SEAL's Baby (Navy SEAL Secret Baby Romance) Read Free

her,” I explained patiently. “Because
she loved it so much when she was that age. You always want your children to
have the good things that you had when you were young.”
    “Ms. Miller?” this time
it was Johnny who spoke up.
    “Yes, Johnny?”
    “Do you have children?”
    I froze at the question
and tried to cover the embarrassment on my face. “No, Johnny, I don’t have any
children.”
    “Why not?” another child
asked boldly.
    “It’s just not the right
time for me,” I replied. “Maybe one day I will have a child.”
       “All right, we need to get back to class,” Jenna said, standing up
and ending the questions that the children were firing at me. “Line up,” Jenna
continued. “Single file, and no talking please.”
    I breathed an internal
sigh of relief just as Jenna moved a little closer to me. “Sorry about that Elizabeth.
Kids, you know.”
    “I do know,” I smiled
trying to sound unconcerned.
    “Don’t let that get you
down,” Jenna went on unnecessarily. “You’re so young; there’s time enough for
the husband, the kids, and the white picket fence.”
       I smiled, but I had to work at it. I hated the way she looked at
me; the pity was evident in her eyes and I felt its weight heavy on my
shoulders. “Don’t worry about me, Jenna,” I said. “I’m happy being single.”
Even as I said the words, they sounded forced and insincere.
    “Of course you are,”
Jenna nodded and I wanted to scream.
       She left me to my lonely library and I spent the rest of the day trying
to figure out how I had ended up there. I drove home in a fog of thought,
remembering the vision board I had built in junior high school and every dream that
I had included in it. I had wanted to backpack through Europe, see the Seven
Wonders of the World, scuba dive in Australia, and climb Mount Kilimanjaro. I
had wanted to build a tree house in my back yard and plant an olive tree next
to it.
       The sad part was that I still wanted to do all those things, but I
no longer held the same belief that any of those things were achievable. I was
not made for big adventures, I was not made for climbing mountains or
travelling the world. Perhaps I wasn’t even made to be a wife or a mother. I
had attempted the latter dream, and even that had ended in disaster.
       I went home only so I could change and head over to Finley’s. I
turned in my white, high-collared blouse and navy blue skirt for jeans and a
black tank top. I ran a brush through my hair purely out of habit and stared at
myself in the mirror. I looked so different even to myself that it was scary.
When had I stopped recognizing the girl in the mirror? She looked tired and
bored and it didn’t do her any favors.
       I turned away from my reflection and drove down to the bar. Joni
was already there waiting tables, and Zach was standing behind the bar. “Hi,” I
said as I slipped behind the bar next to him.
    He looked at me with
raised eyebrows. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
    “I work here,” I reminded
him.
    “Not for another couple
of hours,” Zach replied. “You’re working the night shift remember?”
    “I know that,” I said and
left it at that.
    I could feel his eyes on
me. “What?” I demanded turning around and trying to sound casual.
    “This is the fourth time
in so many weeks that you’ve come early to work,” Zach told me. “You’re making
the rest of us look bad kid.”
       I smiled. Zach and I had become friends when I first started
working at Finley’s a year ago. It had been just after my divorce and I had
been in need of some new people and some new experiences. He was funny and
honest and that made it easier for me to get my mind off things.
    “Sorry,” I shrugged. “But
I figured I’d just come down here and help out.”
    Zach fixed his dark eyes
on me. “You thought you’d come here and help out?” he repeated. “Again?”
    “Well … yeah.”
       He came a little closer and leaned in.