The Baby Bargain: A Once a Marine Series Book

By Jennifer Apodaca

Baby Bargain: A Once a Marine Series Book by Jennifer Apodaca:
Seeing Adam Waters is the last thing veterinarian Megan Young expects. Ex-Marine. Ex-boyfriend. And still extremely dangerous territory. But Adam doesn't know the secret Megan has been keeping from him. The secret that was created three years ago, after their last night together...

Adam returns to Raven's Cove to sell his home in a final break with the town and memories that haunt him. The problem is that his attraction to Megan is as blazing hot as it ever was. But when a vicious smear campaign against Megan turns ugly, Adam learns the truth he never knew—he has a son.

Now the only way Megan can protect her child is to strike a bargain with Adam. And it's a bargain that looks a lot like blackmail...

Each book in the Once a Marine series is STANDALONE:
*The Baby Bargain
*Her Temporary Hero
*Exposing the Heiress

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Mar 11, 2013
• ISBN: 9781622660735

Book preview

Table of Contents

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

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

About the Author

Discover more category romance titles from Entangled Indulgence…

The Billionaire’s Unexpected Baby

Catching the Player

Billionaire Blackmail

The Millionaire Makeover

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

Copyright © 2013 by Jennifer Apodaca. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.

Entangled Publishing, LLC

2614 South Timberline Road

Suite 109

Fort Collins, CO 80525

Visit our website at www.entangledpublishing.com.

Indulgence is an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC.

Edited by Alethea Spiridon Hopson & Kate Fall

Cover design by Liz Pelletier

Cover art from iStock

ISBN 978-1-62266-073-5

Manufactured in the United States of America

First Edition March 2013

Chapter One

Dr. Megan Young sank into the empty receptionist’s chair to check her schedule for the next day. With her staff gone for the day, she enjoyed a few minutes of blissful silence before heading home.

Even Max was quiet as he snoozed in his bed at her feet. That was one of the perks of being a veterinarian; she could bring her dog to work.

The door opened.

Stay, Max. Megan walked around the desk. We’re closed, but if this is an emergency— She snapped her mouth closed when she saw who it was. Not a pet emergency, but definitely a problem. It wasn’t the bulldog expression that worried her, but the envelope the man shoved in her face.

Megan, be smart and take the money.

Of course he didn’t bother with a greeting. Or even an explanation, not that she needed one. She stared pointedly at the thick white envelope in the man’s hand. You mean the bribe? She let disgust coat her voice.

Nathan McCray’s blue eyes narrowed. Now you balk? After all the money you charged me for Celtic Fire’s vet visits? You milked my dimwitted ex-wife for every cent you could.

Megan had to struggle to contain her boiling fury. Get out. She would not allow anyone to bad-mouth her integrity as a veterinarian. She loved animals, more than people sometimes, and she would never cheat their owners.

I was a famous pro golfer while you were still in school. He leaned closer and added, I made Raven’s Cove the town it is today, and I can destroy you and your veterinary practice with a few phone calls. He shoved the envelope toward her. Take the money I’m offering you. All I want in return is your testimony that you have revised your medical opinion on Celtic Fire’s health, and I am the better person to get custody of her.

Never. Nathan and his ex-wife were in a custody battle over their show dog Celtic Fire, and Debbie McCray’s attorney had subpoenaed Megan to testify on Debbie’s behalf. This wasn’t Nathan’s first attempt to influence Megan’s testimony, but offering her a bribe was the most insulting. McCray had just proved himself to be the jerk she had always suspected him of being. You don’t deserve Celtic Fire. Debbie loves that dog.

First you force us to retire the dog from show. Now Debbie is trying to stop me from breeding her. He snorted in disgust.

She glanced around her waiting room, done in mellow greens and browns that were meant to soothe the anxious owners of her patients. It didn’t help her right now. Turning back to McCray, she struggled to stay calm. I’ve explained this to you. The infection Celtic Fire had last year damaged her heart. A pregnancy could be dangerous. Even fatal—

That dog is a champion, and after all the money and aggravation I put into her, I intend to recoup my investment.

She’d heard enough. A dog was not an investment. Get out. Now.

McCray stepped deep into her personal space. His perfectly tailored golf shirt and slacks did nothing to hide the true thug underneath. No one tells me to get out. I—

A low growl came from behind the reception desk.

The arrogant confidence in McCray’s expression drained away to fear. What is that?

Max, come. Megan dropped her hand to her side and her eighty-five pound German shepherd mix walked over and sat beneath her hand. Then he pulled back his lips and growled low in his chest.

Megan felt the fur on his neck stand up. Max was easy-going until he got riled, and then he could be very intimidating, to say the least, making him the perfect companion. I am asking you to leave, Mr. McCray.

The man’s faded blue eyes darted to the dog, then back to her. If that dog comes near me, I’ll file a vicious dog report. And then you and the dog will be destroyed. He backed toward the door, yanked open the handle, and left.

Through the window, Megan watched him practically run to his car. She dropped to her knees and hugged Max. Good boy. She pulled a treat out of her white coat pocket and gave it to him. The dog wolfed it down, and nudged her hand to check for more. That’s your limit on treats. But there wasn’t any limit on her love for the animal, and she spent a few minutes petting and talking to him as her heart rate slowed from her encounter with McCray.

Time to go home and see Cole.

But the door opened again. Megan shot to her feet, worried that McCray had come back. She sucked in a breath and braced for another battle, then froze.

Not Nathan McCray.

This was worse.

Time slowed as she stared at the man pushing the door open with his shoulder. When the light hit his face, she gasped as the memories in her head spun and danced. Adam Waters. A part of her brain noted that he carried a dog, but Adam dominated her thoughts. Image after image flashed through her mind, snapshots of the man she had met in college and fallen in love with. But that was before he broke her heart.

Twice.

The second time, he’d told her he was never coming back.

Hello, Meg.

His rich voice sounded exactly as she heard him in her dreams. But this was more like a nightmare. Adam.

What are you doing here? It was unbelievable. Adam had always hated Raven’s Cove, while she had loved the small town nestled along the coastline not far from Carmel, California. Since Adam’s parents were no longer alive, she couldn’t imagine what brought him back here now.

He shouldered the door open wider and strode into the waiting area. Megan got her first clear view of the bleeding, whimpering dog in his arms. The animal weighed about forty pounds—possibly a juvenile Labrador—but Adam lifted it with ease. Tell you later. Right now, the dog needs help.

The dog, concentrate on the dog, she told herself. What happened?

His golden-brown eyes darkened. She was hit by a car. The cretin kept right on driving. No one stopped.

The disgusted anger riding his voice snapped her into action. Bring her to the back room, she said and headed to the treatment area. Max started to follow. Max, bed.

Obediently, the dog turned and went to his bed behind the reception desk. In the treatment room, Megan donned gloves. Put her on the table. Adam gently lowered the dog.

Megan watched, mesmerized as Adam’s arms and shoulders rippled and bulged beneath his cotton pullover shirt. While he calmed the dog, questions blew through her mind, fast and furious. What was he doing here? Why was he in town? Did he know?

Once the dog had stopped trying to escape, Adam straightened up to his full six-foot-two. He kept a hand on the dog’s back, rubbing her coat. And Megan saw that his brown shirt had dark patches of blood from carrying the poor animal.

Bad cut here. Adam pointed to the dog’s left flank. She’s in a lot of pain, Meg.

Meg. He’d called her that for the nearly two years they had dated in college. But she didn’t have time for a trip down memory lane. Quickly, she moved next to him and examined the six-inch gash. The dog whimpered and tried to move away. All business now, she said, My staff is gone. I’m going to need your help with her.

Tell me what to do.

Hold her and keep pressure on the wound. She set a sterile pad over the cut and Adam pressed his large palm over it. With his free hand, he stroked the Labrador’s head gently. Megan checked the animal’s hip and leg, looking for anything that appeared broken or any sign of internal injuries. No tags on her?

No collar at all. He kept the animal still and somewhat calm by petting the dog’s furry brown head. She looks a little rough, like she’s been on her own for a while. He stroked the dirty, matted fur on the dog’s neck. No worries, girl, we’ll get you fixed up. Find you a home.

She might have a microchip. Megan kept going with her examination, feeling the dog’s accelerated breathing, but she was reasonably certain it was from fear and pain rather than a chest injury. She didn’t hear any gurgling or wheezing. The dog’s gums were a normal color and her ears looked fine. Megan couldn’t feel any breaks or dislocations. Her left flank and hip took the worst of it. I want to do an x-ray. Can you move her to the table right through that door? She pointed across the room to the door of the x-ray room.

Sure. Adam lifted her while Megan kept pressure on the wound. With Adam following directions, they worked seamlessly, and soon she was studying the x-rays on the light board. Satisfied, she went to the locked pharmacy cabinet while she said, No breaks or fractures. I’m going to give her a shot, then suture the cut once she’s numb.

Adam returned the dog to the treatment table, and Megan injected the contents of the syringe into the animal’s hip. She looked up and met Adam’s eyes. For a second, everything else slid away and it was just the two of them, no injured dog, no old heartbreaks, no complications…

Good thing you were still here tonight, he said softly.

His voice brought her back to reality. That was the danger of Adam—his magnetism overwhelmed her until she believed he actually cared about her, wanted to share more than sex with her. But after being burned twice by his deceptive allure, she knew better.

I got held up. I was just leaving when you came in. She needed to check with her mom and see if she’d keep Cole for a couple more hours. I have to make a call. Watch her for a minute. She peeled off her gloves, dumped them in the trash, and hurried to her small office to find her cell phone.

Her mom answered on the second ring. Hi, Sweetie. Going to be late?

Parental guilt snaked through her as she walked down the hallway. Got an emergency. Can you take care of Cole for a while longer?

Of course. We’ll see you when you get home.

Grateful, she paused in the hallway. Tell Cole I love him. ’Bye. She stowed her phone in her lab coat pocket and continued to the treatment room. She jerked to a stop in the doorway.

Adam had stripped off his shirt, and he stood under the lights, his skin gleaming with pure male strength. His muscles were well defined but not gym bulked. Nope, this body came from years of hard work. Back in college, he’d been hot in a cute, boyish way. But a decade in the Marines—many of those years in Special Ops—had carved a hard and dangerous man out of the boy.

Adam belonged to the Marines, as evidenced by the emblem tattooed on his right biceps, an eagle holding a globe and anchor in his claws. Inked above the image were the words Semper Fi, and below it the letters USMC. A true symbol that he’d never belonged to her. She didn’t want to dwell on the old feelings that those thoughts dredged up and moved her gaze from his tattoo. His brown hair was longer than last time she’d seen him, and his tawny eyes were edged in faint lines that hinted at torment. Once he’d been a heartbreaker with his good looks. Now he had a lethal edge that made him devastating.

His eyes brightened as he saw her. His gaze drifted down to her mouth, igniting memories of their shared kisses. Her skin warmed as she stood there, the moment growing intimate.

He lifted his stare to her eyes. Have to cancel a hot date?

Jerking her gaze away from him, she pulled herself together and went to gather up her suture supplies. You took off your shirt.

Dried blood itches. I hate the feel of dried blood.

His words hung in the air for a second, and Megan glanced over to see his jaw clenched tight, his chest rippling with internal tension. Bad memories? Ten years of being in war-torn countries had to have marked him.

I have another shirt in the car.

A wave of sympathy assaulted her resolve to keep Adam at a distance. That sympathy had been her downfall three years ago. He’d come home for his parents’ funeral, and her heart had ached for him losing both his parents in a car accident. She’d spent time helping him…and they’d ended up in bed.

She thought at the time that suffering such a loss had made him realize he truly cared for her. But the morning after his parents’ funeral, he told her he was returning to duty and would never come back to Raven’s Cove. He was done. Yet here he was, and Megan had to remember that she hadn’t meant anything to him beyond a few hours of pleasure. What else could she believe? If he had cared about her, he would have stayed in contact.

Clamping down on her feelings for Adam, on her desperate need to find out what he was doing in town, she returned to the dog and focused on the one who really needed her. Stroking her head, Megan said, You’re being a very brave girl. The dog’s shivering had stopped and her muscles were relaxing. The shot was numbing up the area Megan had to suture.

Who is Cole? Adam asked, his voice edgy. Your boyfriend?

He must have heard her on the phone. Long practice kept her hands working steadily as she began suturing, but panic raced through her system at hearing that name on Adam’s lips. She could feel his stare on her as he waited for an answer.

Is eavesdropping one of the skills you learned in Special Ops?

He was silent, so she paused in her stitching and looked up.

His eyes heated. Not skills, simple curiosity. I’ve missed you, Meg.

Adam’s voice was pitched low and needy. The tone skated over her skin and sank deep into her belly. The memory of his touch was burned on her mind and body. She’d never found anyone else who made her feel like he did when he was with her, as if

Reviews for The Baby Bargain

[chaoticbooklover · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved the story! I'm not one to read many books where the main character doesn't tell the father about a baby, though I can understand Megan's reasons. Megan is mother to Cole and an up and coming Vet in her small town. Adam is Megan's ex whom she hasn't seen in three years. He is also an ex-Marine who now owns his own security business.

Adam has no idea about Cole and while Megan wants to tell him, she is afraid to do it. That is until she gets caught up in a scandal that could end her career and put her in danger of going to jail, she ends up telling Adam about everything going on and he steps up to help protect her and their son.

I won't give away the ending, but it was a good one; never saw it coming!

[chrystina.williams · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a really enjoyable read. With interesting characters and a sweet yet sexy romance, it was easy to get lost in this book and I read it straight through. It was a light read that was fast paced and entertaining.
Adam is an Ex-Marine, with a past. He feels that he is undeserving of love and has spent most of his adult life trying to prove himself, while pushing Megan away. Megan has been burned by Adam twice, and after the last time she's vowed to give him what he wants and leave him alone. Only the last time produced their son...Her choice was a difficult one, definitely not what I would have chosen, but at the time she knew he didn't want a family so she just didn't tell him that she was pregnant. Fast forward to present day and Adam is in town for a few weeks and wants to make amends, even though he's still not looking for a relationship.
I think one of my favorite things about this book were the characters. I loved Adam, he's been through a lot and I do love a tortured hero! I want to know if there will be any more books about the other ex-marines, I know I'd love to read more! Jennifer Apodaca does an excellent job of making them feel real. The characters were very believable and even decisions that the characters made, while not the ones I would have chosen, were still very understandable. Highly recommended if you like a good contemporary romance, with a really good Happily Ever After.

***Review Copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange of my honest review***

[srkromer · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Baby Bargain by Jennifer Apodaca was a very enjoyable read. This quick light read is all about rekindled love; a love that never fizzled even when Adam and Megan were not together. To Adam, Megan was always the one (if only he thought he deserved the one!) and to Megan, she would always have a very strong connection to him.Megan Young is a vet with her own practice. She has her life together with a great home, great family, successful practice and a wonderful son, Cole. Her life however takes a sudden turn when she finds herself in trouble with the law and the father of her son suddenly shows up in town. Can she continue to keep Cole a secret from her ex with everything that is going on in her life? Adam returns to town to sell his parent’s house as well as his security company is in charge of security at a celebrity golf tournament in town. When Megan and Adam run into each other, it’s like no time has passed. The chemistry is still so strong between them. When Megan finds herself in trouble being framed for a crime she didn’t commit, she turns to Adam for his help. In order for him to help her though, she must finally tell him her secret she’s been keeping for two years. Will Adam forgive her? Will he accept his son or will his past prevent him from being with those he loves? Will they find out who is framing Megan and why?I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to anyone that likes a short quick read about rekindled love and overcoming your past. 4 out of 5 stars.

[creativejunkie · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I was on the hunt for some baby-daddy swoons, so I thought I'd give this one a try. The whole baby-secret can be done well if done right. However, there has to be plausibility for me to buy into it. I also have to like the characters and the writing style.

Unfortunately, nothing worked in this book's favor. The entire premise was entirely to implausible, the characters were two-dimensional and the writing was stilted. All in all, a definite pass for me.

[books007_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Megan has always loved Adam but Adam has always left. Only giving her so much then running away. Megan finally decides she can't put her heart back on the line for him again but when he comes back home on a job assignment, she isn't so sure she can keep her heart (or the son he doesn't know they have together) from him anymore. And when a threat to her safety comes along, she realizes she is going to be honest with him no matter the cost. And Adam has a secret of his own.I loved this book! Great quick (HOT!) contemporary romance with a dash of mystery work in. Chemistry is smoking between these two (as well as the love scenes.) There were a few parts in the dialogue between the two I thought was a little cheesy but nothing major. While this book was predictable, with a small "twist", it was still interesting. I can't wait to read more by this author!I received this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

[mybookaddiction_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a quick novella read that can be done in one sitting. Megan is a veterinarian who has built a life for herself but then her ex-boyfriend shows up back in town. Adam is out of the Marines and needs to come back to settle his parents estate. The chemistry between them is still there and they both know it. However, they are both hiding secrets from one another. A secret from Adam’s past make him believe that he doesnt deserve love or a family. Then he discovers Megan’s secret; she had his son three years ago and never told him. When trouble lands at Megan’s door, Adam comes to the rescue. Adam falls in love with his son and realizes that he wants to be a part of his life but is he family material? Megan is a strong woman who doesn’t want to trap a man. Adam is struggling with his demons but he wants to be a good man and father. I enjoyed this story and was rooting for this couple.Rating: 4Heat Rating: MildReviewed by: Donna McClaughertyCourtesy of My Book Addiction and More