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  COLE

  A Navy Seal Romance

  Autumn Gunn

  Copyright © Autumn Gunn

  All rights reserved.

  Although I served in the U.S. Marine Corps for four amazing years and I surely draw on those experiences whether subconsciously or consciously when I pen these stories, I must say the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended.

  My books do not come with any digital rights management. You are welcome to read them, download them, and store them on any devices you might have. I want you to enjoy them on your terms. With that said I hope that you will keep these books just for yourself. If someone you know, or even don’t know, is interested in my work please direct them to Amazon.com.

  In the Marines I was surrounded by men. It’s a diverse and fun place, but as you can imagine there’s a lot of testosterone there. It’s OK. I loved it. I’ve been told plenty of times I think a lot like a man. It’s probably why it’s more comfortable for me to write in first person from a man’s point of view.

  Without further ado I give you Cole: A Navy Seal Romance. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for your support.

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to the American soldier. When their country calls, they go. Willingly.

  They take our place on the battlefield. Everything at risk.

  Stay safe.

  Thank you.

  We love you.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 1

  I wanted her the first second I saw her. She was sitting on the bride’s side. By herself. As a groomsman I had a view of everyone in the church. She was the only one I saw. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

  I made my move at the reception.

  “Care to dance?”

  “I don’t really––”

  I scooped up her hand in mine and raised my hand lifting her from her seat.

  “Oh––”

  We danced in the grass near the gazebo. The bride and groom had decided to have the reception outside. A perfect choice. 77 degrees. The smell of fresh air. I didn’t know how the bar man would be able to keep up with the demand for Rosé spritzers and cosmos from the ladies and vodka tonics, jack and cokes, and beers from the guys.

  After three dances I took her to the photo booth. We made some silly photos and then jumped back out to wait for the prints. In the first one we made serious faces. The second I gave her “the claw.” She was laughing. In the third she had a look of shock as I bit her earlobe. In the fourth she leaned on my shoulder with her right hand and snuck in bunny ears behind my head with her left. We laughed.

  “You’re quite the spontaneous one.”

  “Not the first time I’ve been told that. I take it as a compliment. See something you want and go for it.”

  “And what exactly do you want?”

  “I want to make memories today that will last forever. To enjoy my brother’s wedding. To live in the moment.”

  “Sounds like a good plan.”

  “I think so.”

  “So this living in the moment plan. What comes next?”

  “This.” I grabbed her waist with my left hand and the side of her face with my right. I dipped her back and kissed her hard on the lips. The moment our lips touched she seemed shocked, but quickly I felt her return the kiss. I pulled her back upright.

  “Well. I guess that definitely qualifies for living in the moment.”

  “I would say so. Care for another drink?”

  “Let’s.” We refilled at the outdoors bar and made our way back to the dance floor. We danced, drank, played games, ate cakes, and enjoyed the perfect day. Time was passing so quickly. I was having the time of my life. Soon it was the golden hour. My favorite time of the day. Those last 90 minutes of sun before it sets for the day. The last few years I had always tried to spend those last 90 minutes by myself. Reflecting on the day. Appreciating being alive. Thankful for my brothers. My team. My family. The freedoms that our country offers. Watching the sunset over the Middle East desert. Those memories were still all too fresh. Today I wanted to forget them. Even if just for one day.

  “The house is beautiful, have you seen it?”

  “No, but I’d love to.”

  I took her by the hand and we went inside. It was a beautiful house. A craftsman with plenty of wood and brick. It was more than a house. It was truly a home.

  “My guestroom is upstairs. You can see the entire backyard and into the hills from the window. I’ll show you.”

  The minute we entered the room it was obvious there would be no admiring the view from afar. The views to be admired would be each other. As soon as the door shut I had her against the wall. Hands wandering. Tongues exploring each other’s mouths. She lifted up my shirt and felt my abs.

  “Wow. There really is such a thing as a 12 pack.”

  “You can’t drink this 12 pack, but you can definitely put it to your lips.” She kneeled down and kissed the middle of my abs moving upward. Right along the crease that defines the muscles.

  “You’re like a bronzed sculpture.”

  “And you’re like the Grand Prix of Monaco. Elegant with curves in all the right places.” She looked up at my eyes. Stood up, put both hands on my face and kissed me hard. Her back arched. A moan escaped her lips.

  Three taps on the door. Someone was knocking.

  “Cole, open up you son-of-a-gun. I know you’re in there.”

  I tried my best high-pitched voice. “Cole’s out fighting bad guys. Come back later.”

  We’re doing the bouquet toss. We need Carissa.

  “Carissa, huh?”

  “You never asked.”

  “It like it. It rolls of the tongue well. You don’t hear it every day.”

  “I think a lot of things are happening to me today that definitely don’t happen every day.”

  We held each other’s glance. Trying not to laugh first, but we both lost it at the same time.

  “We’ll be right there.”

  “Hurry. We’re about to start.”

  Carissa straightened her dress and I tucked my shirt back in. We headed back outside and rejoined the reception. Late afternoon turned to evening and evening turned to night. Before I knew it most of the guests had gone. Carissa was nowhere to be found. She hadn’t even said good-bye. Carissa wasn’t going to be mine, yet. At least not tonight. Although I wanted her now, I knew I wanted more than just that. We had only spent the afternoon together, but it was the most enjoyable afternoon I’d had in months and I had her to thank for that. Now I had to find her.

  Chapter 2

  “Wake up, Uncle Cole. We’re going to be late!” Jasmine had snuck into my room and was 5 inches from my face.

  I really need to remember to lock my door. Not for my own benefit, but for others. I was still a little jumpy after everything that had happened on my last deployment and it wasn’t a good idea to wake me suddenly.

  “Late for what? The fish aren’t going to be biting today.”

  “Very funny. Come on!”

  “Oh. I almost forgot. You wanted to help
me mow the lawn. You’re right. We should get started.”

  “Uncle Cole!”

  “Ok, ok, ok. Just let me jump in the shower and we’re out of here.”

  “Yay!”

  Jasmine was a great kid. I think she enjoyed my teasing almost as much as I enjoyed teasing her.

  We jumped in the Jeep and made our way to Northwest Elementary School. There were balloons and signs everywhere out front. Welcome Parents, the biggest of the signs displayed above the front entrance.

  We entered and were greeted with name tags, a welcome bag, and an energy drink. When they handed me the energy drink I froze. The guys on my team had been addicted to these things. Myself included for a time. It was bad enough we were drinking them as adults, but they were handing them out to kids? It even looked like some sort of sponsorship. I made a mental note to talk to somebody about that.

  Jasmine gave me a tour of the school. Right as she was finishing the bell rang, meaning we had 10 minutes to make it to her class.

  “It’s down this way, Uncle Cole. Hurry, we don’t want to be late.”

  As we turned the corner Jasmine raced off down the hallway. At the end of the hall she was scooped up by a young woman in a big hug. Jasmine turned to me and motioned to come faster. I continued walking. My eyes were fixed on the woman who had hugged Jasmine. She looked very familiar.

  “Cole?”

  “Tara. It’s been a long time. How are you?”

  “Wow. I’m great. Didn’t expect to see you here today. Didn’t expect to see you ever, actually. Sorry, that was rude. I just didn’t notice your name on the list. I heard you were in the military overseas. Someone said Special Forces, but I have no idea what that really means or if it’s true.”

  “Some of it’s true. I was overseas. I’m back now. Catching up with everyone. We’ll see how it goes.”

  “Sounds interesting. Well, it’s great to have you here today. If you and Jasmine want to take your seats we’re about to begin.”

  “Will do.”

  The room was full of proud parents. There were packets strategically placed at each table corresponding to the names. The packet contained a lot of Jasmine’s best work from a number of different subjects. There were drawings, math, a ribbon she won with her kickball team, and some short writings.

  The kids all took turns reading one of their writings in front of the entire class. The subject of their writings was 10 Reasons Why My Parents are Special to Me. The kids seemed to all read each of the items then look at their parents with a smile and affection. It was nice, but reminded me a little too much of a Dave Letterman Top 10 List.

  Eventually it was Jasmine’s turn. She proudly marched up to the front of the class.

  “Hello. My name is Jasmine Justice, and these are my 10 reasons why my parents are special to me.

  Number 10: Sometimes, when I’m not sure what to do I just look up to heaven and ask my mom. She always tells me to do what is right and to help other people. Then I feel better and my decision is easy.”

  The whole room got quiet. I could see some of the woman almost immediately begin to tear up. Although it obviously wasn’t a problem for her, I didn’t know how deep Jasmine was going to go with these answers. Her first answer was already a zinger.

  “Number 9: Sometimes there are people who can’t fight for themselves and they need somebody to help them. My daddy does that and doesn’t ask for anything in return. I taught me to do things only out of kindness and from the heart and not because you expect something in return.”

  I always knew Jasmine as an energetic kid. I didn’t know she wrote and spoke so well. The whole room was focused on her. Waiting to hear what she had next.

  “Number 8: My dad always says when the going gets tough, get tougher. Never let ‘em see you sweat. Prior practice prevents poor performance. What he means is to always be prepared, and then be prepared some more. When he was helping me learn soccer he made me run a lot. One day I asked him why I have to run so much. Why can’t I just practice soccer? He said, champions are made in the fourth quarter.”

  A few of the men sat up in their chairs and nodded approvingly.

  “Number 7: I never got to know my mom, but she bought some insurance in case any thing bad ever happened when she was away. That way I would have the chance to pursue my dreams. I would rather have my mom, but I am thankful she was always thinking about me and her gift is still with me today. Every day.”

  At this point there were only a few dry eyes left in the room. The welcome gift bags hadn’t come equipped with tissues.

  “Number 6: One time around Christmas I told my dad we had to give two canned goods to help people without food. He told me to pick from the pantry. I brought back canned peas and canned beets. They had been in the pantry for a long time. I never wanted to eat them. He asked if that’s what I wanted to give. I told him yes. Then he told me to go pick out some things for dinner. I went and got my favorite kind of canned peaches and spicy canned fish for sandwiches. He asked me if that’s what I wanted for dinner. I said yes. Then he opened the peas and beets and put them on two plates. He handed one to me and kept one for himself. He didn’t even heat them up. I told him he had mixed up the food. He said he wasn’t mixed up. I was. Christmas was the time to give, not do discard. There was no value in giving something I didn’t want. Probably the person who would have received the peas and beets would be happier, but they’d be a lot happier with peaches and fish, which has protein. My dad said if you give a gift, always make sure it’s a truly a gift. Something thoughtful and something the other person would actually want and enjoy. He’s right.

  Number 5: My dad and I always put out water and some food for the stray animals in the neighborhood. My dad is in the Navy so he doesn’t have a lot of extra money. One day I fell off my bike and hurt my leg really bad. I was lying in the street and one of the dogs I had seen by our house drinking the water came to me and sat next to me. I got up and walked my bike home. He walked with me the whole way until I reached the front door. I told my dad and he said a friend in need is a friend indeed. Now we try to put out more water and also get some animal food donations from the neighborhood. The animals are also calmer now and they make the neighborhood feel more friendly and safe.

  Number 4: My dad and I were planting onions in our back yard last spring. Most were the same size, but there was one that was really small. I asked my dad if I should throw it away. He said no. They all get a chance. It really showed me that you should give everybody a chance no matter how they start out in life, what they look like, or what their circumstances are. Sometimes we all just need that one chance to do the things we dreamed of.

  Number 3: On Fridays, when we have ice cream, my dad always lets me pick the flavor.”

  The crowd laughed in between sobs. Husbands and wives turned to each other and nodded in approval. Something so simple, but so powerful, as deferring the choice of ice cream.

  “Number 2: Two is stronger than one. Whenever my dad talks about our family he reminds me that the two of us together are stronger than either of us by ourselves. It’s a simple lesson, but my favorite.

  Number 1: Even when I do something wrong, my dad reminds me that we can fix it and no matter what he still loves me and will always love me. Even when I make mistakes.

  Thank you.”

  The whole room was silent with the exception of the sniffles you could hear from a number of the parents. Then one woman stood up and started clapping. Then another. And another. Soon the whole room was giving Jasmine a standing ovation. I really couldn’t believe it. Her father had taught her the SEAL values we learn during training so I knew she wouldn’t lie or cheat, but if I hadn’t known her personally I would have had a hard time believing a 12 year old wrote that list. Incredible.

  I gave her a pat on the head and a one armed hug as she sat back down next to me.

  “Well, who’s next?” Tara had also clearly been emotionally moved by Jasmine’s speech. She looked back down at h
er list and announced the next name.

  The rest of the day consisted of lunch, a kickball game of parents versus the kids, and some classroom presentations. It was fun to see all the families interacting and everyone having such a good time, but even so I knew this life wasn’t the one for me. I had been too deep fighting battles for too long. Too jaded. Too cynical.

  At the end of the day we thanked Tara and made our way to the parking lot. I had backed into a spot that provided a clear and fast exit. My training was instinctual at this point. Just as we were arriving at the Jeep I heard the chirp of an electronic keychain open the doors of the car a few down from ours. I looked up and saw what appeared to be a familiar face from the side. It was just a profile view, but I was sure.