Rescuing Carolyn: A Second-Chance Navy SEAL Romance with a Secret Son (Springwell Series Book 4)

1. Carolyn

“Just sold an engagement ring.” Jenna poked her head in the office of All That Sparkles.

“Awesome.” I looked up from the spreadsheet I was studying. “Which one?”

“The one-carat heart-shaped diamond set in platinum.” From the smile on Jenna’s face, she was pleased with herself—and she should be. Both her commission and the store’s profit would be very nice.

“I love that one.” I sighed. “It’s so romantic.”

The ring had only been on display since the store reopened a week ago. Now that the remodel was complete, the neutral cream colors were gone. In their place I selectedsoft gray walls, chrome-edged glass display cases, modern recessed lighting, and pops of a vibrant blue for accent. The store did indeed sparkle.

“The couple looked at it yesterday,” Jenna said with a knowing grin. “I knew they’d be back.”

“You can always peg them. Congratulations.”

“Do you want me to start the closing procedure?” she asked.

I checked my watch. Ten minutes to close. “Sure. That’ll be great. I want to get out of here on time tonight.”

“Got it.” My most experienced salesperson scooted back out the door.

The thought of how the ring’s sale would help the month’s bottom line brought a smile to my face as I returned to the spreadsheet. My monthly expenses for All That Sparkles were significantly higher now due to a loan for the remodel and higher security costs.

I’d disagreed with my mother, Faith, about the expense. And maybe I was taking a chance, but I subscribed to the theory that you have to spend money to make it. The interior of a jewelry store reflected its reputation and merchandise, I felt. My mother had relented since she’d entrusted the store to me, and now I held the reins.

I owed my mother so much. She had founded the store after my father all but abandoned the family. Her hard work had put the business on the map in Springwell. I was in awe of someone who could do all that single-handed and raise two daughters, and I felt the pressure of measuring up to my mother’s standard as I faced a similar life as a single mom and business owner. My best efforts might not be enough even with the assistance of dedicated employees—but my self-doubt hadn’t prevented me from taking a leap with All That Sparkles.

I heard the click of the alarm. Someone was being let into the office area of the store. A state-of-the-art security system had been an integral part of our refurbishment. It made my insurance company happy and gave me peace of mind, plus, it allowed us to carry top-end merchandise, such as the engagement ring Jenna was celebrating. It was worth it, I thought, even though I grimaced every time I pulled up the expenditures page.

“Mama,” my son’s voice called, bringing an instant smile to my face. A second later my babysitter entered the office with Austin on her hip, squirming to get down.

“Hi, baby.” I took my fourteen-month-old son, hugging him tight and pressing my face into his thick dark hair that was so like his daddy’s. With his deep blue eyes, no one could doubt who his father was, not that Zach Vale apparently cared. I suppressed a sigh. I’d tried so many times to get in touch with Zach to let him know that I was pregnant—but I never heard a single word back. I could buy him being away on a SEAL mission and missing the first few messages, but all of them? It didn’t seem possible. So after that, I stopped trying to contact Zach and had focused on my son. “Did you have fun today?”

Austin gave me a grin and showed me a toy tractor clutched in his hand, zooming it up my arm.

“He’s been looking forward to coming all day,” Nina said, dropping the bag of baby supplies on a chair. “He loves being here, and he loves his mama.”

“Thanks for bringing him to me.” I gave my son a kiss before setting him on the carpet to play. I’d felt guilty about working long hours while the store was being refurbished, because I’d promised myself I would always make sure he felt surrounded by love. It wouldn’t be easy as a single parent, but I didn’t want him to feel the lack of a father…and I certainly didn’t want him to have an experience like I’d had with my own father.

Nothing I’d ever done to get my father’s attention had been enough. I’d tried desperately to be the best student and best athlete, hoping he’d notice. I’d even begged my mother for martial arts classes because my father mentioned that he liked martial arts. I took classes for years, increasing my skills and moving on to grade after grade. My father never once came to see me demonstrate my skills. Nothing had ever worked to get his attention. He wasn’t angry or violent, he was just detached. Uninterested. Whatever else was going on in his life was always much more important to him than me. I never wanted Austin to feel that way.

“No problem,” Nina said. “I love the new look of the store. The blue sets everything off. On our way here, we took a little stroll past Castle Jewels.”

“Oh?” My primary competitor had recently updated as well. “Is it nice?”

“Classy looking. Lots of gold accents. But it was kind of stuffy, too. I didn’t feel like I could wander in and browse.” Nina wrinkled her nose. “I think you made the better choice.”

“Hope so.” I watched Austin, who played with the tractor, running it over the pattern in the carpet and making goofy faces and sounds. Watching my silly son always made me smile—and I couldn’t help wondering what Zach would think of him. Zach was always so serious, so stoic. Would our goofy son help him be more playful? I tried to brush the thought aside. My relationship with Zach was over, and I’d been the one to end it before I’d even realized I was pregnant. The door had closed for good once Zach had decided not to be part of Austin’s life. There was no point in thinking about him anymore.

“I’ve got to get going,” Nina said. “My boys have a baseball game tonight.”

“I’ll let you out through the secure door.” I scooped Austin up and led the way to the showroom.

Just as we reached it, the front door flung open, slamming against the wall, and a man burst through, gun in hand. I froze in place, hoping this wasn’t what it looked like.

“This is a robbery,” he yelled, swinging his gun in an arc to encompass the store. “Hands where I can see them.”

I took in a sharp breath, fighting the panic I felt. If the robber had entered five seconds earlier, I could have secured my son and Nina in the office, but at the moment, we were all too visible. I pressed the tiny button on the key I always carried, triggering a silent alarm that contacted the police and my security firm. It also gave them a live audio and video feed.

“Everybody, down on the floor,” the robber commanded. “Except you.” He pointed to Jenna, who stood behind a display of our most expensive pieces.

I gestured for everyone to comply. It seemed safest to obey him while we waited for help to arrive. On my way down, I grabbed a pair of ear protectors left over from the remodel and slipped them on Austin’s head. Maybe if he couldn’t hear the drama unfolding in front of us, he wouldn’t be frightened. I smiled at him, miming we were playing a game, trying to hide the fear that raced through me.

The robber, focused on shouting at Jenna to dump trays of diamonds and sapphires into a bag, didn’t notice what I did or that Nina and I tried to cover Austin with our bodies. If the man walked closer, he’d see my little boy, but I’d do whatever was necessary to protect him.

I took a quick look around. My other salespeople were on the floor, following procedure. We’d gone through training for this scenario, but how could anyone ever really be prepared for something like this? Springwell was a small town—cozy, communal. The sort of place where people left their doors unlocked and everybody knew their neighbors’ business. Even when we’d gone through the training, I”d never imagined we’d actually use it. This sort of thing wasn’t supposed to happen in a place like this.

Please let him get what he wants and get out, I prayed.

I winced at the sound of glass shattering as he smashed a display case of emeralds and shouted for Jenna to pick out the precious stones. Jenna worked quickly, filling the bag the robber held.

“Now, you get on the floor, too,” he told Jenna, “and the rest of you stay down.” He moved toward the door. I let out a sigh of relief. It seemed like it was going to be over even more quickly than I’d expected. A few more seconds and he’d be out.

I tensed as the robber swung the heavy glass door open, revealing the scene outside. Police cars blocked the street. They’d arrived silently, which was protocol, but I could see the man panic at the sight. His means of escape were cut off.

He pivoted his head like an animal who had unexpectedly become prey to a larger beast before stepping back, slamming the door, and throwing the dead bolt. My stomach twisted into knots. We were trapped in the store with an armed robber. The gun he carried swept across all of us, shooting fear through my heart.

Zach

I attached the scope to my sniper rifle after taking up position on the second floor of a building directly across the street from All That Sparkles. The situation was going to challenge the calm persona I’d mastered as a sharpshooter on my SEAL team. I reminded myself that it was a job like any other. I didn’t want to screw it up, and I sure as hell didn’t want to tell my new boss the store I was watching through my scope belonged to my former fiancée. I’d get pulled off the assignment ASAP—and who knew how long it would take to get another sharpshooter on site? As far as I knew, I was the only one the security company had on staff, and I doubted anyone on Springwell’s small police force had half my training or experience. But even if there had been a whole platoon of trained sharpshooters on hand, there was no way was I letting someone else take my spot on this mission. Carolyn might have tossed me out of her life, but I’d do whatever I could to protect hers.

I evaluated my line of sight into the store. If the target showed himself in the front window, he’d be easy pickings. I used the scope, hoping to catch sight of the man. Nothing.

I didn’t know if Carolyn was in there. It was likely, all my experience with her told me that. She prided herself on working hard. That was unlikely to have changed in the nearly two years since she’d ended our engagement.

I could barely think about that night. There had been no warning. She’d simply told me it was over because she could no longer take it that I chose my work as a SEAL over her. Never much of a talker, I’d been knocked speechless by her declaration. I’d thought what we had was special, the kind of love that could weather any storm. How wrong I’d been still stunned me. I should have known that type of love didn’t truly exist.

To have Carolyn disrespect my job in the Navy—when I was convinced it had saved me from a life of crime—had sliced through me, and I’d been powerless to argue with her rejection. I’d thought she knew me well enough to understand my position as a sharpshooter was like breathing to me. How could she not have seen that giving me an ultimatum about my job was like asking me for my lungs?

“Vale, do you have a good position?” The sharp voice of my commanding officer came through my earpiece.

“Roger that. Front window is in range. I can take him if he shows.”

“Stand by. Let the negotiator do his job, but don’t let your guard down.”

As if I would in any situation, let alone when the woman I’d once loved was likely feet from an armed robber. I pushed away the memory of Carolyn and our broken engagement. I had a job to do. I refocused, digging deep for the calm that was necessary to pull the trigger. Chatter on the radio told me negotiations weren’t going well. The robber wouldn’t speak to the police negotiator on the phone, the standard way of communicating in these situations.

I didn’t want to think about how desperate a man would have to be to refuse a simple conversation, even if it was to tell the negotiator to go to hell. I wished I had the visual and auditory feed my commander did. Then I could be sure where Carolyn was. But all I had were my own eyes trained on a shiny glass window. I’d chosen my position because the glare was minimal, but it would still be a factor if it came to eliminating the target.

“In the window,” I heard on the radio, but I’d already made visual contact through my scope. The robber’s shoulder came into view: gray T-shirt, nothing remarkable, but he seemed to be dragging something. I increased the pressure on the trigger, waiting for more of the target to show. I almost had a clean shot when a blonde woman appeared in front of the man. His hands gripped her arms, pressing into her flesh and holding her in place in front of him.

She clutched a kid to her chest, her hand wrapped around his head. The boy was young, barely more than a baby, and wore red ear protection. I mentally cursed the robber for hiding behind a woman and child.

Although I already knew what I would see, I focused the scope on the woman’s face to confirm her identity. Carolyn. Her brown eyes were wide in fear, and there was no sign of the dimples I’d always loved so much. I released my trigger finger as my breath caught in my chest. I’d never attempt the shot.

“Human shield,” I said into my mic. “No clear target.”