A SEAL’s Struggle
By Cora Seton
Copyright © 2019 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 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
Excerpt from A SEAL’s Triumph
About the Author
Author’s Note
A SEAL’s Struggle is the ninth 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 Triumph
Also, don’t miss Cora Seton’s other Chance Creek series, the Cowboys of Chance Creek, the Heroes of Chance Creek, and the Brides 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 Brides of Chance Creek Series:
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
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 One
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Last September
Win Lisle stared at the white-and-pink plastic wand she held in her hand, her heart thumping wildly.
Pregnant. She was pregnant.
She was going to have Angus’s child.
She leaned against the metal partition of the bathroom stall in Linda’s Diner, a small restaurant in the heart of Chance Creek, Montana, and counted backward to the beginning of the month, when she must have conceived—then she quickly straightened, remembering where she was. Who knew if the partition was clean? Besides, even if she wanted to scream the news from the rooftops, she had to be vigilant. Had to stay aware of her surroundings. This was a public place, after all, and she’d been a target all her life.
Win did a quick check of the ladies’ room through the gap between the stall door and the frame and assured herself she was alone, a new experience in itself. Back in San Mateo, California, she hadn’t ventured from her home without several bodyguards since she was a teenager. Her entourage, her friend Andrea used to joke, keeping it light to mask the darkness in Win’s life. Those men had kept her safe, and for years she’d appreciated having them around—could hardly breathe when they weren’t, if she was honest—but as she’d grown older, she’d chafed under their constant presence. Her security detail kept her separate from everyone else. Made it almost impossible to act on a whim or have any adventures. When Andrea got engaged in the spring and decided to host a bridesmaids’ weekend at a sweet little bed-and-breakfast in Montana, of all places, Win had decided to take control of her life.
She’d confronted her parents, told them she was leaving her detail behind and was ready to face the world as a normal grown-up. She hadn’t won that fight easily, but in the end she’d boarded her plane alone.
She hadn’t expected the pure terror that welled up in her as she left her bodyguards at the entrance to the San Francisco airport and strode alone into a building full of strangers. Nor had she anticipated how that terror would immobilize her as she stood in line to drop off her luggage or how close she’d be to tears when she finally met Andrea and her other friends at the gate.
She cringed now to think how badly she’d behaved that weekend. Trying desperately to mask her fear, she’d feigned boredom, made cutting remarks about every aspect of the bed-and-breakfast and their hosts—the same people she now lived among. She’d hated herself for it but couldn’t seem to stop—
Until she’d met Angus McBride.
It turned out the bed-and-breakfast Andrea had chosen was situated on a large ranch named Westfield. Also staying on the ranch were ten men who’d served in the military and were now building a sustainable community there. Base Camp was to be a model the world could emulate. Win had been prepared to find it all ridiculous.
When those men had invited the women down to share breakfast with them one morning, however, her life had changed forever.
She’d appreciated the quaint three-story stone bed-and-breakfast dubbed “the manor” by the women who ran it, but that morning she’d eaten in the open air, sitting on a log near a campfire. She’d toured the community—what there was of it so far, which wasn’t much—with Angus, then walked to Pittance Creek along a rutted path through the woods.
Win hadn’t been able to remember the last time she’d walked through a forest, or dipped her bare feet in a little stream like they did when they reached the creek, or sat on a stone and chatted with a stranger who could conjure up a Scottish accent at will, make her laugh with funny stories about his adventures in Montana so far and make her heart beat hard with his far more serious stories about his experiences in the military.
By the time they headed back, and Angus took her hand, Win was ready to let him hold it. Ready to do anything to spend more time with him.
She’d
