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  My Sweet Valentine

  Sara Lander was back in town. She had big plans for her inheritance along with her freshly printed business degree and years of experience in some of Seattle’s finest bakeries. She also had a rich idea for Pride. Sara's Nook was going to be the next biggest thing to hit town. All she needed now was to steer clear of the hunky ex-Navy SEAL who was hell-bent on taking all her focus away from starting her own business.

  Allen Masters had been living in Pride for several years. Setting up a new branch of the Coastguard and training all the new recruits took years of skill and all his patience. But when he saw the black-haired beauty who had come back into town, he realized she was the one he'd been searching for. Taking one taste of her sweets, he knew he'd be in for a sinful time, but losing his focus while flying into the eye of a storm was the last thing he could afford.

  Other titles by Jill Sanders

  Finding Pride – Pride Series #1

  Discovering Pride – Pride Series #2

  Returning Pride – Pride Series #350

  Lasting Pride – Pride Series #4

  Serving Pride – Prequel to Pride Series #5

  Red Hot Christmas – A Pride Christmas #6

  Secret Seduction – Secret Series #1

  Secret Pleasure – Secret Series #2

  Secret Guardian – Secret Series #3

  Secret Passions – Secret Series #4

  Secret Identity – Secret Series #5

  Secret Obsession – Secret Series #6

  Secret Demands – Secret Series #7

  Secret Sauce – Secret Series #8

  My Sweet Valentine

  by

  Jill Sanders

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  ISBN:

  Copyright © 2014 Jill Sanders

  Edited by Erica Ellis – http://ericaellisfreelance.com

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  Dedication

  To my greatest

  love and best friend,

  My Husband

  Prologue

  Allen struggled to hold the Blackhawk steady. He could hear the bullets flying by and, for just a second, he closed his eyes and prayed. Then he took a deep breath and pointed the nose of the chopper where he needed to be. Signaling his crew they were in position, he held his hands steady as his men extracted the marines from the site.

  All his concentration was on keeping the bird steady. His crew was working on the last marine when he felt the sting in his chest. The bird jolted to the side as debris from the tempered glass flew around his face, hitting his helmet and knocking off his face shield. Warning sirens went off, signaling that the chopper was in trouble. His crew screamed in his ear as he gripped the stick with both hands, which was slick with his own blood. His vision threatened to fade, so he bit the inside of his cheek and held on. Looking behind him, he saw that the last marine was safe, so he pointed the bird into open skies.

  “Allen!” his co-pilot Mayer yelled at him in the headset. “You got this?”

  “Yeah. I got this.” The sound of gunfire faded away as they hit open sky. His chest was on fire and breathing was getting difficult. He felt the chopper tilt and heard a new group of alarms going off. This time he knew there was no way to pull the bird up from the nosedive.

  Yelling to the back for everyone to hold on, he relayed his location information to base as they spiraled out of control towards the desert floor.

  A second before impact, his mind flashed to a peaceful image of him sitting on a beach somewhere, a large, hairy black dog running in the surf after a stick, a woman's gentle hand touching his arm. The second he turned to look at her, the bird hit the desert floor. Pain exploded in his body until all he knew was darkness.

  When he surfaced again, it was to his crew screaming his name. Private Steven's was standing over him, yelling for him to get out. Then the next minute, the man was dead, hunched over the console, half his face gone from a round. The shock tried to force Allen to freeze up, but he'd been trained for this. Since his body was sheltered from the incoming rounds, he stayed down. Looking behind him, he could see the other men in his team looking at him for instructions.

  “Stay down. Stay put until we see where it's coming from,” he said into his headset.

  “The ridge on the left. We've tried to get the shooter, but he's in there tight.” Lt. Miller, their sharpshooter, sounded pissed. “He picked off two of the marines before we could get behind cover.”

  “Damn.” His team had risked their lives for those marines and to have two of them gone while he was out just pissed him off. “Is there only the one shooter?”

  “Yeah, we landed in a pretty remote area. Base says Humvees are en route.”

  “Miller, do whatever it takes to take him out. I'll cause a distraction. When he pops his head up, take him out.”

  Allen reached around and unbuckled himself. Slowly he slid to the left and out of the seat. He could see the desert floor jutting up into his view. In the distance, he saw a flash a second before Miller's shot rang out. The hidden sniper’s bullet grazed his helmet as Miller's round took him down.

  “Better stay down, just in case there’s more.” Allen looked around the desert hills and after a few minutes of silence, everyone relaxed and waited for the convoy to come pick them up.

  Allen sat there quietly waiting for rescue, bleeding through a hole in his side, dreaming of a beach, a dog, and a woman.

  Chapter One

  Five years later…

  Allen was caged in again. Every time he turned to get away, there was another opponent. They were faster, smaller, and younger than he was. Even though they were well matched in numbers, his crew was about to get their butts whipped. He went in for a kill, only to get stuffed and served.

  “Get behind him, let's try that one again,” Aaron, his captain, said as they huddled together. “We've got these twerps. We aren't going to let a bunch of greasy-faced teenagers take us down, are we?”

  “It’s now or never.” Allen knew they had to gain the higher ground again. He looked around, trying to avoid the watchful eyes, knowing the distraction could end up killing them.

  “Break.” They parted ways as the buzzer sounded the timeout was over.

  When the ball was in motion again, he realized there was no way they were going to win. Those greasy kids were going to whip their butts. They made three more points to the teenagers’ five before there was a squeal, causing the entire gym to look towards the bleachers.

  “Aaron, your wife's water just broke. You better get over here and take her in. You're having a baby,” said Megan Jordan. She stood by the petite Lacey Stevens, who was past her due date and stood there holding her protruding belly. Aaron, along with Lacey's two brothers, Iian and Todd, rushed off the court and lifted her down gently from the bleachers. Luke and Allen stood there trying to catch their breath. They smiled and watched their friends all hover as Aaron carried his wife out the doors. Several of the women who'd been cheering them on left.

  Two women remained. They talked as the other team and the referee left.

  “Is that Amber, the new manager for the Golden Oar?” Allen slapped Luke's back as he looked at the pretty brunette. He kept trying not to look at the raven-haired beauty standing next to Luke's new girl.

  “Yeah.” Luke smil
ed in her direction. Allen knew Luke and Amber had been seeing each other for about a month. Luke’s grandmother had died recently and he'd been going through a rough time. But seeing Luke's smile and watching his eyes light up when he looked at Amber, he knew he'd gotten through the hardest part.

  The black-haired beauty standing next to Amber had been introduced to Allen before the game as Sara Lander, an old friend of Allison Jordan's. Sara had been born and raised in Pride, but for the past three years had been living in Seattle. He didn't know much more, but curiosity was killing him.

  Luke waved to Amber and started to walk towards the locker rooms. Allen followed him, trying to keep his eyes from traveling to the two women standing by the bleachers. He couldn't understand why he was feeling a pull towards Sara, but he was, and he was the last person to deny an instinct.

  “So, you grew up here?” Allen asked while the two men showered in separate stalls.

  “Yeah, I moved east after school and spent some time at MIT.” There was a moment of silence. “Why?”

  “Well, I figured you could fill me in on what you know about Sara.” He tried to sound casual, but his friend easily caught on and for the entire time they were in the showers and getting dressed, Luke gave him shit over it. He did get some useful information from his friend, but Luke spent most of the time getting back at Allen for all the shit he'd given Luke over the last few weeks about his feelings towards Amber.

  With the tables turned, Allen knew he was in for it. He just smiled and returned the humor when he could.

  When they walked out to the gym, Allen was a little disappointed to see Amber standing there alone, waiting for Luke. He watched the couple leave and felt a twinge in his chest. Why did it feel like he'd found everything he'd been dreaming of that fateful day when his chopper had gone down except the one thing he desired most.

  He walked out, then hopped in his truck and checked his messages while his truck warmed up in the parking lot. He enjoyed his job as company commander of the new Coastguard base. When he'd arrived that first day to check out the facility, he'd walked out on the beach and sat on a large piece of driftwood. He’d known instantly that he'd found the right spot. It had taken him several months to tie up loose ends and find a place to live. He'd been lucky to find an older house just on the outskirts of town that needed a little work. It had been easy enough fixing the house up. The new headquarters for the Pride Coastguard was a different story; it had taken almost a year to turn the old sawmill into the top-notch facility it now was.

  Over a thousand recruits had come in and out of the front doors of that place last year. So many that they'd turned one of the outbuildings into barracks to house all the recruits. Now, less than a year later, they were building another, larger building to the south of the original facility to house even more recruits. They were also adding a large kitchen facility along with a medical center. The small town of Pride was growing bigger thanks to the Coastguard, and Allen was in charge of it all.

  There were those in town who didn't want over two hundred recruits running around town, but for the most part, people seem to appreciate the change and the added notoriety that came with having the Coastguard at their doorstep.

  Even though the facility only housed the school, they had an active branch that could, at a moment’s notice, whisk away to be out on a call. Allen had gone on a dozen or so calls in the last year alone. Most of them were fishing boats that needed help. Some were recreational vehicles that had gotten themselves in trouble. But, to date, Allen had not felt the stress and pressure that he had overseas.

  Allen drove off through town and noticed someone standing out in the rain on Main Street. When he looked closer, he realized it was Sara. He quickly pulled over, his first thought being that her car had broken down. But when he pulled up, she turned from looking into an empty building and waved at him.

  Sara stood on the sidewalk in front of the large building, looking into the windows. The empty building was dark, but if she cupped her hands, she could see all the way to the back of the empty room. It was huge. Bigger than she needed. Her heart skipped a few beats as she mentally designed the space.

  She heard a car drive up and turned and watched Luke get out of his truck and open the door for Amber. Sara had just met Amber a half-hour ago at the gym while they watched the men playing basketball. Apparently, she was the new manager at the Golden Oar.

  Sara had been visiting Allison to see her and Iian's son, Conner. Allison was one of her closest school friends. When she’d gotten there, Allison had invited her to go watch the guys play a game against some teenagers at the Boys and Girls Club.

  “Hi.” Sara waved to them and walked across the street. Luke looked at her like she was crazy for standing out in the cold, and she explained, “I was just driving by and saw the ‘for sale’ sign and thought I'd stop and look.”

  “Are you in the market for an old building?” Luke asked.

  She laughed. “Yes actually, I've been thinking about opening a bakery.” Sara turned back towards the building. “It's a lot bigger than I'd planned, but I think it'll work.” She turned back towards them. “I could even have tables in the front and offer breakfast items. The Golden Oar is great, but they don't open until lunch. I could sell coffee, donuts, and muffins. Not to mention cakes and pies.”

  Luke took Sara's hand in his. “Marry me.” He laughed and she could see the humor in her old friend’s eyes. He'd always been a joker.

  “Luke, you know I'd never marry you.” She laughed and punched him on the arm. “Do you know if Allison's family still owns the building?” She'd never thought to ask Allison before. She knew her friend was probably busy at the hospital with Lacey and their family.

  “I think so, but you might want to ask next time you see her. I expect a party the second that baby arrives. Maybe this time tomorrow?” Luke took Amber's hand and Sara realized she was probably holding them up.

  “Yeah.” Sara bit her lip and turned back towards the building. “Maybe I will ask her.” She turned back towards them and said, “I didn't mean to interrupt your plans. Have a great night.” She turned and walked back across the street.

  She felt a little sad as she watched her friend walk up the stairs on the side of the local mart. She knew there was a large apartment Patty O'Neil rented out. When the lights turned on in the apartment, she turned and walked back to the empty store and realized she could now see into the empty building even better.

  Leaning her face against the cold glass, she didn't hear the second car approach until it passed her and stopped on the wrong side of the street right next to her.

  “Did your car break down?” His voice was deep and instantly she felt warmth spread up her spine. Turning, she looked up. It was dark inside his truck, but she could make out his profile. She'd seen him for the first time half an hour ago and she still felt the shock from that first view. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to his truck and placed her friendliest smile on her face.

  “No, just looking at an empty building. Thanks for stopping though.” She hoped he'd drive away soon. Being this close to him was doing something to her. She was actually shaking.

  “Can't you look at it in the daylight when it's not this cold out?” His voice was laced with concern.

  She smiled again. “I guess I'm used to the cold.” She tucked her hands into her heavy coat pockets. Her gloves were keeping them warm enough, but she was beginning to feel the chill. “I can't really see anything tonight anyway. Thanks for stopping and checking on me.”

  She could see him frown. “Why are you looking at an old building?” He looked behind her at the empty spot.

  If she kept telling people, no doubt the news of her business venture would be all over Pride before she got a chance to talk to Allison about the space. “It used to belong to Allison. I'm just checking up on it.”

  He frowned again and looked down at her. There was an awkward moment of silence. “Well, I'll wait until you get in your car.” />
  She huffed out her breath. He really wasn't going to leave until she got in her car. She felt like he was babysitting her. She was an adult. She could take care of herself. Pulling her shoulders back, she turned and walked to her car and got in. His truck lights blinded her as he sat behind her car. It was after six in the evening in Pride, and everyone was having dinner, tucked nice and warm in their homes.

  She pulled her keys from her coat and turned them only to have her car sputter as she tried to start it. She'd just gotten a tune up before she'd left Seattle. She punched the gas pedal a few times with her foot and tried again. She could feel the lights from Allen's trucks boring into her back.

  “Come on! Start. Don't embarrass me in front of him.” She tried again, only to have her car completely stop making any noise. “No, no, no. Don't do this. Please.” When she tried again, she realized it wasn't going to happen.

  She jumped when he knocked on her window. He stood outside, his coat and hat sheltering him from the light snow that had just started. She leaned over and rolled down her window.