Dear Reader,

Christmas is a holiday that stirs strong emotions and mine have run the gamut.  There was my first Christmas as a new bride—very romantic.  My first Christmas hundreds of miles away from my family—highly sentimental, and not necessarily in a good way.  Our Christmases with our children when they were young and impossibly excited were very joyous indeed.   The Christmas immediately following the passing of my father was achingly bittersweet.  There are years when the holiday spirit seems determined to elude me—although I always find it eventually.  And years when I am overrun with merriment and anticipation weeks before the actual day.   I never know how the season is going to start—that sort of depends on what is going on around me.  I always know how it’s going to end, with celebration and appreciation, love and family. And the same is true of the residents of fictional Laramie, Texas. 

Event planner Noelle Kringle realizes she has spent too much time dwelling on her losses and is determined to do better and make this a holiday to remember for her two and a half year old son, even as she goes all out to help a beloved friend who is going through her own tough time.  Detective Kevin McCabe laments the lack of a wife and kids of his very own.  His strategy for avoiding the holiday blues is to stay busy, first by doing the guy thing and going fishing alone for two weeks and then by concentrating on police work and charitable endeavors.  Neither figure on a life-changing holiday romance…. But then, the best presents are always a surprise… I hope you enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed writing it.  For more information on this and other titles, please visit the book list and series guide. Happy holidays and best wishes, Cathy Gillen Thacker

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