A Moment in Time Read online

  The two children stood in the middle of the room with their arms around each other, and Emily looked up to her husband.

  “Remember this moment,” she said softly. “I have a feeling at some point in our lives, we’ll be watching them hug just like this at their wedding.”

  Fletch strolled across the room and sat on the couch next to his wife. As Annie and Frankie turned their attention to her Army men and how to open the protective cases to insert the battered boxes, he said, “If an adult Frankie can do what it takes to make an adult Annie as happy as she is right this minute, I have no problem with it.”

  The next day, Frankie sat in his seat on the plane with a large plastic box in his lap. Annie had given him one of her precious Army men, saying he could keep it safe for her and they could play with them again when they next saw each other.

  “Happy, Frankie?” Kiera signed when they were settled.

  He nodded. Then he turned to his other side and asked Cooper, “How old do I have to be to get married?”

  “Eighteen, buddy.”

  “That’s a long time from now,” Frankie mused.

  “It is and it isn’t,” Cooper told the little boy. “It doesn’t matter if she’s eighteen or forty-eight. You wait until the time is right. She might want to go to college, or fly to the moon, and you let her. Just let her know that you’re right there beside her, cheering her on, whether you’re literally right beside her or thousands of miles across the country. When the time is right for you to claim your woman, you’ll know it.”

  Frankie looked up at the man he admired above almost all other men…except for his dad, of course. “What if she doesn’t want me?”

  Cooper tapped the box in Frankie’s arms. “She wants you, buddy. Be a man she can rely on. Who she can call when she’s sad or happy. Support her. Love her. And she’ll eventually come to you.”

  “Promise?”

  “Promise.”

  “You can’t promise that,” Kiera said from behind Frankie. “Don’t set him up for heartbreak.”

  When Frankie nodded and looked down at the picture of the special camera Annie had arranged for him to have, Cooper looked at the love of his life.

  “If I had met you when I was a kid, I would’ve done whatever it took to make you mine. I had to wait until I was in my late twenties. I have the utmost confidence that Frankie knows what he needs to do.”

  Kiera bit her lip then smiled. “I guess you’re right. If Frankie was willing to give up his precious iPad, a device that allows him to talk to the world, for a girl he’s just met, there has to be more there than just a schoolboy crush.”

  “Exactly.”

  “I can’t wait to see this play out,” Kiera commented.

  “Me either. And hopefully we’ll have a front row seat for the next ten years.”

  “Or more,” Kiera added. “You did tell him that she might want to go to college or do something else when she’s eighteen.”

  “So I did.” Cooper leaned over Frankie and pulled Kiera to him with a hand behind her neck. He kissed her quickly then sat back.

  “What are we going to tell his dad?” Kiera asked.

  Cooper smirked. “Nothing. Let’s let him figure it out on his own.”

  “Figure what out?”

  “That his seven-year-old son just met the girl he wants to marry.”

  Kiera smiled and shook her head. “He wouldn’t believe us anyway.”

  “True. Very true.”

  Hours later, after the plane had landed, and after Frankie’s dad had greeted them and given his son the camera he’d purchased on behalf of Annie, and when the father and son were on their way home, Frankie’s dad signed, “So you had a good trip?”

  Frankie responded, “Yeah, Dad. It was life changing.” Then he held the plastic case with the army man doll in it closer to his chest and smiled. Huge.

  Annie doesn’t have a story out…yet, but as I said in the author note at the beginning, I am planning on writing it.

  If this was your first introduction to Annie, you can read her story in Rescuing Emily which is book 2 in the Delta Force Heroes series. She’s in pretty much every book after that one too (And she graces the cover of Marrying Emily, so make sure to check that one out too!)

  Also by Susan Stoker

  * * *

  SEAL of Protection Series

  Protecting Caroline

  Protecting Alabama

  Protecting Fiona

  Marrying Caroline (novella)

  Protecting Summer

  Protecting Cheyenne

  Protecting Jessyka

  Protecting Julie (novella)

  Protecting Melody

  Protecting the Future

  Protecting Kiera (novella)

  Protecting Alabama’s Kids (novella)

  Protecting Dakota

  * * *

  SEAL of Protection: Legacy Series

  Securing Caite

  Securing Brenae (novella) (April 2019)

  Securing Sidney (May 2019)

  Securing Piper (Sept 2019)

  Securing Zoey (TBA)

  Securing Avery (TBA)

  Securing Kalee (TBA)

  * * *

  Delta Force Heroes Series

  Rescuing Rayne

  Rescuing Aimee (novella)

  Rescuing Emily

  Rescuing Harley

  Marrying Emily

  Rescuing Kassie

  Rescuing Bryn

  Rescuing Casey

  Rescuing Sadie

  Rescuing Wendy

  Rescuing Mary

  Rescuing Macie (April 2019)

  * * *

  Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes Series

  Justice for Mackenzie

  Justice for Mickie

  Justice for Corrie

  Justice for Laine (novella)

  Shelter for Elizabeth

  Justice for Boone

  Shelter for Adeline

  Shelter for Sophie

  Justice for Erin

  Justice for Milena

  Shelter for Blythe

  Justice for Hope

  Shelter for Quinn (Feb 2019)

  Shelter for Koren (July 2019)

  Shelter for Penelope (Oct 2019)

  * * *

  Ace Security Series

  Claiming Grace

  Claiming Alexis

  Claiming Bailey

  Claiming Felicity

  Claiming Sarah (Sept 2019)

  * * *

  Mountain Mercenaries Series

  Defending Allye

  Defending Chloe

  Defending Morgan (Mar 2019)

  Defending Harlow (June 2019)

  sDefending Everly (TBA)

  Defending Zara (TBA)

  Defending Raven (TBA)

  * * *

  Stand Alone

  The Guardian Mist

  Nature’s Rift

  A Princess for Cale

  A Moment in Time- A Collection of Short Stories

  Lambert’s Lady

  * * *

  Special Operations Fan Fiction

  http://www.AcesPress.com

  Beyond Reality Series

  Outback Hearts

  Flaming Hearts

  Frozen Hearts

  Writing as Annie George:

  Stepbrother Virgin (erotic novella)

  About the Author

  New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Susan Stoker has a heart as big as the state of Texas where she lives, but this all American girl has also spent the last fourteen years living in Missouri, California, Colorado, and Indiana. She’s married to a retired Army man who now gets to follow her around the country.

  She debuted her first series in 2014 and quickly followed that up with the SEAL of Protection Series, which solidified her love of writing and creating stories readers can get lost in.

  If you enjoyed this book, or any book, please consider leaving a review. It’s appreciated by authors more than you’l
l know.

  www.stokeraces.com

  [email protected]