Barefoot Bay: A Soldier's Surprise (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Beyond Valor Book 2) Read online

  Text copyright ©2016 by the Author.

  This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by Roxanne St. Claire. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements appearing in the original Barefoot Bay remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Roxanne St. Claire, or their affiliates or licensors.

  For more information on Kindle Worlds: http://www.amazon.com/kindleworlds

  A Soldier’s Surprise

  A Barefoot Bay Kindle Worlds Novella

  Lynne St. James

  Message from Roxanne St. Claire

  Dear Reader,

  Welcome to Barefoot Bay Kindle World, a place for authors to write their own stories set in the tropical paradise that I created! For these books, I have only provided the setting of Mimosa Key and a cast of characters from my popular Barefoot Bay series. That’s it! I haven’t contributed to the plotting, writing, or editing of A Soldier’s Surprise. This book is entirely the work of author Lynne St. James, a talented writer I handpicked to write in the world of Barefoot Bay.

  One of my very favorite storylines is the “marriage on the rocks” which gives readers the chance to watch two people who are committed to each other fall in love all over again. So I was truly happy to learn that Lynne brought that romantic concept and a sexy military hero to the beaches of Barefoot Bay. This one has all the feels – enjoy!

  Roxanne St. Claire

  PS. If you’d like to read all of the Barefoot Bay Kindle World novels, or would like to explore the possibility of writing your own book set in my world, stop by www.roxannestclaire.com for details!

  Other Books by Lynne St. James

  Beyond Valor

  A Soldier’s Gift

  A Soldier’s Surprise – A Barefoot Bay Kindle World Novella

  A Soldier’s Triumph (September 2016)

  Willow Haven (Beyond Valor Spin-off Series)

  House Arrest – Cuffed & Claimed Anthology (October 2016) (Prequel)

  Anamchara

  Embracing Her Desires

  Embracing Her Surrender

  Embracing Her Love

  Raining Chaos

  Taming Chaos

  Seducing Wrath

  Music under the Mistletoe – A Raining Chaos Christmas (Novella)

  Tempting Flame

  The Vampires of Eternity

  Twice Bitten Not Shy

  Twice Bitten to Paradise

  Twice Bitten and Bewitched

  Want to be one of the first to learn about Lynne St. James’s new releases? Sign up for her newsletter filled with exclusive VIP news and contests but never spam! http://eepurl.com/bT99Fj

  A Soldier’s Surprise

  An anniversary celebration they’d never forget…in Barefoot Bay!

  Chloe accepted that once again she’d be celebrating their anniversary alone while Logan was deployed in Afghanistan. She should be used to it, except she wasn’t. It was their tenth, and she’d hoped somehow things would be different, especially when she finds out she’s pregnant with their third child.

  Logan’s offered an assignment he can’t pass up—and now he’ll be able to surprise his wife for their anniversary. With a romantic weekend planned in Barefoot Bay, he can’t wait to get home and see the look on Chloe’s face.

  After being whisked away to the exclusive Casa Blanca resort, Chloe wrestles with the decision whether or not to tell Logan about the baby. Struggling with the thought of raising another child by herself while he’s in constant danger and thousands of miles away weighs on her heart. Will it be a welcome surprise or ruin their special weekend?

  Acknowledgments

  I can’t thank Roxanne enough for this wonderful opportunity. About the only thing that could be better would be visiting Barefoot Bay on vacation. I’ve loved reading the Barefoot Bay books and having the opportunity to add a little piece of to her world has been so much fun.

  I also need to thank my cheerleaders—Salena Mae, Caitlyn, Debbie, Jackie, and Craig! They’ve been more than supportive through some very hard times over the last year. Without their smiles, laughter, encouragement, and whip-cracking this book wouldn’t have been written.

  Dedication

  For all the spouses and families who are the cheerleaders, support systems, and anchors for our military!

  As always, for T.S., you’re the inspiration for my many heroes. I love you!

  Table of Contents

  Message from Roxanne St. Claire

  Other Books by Lynne St. James

  A Soldier’s Surprise

  Acknowledgments

  Dedication

  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

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  “Mommmm!”

  Oh God, what now? The shrill screech echoed through the house. What did Lexie do this time? “Okay sweetie, finish getting dressed. I’m going to check on your sister.” Chloe waited for her five-year-old daughter Bella to nod.

  “Lexie’s in trouble,” Bella said with entirely too much glee.

  “That’s not nice.”

  “She’s always in trouble.” Too true. Ugh. What were the odds Lexie had spilled milk again? Or maybe, this time, the Eggo waffle was burning and she couldn’t ‘leggo her Eggo’. Gotta love mornings…not.

  As she stepped into the kitchen, the problem was instantly apparent. “Crap. Lexie! Shut off the water.”

  “I tried, Mom. It won’t stop.” Tears slid down her daughter’s face, leaving shiny trails of frustration on her flushed cheeks.

  “It’s okay.” Reaching for the faucet, Chloe turned the cold water knob, but instead of the water stopping, the handle came off in the palm of her hand. Damn it all to hell in a handbasket. The water shot straight up like a geyser and drenched them both.

  “I wanna play in the fountain,” Bella said from the kitchen doorway.

  “No. You need to stay there. You just got dressed.”

  “But Mommy...”

  “No buts.”

  “Yeah, Bella. Listen to Mom,” Lexie echoed. Chloe rolled her eyes at ‘her little mini-me’ as she reached under the sink to the main shut-off. The valve wouldn’t budge. Why do things always go wrong when Logan’s not here? Stupid question, Logan’s almost never here. She tried again and still no success. Water was everywhere. Wrestling with a stubborn valve had not been on her agenda this morning. As the water rained down on her, she struggled to stay upright as her knees slid on the slippery tile. The last thing she wanted was to end up on her butt in the rapidly rising lake on her kitchen floor.

  As she listened to Bella and Lexie argue back and forth, she was ready to give up and shut off the main water supply and be done with it. Deciding to give it one last shot, she focused all her strength on her metal nemesis, praying it would give in to her superiority. Seriously, enough was enough. It moved, first only a hair, then it turned as she leaned into it. She almost cheered when her silent prayers were answered. No more rain. Thank God. But there was no time to enjoy her success. The honk of a horn from her driveway reminded her just how far behind they were.

  “C’mon girls, cut it
out right now. Lexie, go upstairs and get changed. Aunt Lily’s here to take you to school.”

  “Why aren’t you taking us? I don’t want to go with Aunt Lily. She’s always in her PJs.”

  Not one to miss an opportunity, Bella chimed in with, “me either.”

  Counting to ten, she gave Lexie the dreaded “mom” look. Every kid ever knew the look and complied, or there’d be hell to pay later. “Go, now. It’s not up for discussion. If you don’t hurry, you’re going to be late for school.”

  “What about lunch?”

  “I’ll give you money. Bonus, right?”

  Bella cheered, and Chloe rolled her eyes. She could see it now—French fries and ice cream sandwiches. One day wouldn’t hurt much, she hoped. Tonight she’d make sure to get their lunches ready before she went to bed. Last night they’d Facetimed with Logan, and she’d forgotten all about it. She’d been so damned tired lately, which is why she’d made the doctor’s appointment. It wasn’t usual for her to be this drained all the time, maybe life was catching up to her. She wasn’t as young as she used to be. None of them were, all she had to do was look at the girls. They had grown like weeds.

  Time flew by. It was hard to believe their tenth anniversary was in two days, and Logan had only been home for three of them. It would be the same this year. Such was life with a spouse in the military, but at least they had Facetime now. It had been worse when they were dating and newlyweds. Phone calls had been few and far between back then.

  Chloe pulled the mop out of the pantry. Lily opened the back door and came to an abrupt halt. As Lexie predicted, she was wearing PJs. Today’s selection was penguins with matching fuzzy slippers. She wasn’t surprised, as Lexie said, it was her typical attire.

  They’d been friends for almost twenty years—more than half of their lives—and were closer than most sisters. Lily’s idiosyncrasies didn’t bother her, she had more than enough of her own quirks to balance it out. What was important was they could count on each other no matter what, and it had been that way since the beginning. One of the other things Chloe loved about Lily was her ability to make her laugh, and seeing the horror followed by amazement flash across her face, made her giggle. It didn’t matter that she was soaked from head to toe with her hair dripping water down her face. She knew what was coming next. Chloe counted to five, it was only a matter of time. Wait for it. Wait for it.

  “What the fuck happened here?” Yup, there it is.

  “Oooh. Aunt Lily, you said a really bad word. You have to put money in the curse jar.” Chloe almost choked at the look of accusation on Bella’s face. Go figure. For once the child listened and hadn’t moved from the edge of the kitchen.

  “Well shit. Sorry, munchkin. I’ll get right on it.” Fat chance. If Lily put money in the jar every time she ‘used a bad word’ she’d have been able to book a trip to Hawaii.

  “Bella, go see if your sister’s dressed yet.” After a moment’s hesitation, she ran down the hall and clunked up the steps yelling for Lexie the entire time.

  “So again I ask, what the fuck happened?” Lily said as her eyebrows disappeared under her sandy brown bangs.

  Chloe shrugged. “I’m honestly not sure, I was more concerned with getting the water to stop. I think somehow the faucet broke when Lexie was rinsing her breakfast dish. Guess it’s another thing to add to the ‘honey-do’ list.”

  Lily rolled her eyes, and Chloe almost laughed again. Adding to the list had become an almost a daily occurrence since Logan had left again after Christmas. “No shit.”

  “Aunt Lily!” This time, both of the girls nabbed her.

  “Damn.”

  Their looks were priceless, which made Lily’s sour expression even funnier. “Give Aunt Lily a break. She had to get up early to take you to school. Now she’s waiting around for us.”

  “Are you girls ready?” Lily asked as she backed out the door.

  “Mommy, you didn’t give us lunch money,” Lexie reminded her.

  “Shit, sorry.”

  “Mommy…”

  “I know, Bella.” Chloe took a quarter out of her wallet and gave it to Bella for the curse jar. Then she tucked five dollar bills in each of their backpacks as she hugged them. “Give me a kiss. I’ll see you after school. Don’t forget you have gymnastics today, Lexie.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Bye, mommy.”

  “Love you, girls. Be good today.”

  “I’ll be back with some Starbucks. I think you need it,” Lily yelled over her shoulder as she led the girls outside. Who would turn down Starbucks? Not her in this life. She hadn’t even had her first cup of coffee yet.

  Grabbing the mop, she finished cleaning the floor while relishing the quiet. A scarce commodity in their house. She loved the girls but had to admit the constant arguing got old. Or maybe it was just her patience was wearing thin. Still, it was too bad the peace wouldn’t last. Lily would be back in about fifteen minutes, and she still had to shower before the doctor’s appointment. Her alone time melted faster than ice cream on a hot summer’s day. Maybe when Logan returned they’d be able to have some grown-up time alone, but she wasn’t sure when he’d be able to get home again. He’d had leave at Christmas, so he probably wouldn’t be able to come back until this deployment was over, and that wasn’t for six months at least. Just thinking about her husband put a smile on her face. She loved him with every fiber of her being and hearing his voice still sent shivers down her spine. Not bad after ten years.

  Chiding herself for daydreaming when there was so much to be done, Chloe finishing cleaning up ‘Lake Mitchell’ and scrolled through her phone hunting for a plumber. She was still looking when Lily came in balancing two coffees and a bag of something that would probably make her gain weight.

  “What time is your appointment?” Lily asked as she sat at the kitchen table.

  “Ten.” Chloe inhaled the scent of freshly brewed coffee.

  “Okay, so when do we have to leave? Oh, I Googled it, and I bet you’re anemic. I mean we’re not getting any younger, and you do have two kids. It’s pretty typical for women. It’s either that or mono,” Lily said, as she batted her eyes. Yeah right, mono at her age and from kissing who?

  “Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t have a fever, but I’m freakin’ exhausted.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t feeling right?”

  “I’m just tired. Besides when do I ever tell you?”

  “True. But still, Lexie said you’ve been, and I quote, “falling asleep all the time and really cranky.” The two of them discussed it all the way to school. Bella thinks you need a teddy bear to sleep with while her daddy is away so you aren’t sad.”

  “Poor kid. Lexie is growing up so fast, and Bella, she’s just Bella.”

  “Yup, definitely my goddaughter.” Chloe agreed. Bella was just like Lily.

  “Did you call a plumber yet?” Lily asked as she pulled a croissant out of the paper bag. Chloe’s mouth watered, almost tasting the buttery deliciousness that would go right to her hips.

  “Nope. Surprising I’m sure, but it’s the one service guy I haven’t had to call yet. Do you know one?”

  “Ha. Of course I do. My piece o’shit has as many issues as yours. Let me call ‘Mommy’s Little Helper’ and see if he can come this afternoon.”

  “Seriously? That’s the name of your plumber?”

  “Yeah. You mean I’ve never told you about him? It was hysterical the first time he came. I don’t know what the fuck I expected but it sure as hell wasn’t the Maytag man.”

  “Maytag man?”

  “You know, the guy in the old TV commercials.” Chloe couldn’t place it, but then she didn’t have a television addiction like Lily.

  Lily pulled YouTube up on her phone and in a few swipes, she found the old Maytag commercial. “He could be his twin, I swear.”

  “So your ‘Mommy’s Little Helper’ looks like that?”

  “Yup,” Lily said as she burst into a fit of giggles
. “Can you believe it? I thought it would be some hot guy showing up, but instead, I got Henry—his real name. I had to struggle not to laugh in his face. Hell, I even put on clothes.”

  “No way! You got dressed during the day when Alex wasn’t home?”

  “I know. Can you believe that shit?” Chloe giggled too and soon they were both clutching their stomachs. It happened every time they got together, and it didn’t stop until their tummy’s cramped and they were gasping for breath.

  “Your reputation is going to be ruined.”

  “No shit. Hey, you’d better go shower, or you’re going to be late for the doc. I’ll give Henry a call while you’re getting ready.”

  “Crap. You’re right. I’m sitting here like I have all the time in the world. I’ll be right down.” Chloe wrapped her arms around Lily for a quick hug before she climbed the stairs to take her shower.

  ***

  “Fucking sandstorms,” Lieutenant Logan Mitchell grumbled, mostly to himself. It was one of the many things about Afghanistan he could have lived without. Every day the list got a little longer. It was almost the end of his third tour, and he figured he’d earned the right to bitch—at least to Alex. The two men had been friends since college. They’d met in ROTC when they’d signed up after nine-eleven and had been inseparable ever since. Somehow they’d even managed to be stationed together most of the time and fourteen years later they were in Afghanistan.

  “C’mon, you know getting sand in every fucking orifice is the best thing ever.”

  “Fuck yeah, of course it is, asshole.” They looked like walking sand monsters. Covered from head to toe in the beige dust like something out of a horror movie. He’d replaced his sunglasses after getting caught in a sandstorm a few weeks ago, and now they were scratched all to hell. Maybe he should buy stock and supplement his income.