Issued to the Bride:
One Sergeant for Christmas
Cora Seton
Copyright © 2018 Cora Seton
Nook Edition
Published by One Acre Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Author’s Note
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Epilogue
Excerpt from The Cowboy’s Secret Bride
About the Author
Author’s Note
Issued to the Bride One Sergeant for Christmas is the sixth volume in the Brides of Chance Creek series, set in the fictional town of Chance Creek, Montana. To find out more about Emerson, Wyoming, and their friends, look for the rest of the books in the series, including:
Issued to the Bride One Navy SEAL
Issued to the Bride One Airman
Issued to the Bride One Sniper
Issued to the Bride One Marine
Issued to the Bride One Soldier
Also, don’t miss Cora Seton’s other Chance Creek series, the Cowboys of Chance Creek, the Heroes of Chance Creek, and the SEALs of Chance Creek
The Cowboys of Chance Creek Series:
The Cowboy Inherits a Bride (Volume 0)
The Cowboy’s E-Mail Order Bride (Volume 1)
The Cowboy Wins a Bride (Volume 2)
The Cowboy Imports a Bride (Volume 3)
The Cowgirl Ropes a Billionaire (Volume 4)
The Sheriff Catches a Bride (Volume 5)
The Cowboy Lassos a Bride (Volume 6)
The Cowboy Rescues a Bride (Volume 7)
The Cowboy Earns a Bride (Volume 8)
The Cowboy’s Christmas Bride (Volume 9)
The Heroes of Chance Creek Series:
The Navy SEAL’s E-Mail Order Bride (Volume 1)
The Soldier’s E-Mail Order Bride (Volume 2)
The Marine’s E-Mail Order Bride (Volume 3)
The Navy SEAL’s Christmas Bride (Volume 4)
The Airman’s E-Mail Order Bride (Volume 5)
The SEALs of Chance Creek Series:
A SEAL’s Oath
A SEAL’s Vow
A SEAL’s Pledge
A SEAL’s Consent
A SEAL’s Purpose
A SEAL’s Resolve
A SEAL’s Devotion
A SEAL’s Desire
A SEAL’s Struggle
A SEAL’s Triumph
The Turners v. Coopers Series:
The Cowboy’s Secret Bride (Volume 1)
The Cowboy’s Outlaw Bride (Volume 2)
The Cowboy’s Hidden Bride (Volume 3)
The Cowboy’s Stolen Bride (Volume 4)
The Cowboy’s Forbidden Bride (Volume 5)
Visit Cora’s website at www.coraseton.com
Find Cora on Facebook at facebook.com/CoraSeton
Sign up for my newsletter HERE.
Chapter 1
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When the door opened at the top of the basement stairs, Sergeant Emerson Myers wasn’t surprised. This early in the morning, the old house creaked and groaned with every step someone took across its floors, and whoever had woken up had made her way from one of the upper rooms, down the main staircase, through the big kitchen at the back of the house to the basement door. He was sure it was a woman. The footsteps were far too light to be any of the men, but since five women currently resided in the house, that didn’t narrow it down too much.
He knew who he hoped it was, but Emerson figured she was still asleep. Wyoming Smith had moved to Two Willows several weeks ago when she’d lost her job. Best friends with Cass Lake—who’d been a Reed before she married and who had grown up on this ranch—Wye had happily joined the family to save money on rent and lend a hand around the house during Cass’s pregnancy. But she wasn’t usually the first one up in the mornings. Cass was. Emerson didn’t think it was Cass at the top of the stairs, though. Six months along, she had a heavier, more careful tread these days.
It wouldn’t be Sadie, either. She was always the last of the Reed sisters to get up. Jo had moved into the little house she and her husband, Hunter, had built. Lena, maybe? Had she heard him moving around and come to investigate? She was very protective of her home and family. Or maybe Alice?
Whoever it was pattered down the wooden stairs as he transferred his clothes from the washer to the dryer.
“Oh, you beat me to it,” Wyoming said when she stepped off the wooden staircase into the basement, a basket full of clothes on her hip. “I was hoping to throw a load in before Cass got started with her laundry.”
This was going to be a good day, Emerson told himself. Getting a minute alone with Wyoming was no mean feat with so many people living together at Two Willows. Any minute now, General Augustus Reed would wake up and start bellowing for his assistance. This was the General’s ranch, after all, and they were all here on his sufferance. Emerson had served with the General for years before a missile strike had sent them both home stateside with injuries. The General’s hip was healing slowly. Emerson’s ankle still bothered him—a lot—but he was able to get around enough to be helpful to his superior officer.
“Just switching my clothes to the dryer,” he told Wye, tossing the last of his things into the ancient machine and shutting the door. When he turned, he saw that she hadn’t dressed for the day yet. Clad in sweatpants and an overlarge, very faded baseball jersey from some local team, she looked sweet enough to give him a toothache. Her curly auburn hair was piled on top of her head in a knot, strands falling down to frame her face. He wished he had the right to cross the room, hitch his fingers into the waistband of those baggy sweats and pull her close.
Instead he waved at the empty washing machine. “All yours.”
Wyoming crossed the room and set her basket down in front of it. “You’re up early.”
“So are you.” She was right; it was very early. No one else was stirring, and in a house full of military men and ranch women, that was saying something. He was glad for the time alone with Wyoming. He didn’t get enough of that, and she’d been skittish around him lately. He’d never hidden his interest in her, and they’d been friendly since they’d met a little more than a month ago, but until recently she’d been too busy to notice him, caught up in a flirtation with Will Beck, who’d spent days trying to fix Two Willows’ plumbing last month.
Unfortunately, it turned out Will wasn’t a plumber at all. He was a drug dealer intent on
