Breaking Point: A SEAL Team Heartbreakers Novella available for Preorder
Breaking Point, the 8th installment of my SEAL Team Heartbreakers Series, is a novella exploring Langley and Trish Marks' story. It's about marriage in the military and how couples survive the separations, the loneliness, the stress of carrying the load alone and remain together despite it all.
Below is the blurb, the links, and an excerpt. Breaking Point is available for per-order and will be released March 15th, 2017.
After fifteen years of marriage, Trish Marks has hit her breaking
point. Her social work caseload has doubled, her son is acting out, and her
SEAL husband is never home.
Something has to give. When she’s shot and nearly killed by an irate
husband during a home check, it does.
Navy SEAL Senior Chief Petty Officer Langley Marks is five
years away from retirement and his pension. He knows there’s trouble in his
marriage when he returns home from a deployment to a wife who’s distant,
overworked, stressed, and unhappy. He’s only seen her like this once before,
when she nearly died after giving birth to their last child. When she’s shot,
he re-lives that terrible experience, and feels just as helpless.
But he’s not about to fly away and leave her to fight her
way back alone this time. He’s willing to sacrifice it all to prove to her
she’s the most important thing in his life. He just has to find a way to make
her believe it.
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An excerpt:
The house was silent. He wandered through the kitchen into the living
room. The hall was dark, and all the bedroom doors were closed.
He stopped at Jessica’s room and eased the door open. She lay curled on
her bed, her dark hair mussed, and her eyes were red and swollen.
He bypassed Tad’s door. He’d save the confrontation with his son for
later. In the master bedroom, Trish had several piles of clothing on the floor.
She was cleaning out the closet.
He scanned the items and, seeing none of his stuff in the pile, breathed a
sigh relief. For a minute he thought she might be tossing him out.
“Anna said there was an issue this morning with Tad.”
“He slammed Jessica’s camera onto the floor as hard as he could and broke
it. She took a picture of him after he got out of the shower dressed in a towel,
and he was enraged.”
She ran her fingers through her short cap of hair. He liked the new cut.
It left her slender neck bare, and every time she turned her back, he wanted to
press a kiss to that vulnerable, tender spot at her nape.
“Jess cried herself to sleep. And he’s not the least bit sorry.”
“I’ll go in and talk to him.”
“I’ve never seen him like this, Langley. He’s short-tempered, surly, and
the way he broke the camera, it was violent.” He read worry and hurt in her
expression.
Langley reached for her, and she came into his arms. She laid her head
against his shoulder like she was exhausted. “There’s something going on with
him, Langley.”
He debated whether or not to pile more on, or just offer comfort. But if
they didn’t face what was going on between them…
“There’s something going on with us, and he knows it. Talk to me, Trish.”
She went completely still against him. “It won’t do either of us any good
to say the words out loud. Because there’s nothing either of us can do or say
to change things.”
“Venting might help you.”
“We’ll just come right back to where we are, because there’s no way of
changing things. We’re both locked into our paychecks, and we have to have the
money.”
Shocked, he was silent for a long moment. “You want to quit your job?”
“Yes, I do. They’ve doubled
our caseloads, and I can barely breathe at work. The girls are good, but I
can’t give enough attention to Tad. He clearly resents me, and I don’t
understand why.”
“It isn’t you he resents, Trish. It’s me. I just got back three weeks ago,
and I’m already back to work. You’re just an easier target because you’re here
and I’m not.”
She leaned back to look up at him. “What do you plan to do about that?”
“The only thing I can. Talk to him.” He’d never laid a hand on any of his kids but… “Unless you’d
rather I spank his ass for breaking the camera.”
Her eyes widened at the suggestion. “No. Of course not. I’ve already
worked out a punishment. He has to work off the cost of another camera, and he
can’t have his X-box controls back until he does.”
He pushed a little. “It isn’t just the kids, is it?”
“No. It’s—everything, Langley. I’m tired of dealing with everything
alone.” She flinched and closed her eyes. “I know that doesn’t sound like a SEAL’s
good little wife, but Tad is wearing me down. Short of locking him in his room
and sliding his food under the door, I don’t know what else to do.”
“I’ll talk to him. See if I can’t encourage an attitude adjustment.”
“Thank you. I have to go to work.” She pulled away and grabbed her purse.
This wedge between them refused to budge. “I love you, Trish. I know some
of the guys I’ve been teamed with in the past weren’t always faithful, but I’ve
never strayed. You’re the only woman I want. I don’t want to lose you.”
“I don’t want us to lose each other, Langley. But I can’t be three-quarters
of a whole anymore.”
Ouch, that hurt, more than a little.
“You have to find a way to pull your weight with your son. I can’t do it
alone anymore.”
He followed her through the house to the front door while she collected
her daily planner from the small office at the front of the house. She turned
at the front door to look back at him.
“How long are you going to have to work weekends?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I wish I could say this wasn’t the new norm, but working
five days a week just doesn’t cut it. I have to do four home visits today,
because it’s the only time the parents are home for me to speak to them.”
He nodded. “Be careful, Trish.”
“I will.” She picked up a sweater draped over the back of the couch and
slipped it on.
He caught her arm when she started out the door. There had to be some
physical contact between them. It was all he had right now. “I like the new haircut.
It leaves that sweet spot right back here free.” He brushed his fingertips down
her neck. “I want to kiss you there every time I’m behind you.” He bent his
head and demonstrated, taking his time, and was rewarded when she shivered.
She turned to look over her shoulder at him, her pale blue eyes, scanning
his face. “Talk to Tad and see if
you can make some headway with him.” She gripped his chin, rose on tiptoe and
kissed him. “I may ask you do that again tonight.”
He grinned and caught back a sigh of relief. At least she was still open
to his sexual overtures. But then they’d always had a strong physical
connection. When he was home. “I’m on
it. I promise.”
She nodded, opened the door and strode down the front steps. Once behind
the wheel, and noticing him still standing at the door watching her, she threw
up a hand in a small wave.
He closed the door. It was time to deal with Tad. Right now. And if it
took lighting up his son’s ass, he’d do it. He wouldn’t like it, but he’d do it.
Free: Breaking Free (Book 1 of the SEAL Team Heartbreakers) is Free.
Blurb:
When LIEUTENANT ADAM “HAWK” YAZZIE rescues ENSIGN BRETT “CUTTER” WEAVER during a mission in Iraq, his faith in his team’s loyalty is shaken. Someone in the team attacked Cutter and left him for dead. But who?
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Free: Breaking Free (Book 1 of the SEAL Team Heartbreakers) is Free.
Blurb:
When LIEUTENANT ADAM “HAWK” YAZZIE rescues ENSIGN BRETT “CUTTER” WEAVER during a mission in Iraq, his faith in his team’s loyalty is shaken. Someone in the team attacked Cutter and left him for dead. But who?
ZOE WEAVER races to her brother Brett’s bedside.
He stood by her while she fought her way back from a devastating injury, and
she’s determined to do the same for him. Though drawn to Hawk’s good looks and
steady strength, she’s reluctant to get involved with a man in uniform. But
with Brett lying in a coma, Hawk may prove the key to what happened to her brother.
Hawk is torn between loyalty to his men and his
need to see justice done. When he tries to save a troubled teammate’s career,
he unwittingly puts Zoe’s life in danger. Can he lead the rest of the team in a
rescue operation to save her? Or will one of Hawk's brothers in arms destroy
the woman he loves?
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Teresa Reasor
Comments
Thanks both of you for your comments.
Teresa
Thank you. I appreciate it.
Teresa