Dearest Reader,
IN HONOR OF Valentine's Day, I'm sharing expressions of love from my characters, or should I say, their love for each other. These feel-good romances are set during Christmas, but they are meant to be enjoyed anytime of year, and what better time than Valentine's Day. It is certainly a good time to cozy up under a blanket and warm heart and soul with a few heartwarming tales of love and second chances. I hope you enjoy them.
All of the stories are included in Christmas in the Rockies.
Saige & Owen in
"Christmas in Moose Creek"
At some point during dessert, the twins fell asleep on the sofa. Owen expertly lifted one into each arm and carried them outside. Saige walked out with them and opened the passenger door to his truck.
“They had fun.”
He started the engine to heat the inside, covered the girls with a blanket, and closed the door. “You sound surprised.”
“No, it’s just, they remind me of me . . . before.”
Owen held her face in his hands. “Before doesn’t matter.”
Saige’s eyes welled without warning. “It does matter. I see how much I missed, what I could have had, if I had just—”
Owen silenced her with a kiss. It was perfect, and so much more intense than she expected. The years melted away as his lips moved in breathless strokes over hers, and yet this Owen, this time, was different—better.
When he eased away, she felt an immense need to pull him back.
“Don’t worry about the yesterdays, Saige. There are too many good tomorrows ahead.” He brushed his lips over hers once more, got in his truck, and drove down the road.
McKensie & Cameron in
"McKensie's Christmas Gift"
“Still your favorite room in the place?”
Her heart ticked up a few notches at the sound of his voice. McKensie turned and faced the doorway. “I have a lot of good memories from this room.” She blushed, realizing that some of those memories included him. By the grin Cameron now wore, she knew he remembered, too.
“There’s one in particular that comes to mind.”
Many memories came to mind, and she wondered which one lent the sparkle to Cameron’s eyes. He said, “It involved mistletoe and a plate of frosted shortbread cookies.”
“The carolers were in the foyer and Aunt Olivia had set up a table of refreshments. You sneaked the cookies when she walked out of the room.” McKensie laughed and it felt good. “That was the last Christmas I spent here with my whole family. We were so young.”
Cameron nodded and walked a few feet into the room. “It was the first time I wanted to kiss you. I saw the mistletoe and just knew your dad would skin me from here to the Tetons if I tried.”
“I wish you had.”
Maura and Wyatt in
"A Snowy Falls Christmas"
Duncan draped his arm over the back of the bench and turned toward Wyatt. “I figured you ought to know that she’s come home.”
Wyatt let the softly spoken words penetrate. He didn’t have to ask the name of “she,”’ for Duncan’s expression revealed enough. He cleared his throat, the need to leave overwhelming. “I thought she moved to Scotland.”
“Well, she did until she didn’t. She’s only just returned.”
“To stay?”
“Seems that way. This is her home, lad, just as it is yours.”
Wyatt tried to block the image of Maura Coburn from filling his mind. He should know it was impossible, for no person had ever been as familiar to him as Maura. At inconvenient times during his travels, her image flitted into his thoughts, with the memories of her as real as when they first happened.
Their first walk. The first time he brushed a hand over her silky hair. The first time he made her smile. Their first kiss.
Wyatt looked away from those memories and back to Duncan. “Did she ever tell you why she left?”
“As far as I know, she’s never told anyone.” Duncan laid a fatherly hand on Wyatt’s shoulder. “She won’t know yet that you’re back, but someone will tell her before too long.”
“Will you?”
“If someone else doesn’t first.”
Wyatt smiled at Duncan. “You’ve always been good for her.”
“So, have you, lad.” Duncan rose from the bench. Wyatt reached out to help him when Duncan shook away the gesture. “I’m not so old yet, my boy.” He grinned. “To be helping myself or to be meddling.”
Happy Saint Valentine's Day!
~McKenna
McKenna Grey, the contemporary alter-ego of award-winning author MK McClintock, writes romantic suspense and thrillers, including the Kyndall Family series, and heartwarming, small-town romance to break up the murder and mayhem. She enjoys a quiet life in the northern Rocky Mountains where she manages to stay out of the trouble her characters can't seem to avoid.