e72fe6d4c46a)

Introduction (#uc6a98943-e946-5031-b4c5-95be95d3600a)

Title Page (#u216a7872-f521-5084-8d20-0b5704e2bf35)

About the Author (#u45137da3-dc6d-515e-9482-e892be71fcbb)

Dedication (#u6c6bffce-2338-5ed8-9add-57517f0f5256)

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Epilogue

Extract (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter One (#u9158c7d8-4d56-5213-92d8-5a766be00fab)

Effie Washington stopped humming to hold her hand to her forehead, shading her eyes from the brutal August sun. Was she seeing a mirage? Was that a mule deer or man on horseback, slumped in his saddle?

From her vantage atop the roof of her grandmother’s run-down adobe ranch house, she narrowed her gaze. In southeast Colorado, judging distance could be tricky. On a clear day, she had the front range to her west, but with miles upon miles of rolling grassland and the vast wide-open sky, the object she thought might be a few hundred yards in the distance could turn out to be a mile away.

“Colt! Remington!” she called to her six-year-old identical-twin boys. They were supposed to be on ladder guard duty—a fancy way of ensuring they didn’t run off by making them believe they were charged with a highly important job.

“Yeah, Mom?” As usual, they answered in tandem.