A SEAL’s Triumph
By Cora Seton
Copyright © 2021 Cora Seton
Kindle 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
Title Page
Copyright Page
Author’s Note
Prologue
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
Epilogue
Excerpt from Issued to the Bride One Navy SEAL
About the Author
Author’s Note
A SEAL’s Triumph is the tenth volume in the SEALs of Chance Creek series, set in the fictional town of Chance Creek, Montana. To find out more about Greg, Renata, Boone, Clay, Jericho, Walker and the other inhabitants of Base Camp, look for the rest of the books in the series, including:
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
Visit Cora’s website at www.coraseton.com
Find Cora on Facebook at facebook.com/CoraSeton
Sign up for my newsletter HERE.
Prologue
‡
One year ago
Everything was going wrong—and it was all Boone Rudman’s fault.
Avery Lightfoot bent over the stew pot hanging from an iron hook over a crackling fire in a very large, very old-fashioned hearth and listened to her friends talk as they set the table for dinner. She’d been in Montana only a month, but so much had happened in that time, it felt like longer. She scooped the skirts of her Regency era gown out of the way, careful not to spill anything on them, just as much in love with her beautiful outfit as she’d been the first day she came here.
Back then, she and her friends, Nora Ridgeway, Savannah Edwards and Riley Eaton, thought they’d get to spend six uninterrupted months in this beautiful three-story home working at their artistic, musical and literary pursuits. To make sure they didn’t stray from Westfield and waste time in town, they’d ditched their normal clothes and stocked their closets with only the things Jane Austen characters would wear. None of them would dare go anywhere dressed like this, which meant they’d make great strides on their projects. It was a wonderful plan, and it would have worked if Boone hadn’t come along and spoiled everything.
Even today, when they’d planned to have a nice meal together, he was intruding. Not with his presence—the four of them were alone—but in the way Riley was behaving. She’d been quiet ever since she returned from her last meeting with him, and it was clear something was up.
“Are you ever going to tell us what’s wrong?” Nora asked her. Trust Nora to get right to the heart of the matter. She was a serious brunette who’d come here to write her first novel. Riley, whose family had owned this ranch for generations, planned to create enough paintings to have her first show. Her light-brown hair was tucked into a messy bun at the nape of her neck. Savannah, a beautiful blonde whose idea this was in the first place, wanted to brush up on her piano playing in preparation to resume the professional career she gave up after college. Avery had hoped to write a screenplay and prepare to resurrect her acting career.
Their plan had been perfect. Come to Westfield, where Riley had a standing invitation to stay as long as she liked, pool their resources and give themselves a six-month runway from which to launch the rest of their lives.
Unfortunately, it turned out Riley’s uncle didn’t own this ranch anymore, and the men who lived here now—friends of Riley’s from when she was a kid—had other plans for the place. They were here to build a model sustainable community, backed by a billionaire—Martin Fulsom—and they didn’t have much respect for the idea of taking six months “off,” as they liked to put it.
At least Boone had let them stay on at the manor, and they’d continued to wear their Regency-era clothing, which made Avery proud. As an actress, she’d worn many costumes over the years, but her friends were much more conventional. For them to don their gowns each morning took some determination, especially when two more of Boone’s friends, Clay Pickett and Jericho Cook, had arrived—and then six more strangers had appeared a week or so later.
Since then, things had gone as well as could be expected with nine men on the ranch to interrupt their days.
Better, she supposed with a sigh. Riley was smitten with Boone, and Clay and Jericho were pursuing Nora and Savannah hard.
Avery was happy for them all. Really. Despite the little voice in her head that told her once again she’d end up alone while everyone around her paired up comfortably. Someday her prince would come, as the song went.
When was anyone’s guess.
Which was fine, she reminded herself. She was supposed to be writing a screenplay, not mooning after some man.
She hadn’t had much time to think about either this afternoon, though, because they’d been too busy working on wedding plans for Savannah’s cousin, Andrea, who planned to hold her nuptials here at the manor. They’d managed to salvage only one hour of creative time for themselves out of the whole day. Riley had painted away diligently. Savannah had practiced a sonata. Nora alternately wrote and grumbled; things didn’t seem to be going well with her novel. Avery had struggled to settle to anything.
Now she focused on the stew and blinked back the sting of tears. She made herself speak normally when she looked up. “Nora’s right, Riley—you’ve been awfully quiet.”
“There is something on my mind,” Riley said slowly as she tucked a napkin beside each plate. “You’re not going to like it.”
“You’re leaving?” Avery’s mind went straight to the worst possibility, and she stood up, all pretence of stirring the stew forgotten. If Riley left, everyone would go. It would be the end of the experiment, the end of spending time together—a return to a life she hated.
“No. Not that,” Riley assured her.
“I can deal with anything else.” As long
