Holiday Heat: The Men of Starlight Bend

by Ashley Jennifer

  Anna laughed softly and said, “I swear we’ll decorate the house and the entire ranch next year.”

  “Excellent.” He continued. “There’s also an A.”

  The gold charm was scripted with a flourish and covered with diamond chips. “For Anna,” she said on a wisp of a breath. “It’s beautiful, Jake.”

  “Actually,” he told her, “the A’s for Angel. Dad says you are one and I think you look like one.”

  Her eyes misted. But Anna knew her tears going forward would be of joy, not heartbreak.

  “Jake.” She didn’t know what to say. She glanced up at Nick, who appeared damn proud of his son. He had every right to be.

  Anna’s gaze returned to Jake. “I love it. This is the perfect gift. So thoughtful. And really very pretty. Will you put it on me?”

  “Sure!”

  She held out her arm and he encircled her wrist with the gold link bracelet. He easily worked the clasp and Anna admired the sparkling jewelry. “It truly is gorgeous, Jake. This means the world to me.”

  He gave her an earnest look and said, “Means the world to me that you want us to stay.”

  “I do,” she said with a nod. “Absolutely.”

  “I told you Dad was happy here. So am I.” His arms flew around her neck and he gave her one hell of a bear hug. Making Anna laugh through her tears.

  She needed a few seconds to collect herself, then eased him away. She said, “I have a gift for you, too. But it won’t be delivered for roughly another eighteen days.”

  Jake’s brow furrowed. Yet something clearly clicked in his brain, because he seemed to do some mental math and his adorable face light up. “Anna! You’re keeping one of Nikita’s puppies!”

  She smiled. “I’m keeping all three of Nikita’s puppies. Dr. Winston took more X-rays and confirmed the number—and that they’re all doing just fine.”

  “Three?” Nick inquired, a hint of incredulity in his voice.

  “Yes,” she said as she stared up at him again. “One for each of us. So start thinking of a name for yours.” Her attention returned to Jake. “You, too.”

  “Wow, I can’t believe I’m finally getting a dog. Thanks, Anna.” He hugged her once more.

  “Nothing makes a house a home like a pet,” she said.

  Jake released her. “And apple pie. You do bake apple pies, right?”

  “Every Fourth of July for my staff. But I promise to do it more frequently for you.”

  “Cool.”

  He kissed her on the cheek. Anna had to fight back a few more tears.

  She stood and said to Nick, “Sorry to have made an executive decision. Should have asked you about the puppies beforehand.”

  “Like I would have said no,” he told her as he pulled her into his arms. “Not this time. Not ever to you. You are completely irresistible.”

  He kissed her. Jake didn’t make a peep.

  When they came up for air, Anna tried to catch her breath.

  Nick continued to steal it. He said, “I have a gift for you, too. We’ll have to pick it out when we take a quick trip back to New York for some of mine and Jake’s belongings. We’ll have the rest packed up and shipped so—”

  “Wait…pick it out?”

  “Yes,” Nick murmured against her lips. “From Tiffany’s or Cartier. Whatever you want. As big a diamond as you want…”

  She gaped.

  He chuckled.

  “You’re…?”

  “Proposing. I want you to marry me, angel. Be mine. Only mine.”

  “I love you,” she said. “So much.”

  “I love you, too. Always.”

  He held her tight—the way she’d longed for before he’d come home for the holidays; the way he did so perfectly.

  Something magical had happened this Christmas in Starlight Bend. That Santa Claus at Big Sky Living, who’d looked like the real deal, had told Anna her wish had been granted when she’d selected Zander’s tag from the tree. If he actually would have asked her to make a wish, Anna would have said something like, “Less roadkill.” Being a vet and a realist, it would have been the wish of her head.

  What had occurred upon Nick’s return, however…that was all, without doubt, the wish of her heart. Nick had told her to have faith when he’d left her years ago. But Anna had never fully allowed herself to take a chance on the fantasy coming true.

  Until now.

  Suddenly, Anna had everything she could possibly want—because of that Big Sky Santa or that mystical entity or Nick… Didn’t matter. She knew it was all real.

  And everlasting.

  “Best Christmas ever,” she said.

  Nick shook his head. “I promise you both, our Christmases together are only going to get better and better. Year after year.”

  This time, she didn’t doubt him in the least.

  Epilogue

  “That was some awesome sledding,” Zander Thomas said as he came through the front door of the duplex he and his mother occupied one side of in a low-rent housing community. She was sitting on the sofa, knitting another hat for him.

  She set aside her needles as he stored the large plastic disk in his bedroom, then returned and joined her.

  She said, “I’m sorry I couldn’t get you the old-fashioned toboggan you wanted.”

  “That’s okay,” he assured her. “I had a blast, anyway.”

  She patted his cheek, which always made him feel like he was two. But he didn’t mind the affectionate gesture. “You’re a good kid, Zander.”

  “And you’re a great mom. How’d you know I was going to lose my hat in a pile of powder?”

  She grinned. “Mother’s intuition.”

  Gazing up at her, he asked, “You’re not mad?”

  “Just means you were too excited to realize it’d fallen off. How can I be mad about that?”

  “Thanks, Mom.” He leaned forward and kissed her. Then pulled sharply away, something catching his attention out of the corner of his eye. “Hey. Where’d all those presents come from?”

  There’d only been the one this morning—his sled.

  “Oh, those.” She stood and crossed to the small artificial tree, propped up in the corner on a round table that was surrounded by boxes covered with brightly colored wrapping paper. “Santa stopped by while you were out. Called first, just to make sure you weren’t here so this would all be a surprise.”

  “Mom,” he sighed with exasperation. “I stopped believing in him years ago.”

  “Doesn’t mean Santa doesn’t exist. In some form or other, at least. Come over here and check this all out. You’ve got quite a treasure trove. Start with these up front.”

  “They’re all for me?”

  “Every last one. Though Santa was kind enough to bring me a gift certificate to the salon for a day of beauty—and a foot massage, which is much appreciated now that I’m working at the diner.” She smiled again, though her eyes watered. “There’s just no accounting for the extent of another’s generosity. It’s really quite astounding sometimes.”

  “Yeah, I guess so.” He tore into a package and found the latest electronic hand-held game that some of his friends had. The ones who could afford it, that was. “Geez, this one costs a lot of money.”

  Zander opened gift after gift. Sweaters, a baseball, bat and mitt, a soccer ball, on and on.

  He sat back and stared at his mom, who’d joined him, sitting on the floor. He said, “I didn’t ask for any of this. But I wanted a lot of it. The sweaters…eh. The rest of it, though… I don’t have any of this stuff.”

  “Somehow Santa knew that.”

  “Because he called you?”

  She laughed. “Well, it is the quickest way to nail down a Christmas list.”

  “Mom, this is great. It’s all…wow.” He ripped open another gift. A large, lumpy, oddly shaped one. Zander’s heart leapt and his eyes widened. “Puppy food? Mom, this is a bag of puppy food!”

  “Oh, that reminds me,” she joked as she got to her feet. �
�There’s a puppy waiting for you.”

  She rushed off to the bathroom and opened the door.

  Zander got to his knees as a white bundle of fluff came scampering across the floor. And all but launched himself into Zander’s arms.

  “Mom!” He couldn’t believe it. “This is the dog from the pet shop. The one I was playing with!”

  “He clearly remembers you.”

  Zander laughed as the pup licked his face.

  But then he gazed back at his mother. “We can’t afford a dog. You already told me that.”

  “No, Zander, we can’t afford him.”

  His spirits instantly sank. They’d have to return the puppy to the veterinarian he’d met at the pet store.

  “Not under normal circumstances,” his mother added. “But these aren’t normal circumstances. See, our special Santa brought everything we need to take care of the puppy. A chest of toys, treats, blankets, pillows, a bed. There’s also a tab set up for us at the store for food and so we can get him new toys and supplies when he needs them. Also, we’re guaranteed a lifetime of immunizations and examinations—everything to keep him healthy. We just have to look after him and give him lots of love. And a name.”

  Zander’s throat thickened. Tears prickled his eyes. “You mean…we get to keep him? Really?”

  “Really.”

  “Mom, this is exactly what I wanted. This was all I asked for, even though I knew it was impossible. But…it’s not?”

  She shook her head as tears spilled from her eyes, too. She knelt beside Zander and said, “I know you’ll be very careful with the puppy and attentive. He’ll have a good home here. With the two of us.”

  “Yeah.” Zander snuggled with the puppy, who licked his ear and then the fat drops rolling down his cheeks. “He’ll have the best home here with us.”

  The End

  Keep reading for more stories in the series Holiday Heat: The Men of Starlight Bend!

  To My Readers

  Over the years, I’ve enjoyed writing holiday romances with my dear friends Erin Quinn and Mary Leo. This year, we were lucky enough to have two other amazing authors join us—Jennifer Ashley and Jennifer Probst. Creating Starlight Bend and a little Christmas magic has been a lot of fun. His Angel of Starlight Bend started out in my mind as a sassy tale, but the more I got to know Nick and Anna, I felt compelled to delve deeper into their history and all the things that have kept them apart physically, as well as everything that binds them in their hearts and souls. And I knew Jake would be the glue to hold it all together in this second chance at romance. I hope you enjoyed their journey. Happy Holidays to you!

  About Calista Fox

  Calista is a former PR professional, now writing fast-paced, steamy books to set your pulse racing! She writes for St. Martin’s Press and Grand Central Publishing. She has won many Reviewer’s and Reader’s Choice Awards, as well as Best Book Awards. Calista is a member of Romance Writers of America and is a Past President/Advisor of the Phoenix chapter. Visit her at: www.calistafox.com

  Books by Calista Fox

  From St. Martin’s Press

  The Burned Deep Trilogy

  Burned Deep

  Flash Burned

  Burned Hearts

  Burning Obsession

  Filthy and Rich Box Set

  (Book 1 in the Bayfront Billionaires Series—Coming December 27, 2016)

  Possession

  The Bayfront Billionaires Series

  (Launching in January 2017)

  Seduction

  Confession

  Obsession

  Addiction

  The Billionaires Series

  (Launching in April 2017)

  The Billionaires

  The Billionaires: The Bosses

  The Billionaires: The Step-Brothers

  From Grand Central Publishing

  The Leave Your Shoes On Series

  What Lola Wants

  What Maxi Needs

  When Staci Takes Charge

  More at:

  www.calistafox.com

  www.facebook.com/calistafox

  www.twitter.com/calistafoxbooks

  Ropin’ The Lone Cowboy of Starlight Bend

  By Mary Leo

  Chapter One

  Jolie Shepard didn’t know the first thing about bitter-cold weather, icy snow, or anything even remotely related to winter slush. She wasn’t into skiing, ice skating or sledding. Oh sure, she’d seen snow before, and even recalled making a snowball or two whenever those pesky white flakes had somehow managed to fall on Sin City, but for the most part, real snow, the kind she was now gazing at through the windshield might as well have been happening on Mars.

  “How much farther?” she asked for the fifth time as she tried to keep warm inside the drafty two-decade-old pickup truck with the rusty blue dashboard, and the passenger window that wouldn’t quite close. It wasn’t bad enough that the seat felt like a slab of ice and the shocks were almost non-existent, but the temperature inside the cab couldn’t be more than five degrees warmer than outside, which according to the weather app on her phone, the outside temperature was racing for single digits.

  “We should be there in twenty minutes,” her friend Riley said, a little smirk on her face, obviously excited to show Jolie around her hometown of Starlight Bend, Montana. She’d been patiently waiting to pick up Jolie at the abbreviated Kalispell City airport, some fifty miles outside of Starlight Bend, wearing a big welcome smile and a fluffy down coat that Jolie now envied.

  Looking out at the gray skies and the snow-covered road ahead of them, Jolie wondered if this trip had been a smart move. No amount of anticipated Christmas loneliness could be worth all of this . . . this winter wasteland.

  Usually she’d spend Christmas Eve with her family at a lavish buffet inside a casino, then afterwards they’d walk around the Bellagio to check out the amazing decorations inside the conservatory, and enjoy a gelato at the chocolate shop. Most Christmas days would be spent at a bowling alley competing with her family and friends . . . a tradition they’d been nurturing ever since Jolie could push a bowling ball down an alley.

  But this year her parents were celebrating their thirtieth wedding anniversary and decided to finally take that honeymoon they never had. So off they went to Arlington, Texas for a private tour of the International Bowling Museum and while in Arlington, to participate in the annual Christmas Day Bowling Extravaganza with fellow Christmas bowlers.

  Who knew?

  They’d invited Jolie to join them, but bowling had never really been her passion, and besides, she felt like such a third wheel. Instead she decided to finally accept Riley’s annual offer to come spend Christmas with her family in a town Jolie knew nothing about other than what Riley had told her, and the images she’d seen online . . . the summer images of blue skies and rushing streams.

  Perhaps she should have pulled up the winter images, instead.

  “It’s time you experienced a real, downhome Christmas,” Riley had told her every Christmas since she began calling Montana home. Riley and her mom had moved to Las Vegas when Riley was fifteen, and, up until then, they’d lived in Boise, Idaho. Her mom met Gus Griffith, a cowboy, when Riley was a freshman at UNLV, got married and moved to Starlight Bend, his hometown. Every holiday and every summer after that, Riley went ‘home’ and Jolie stayed in Vegas. And every holiday and every summer, Riley would beg Jolie to come for a visit, but the thought of spending time in some rural town out in the middle of nowhere never appealed to Jolie.

  Until now.

  It all started about four months ago when she dumped her boyfriend, Eric, after she learned he’d cheated on her with a topless cocktail waitress named Brandy, a woman with fake breasts the size of watermelons, who, according to Eric, was “more fun and spontaneous.” Then a few weeks later Jolie quit her latest temp job when her highly respected, newly divorced, male boss shamelessly hit on her during a discussion on appropriate workday behavior. Apparently, for both of these men she wa
sn’t quite living up to their standards.

  She needed a break, maybe even an escape hatch—at minimum she needed to see what rural life was all about and if the men of Montana were any better than most of the single men she knew in Vegas. She wished for once she could meet a decent guy with high morals, who knew how to treat a woman, and who could make her laugh. In all the months she’d dated Eric, not once had she laughed . . . a real belly laugh that brought on tears.

  As for finding a job, well, if she knew what she wanted to do, maybe she wouldn’t have such a hard time committing to a career. So far, temp jobs had fit the bill.

  So without giving it any more thought she’d hopped on a plane and flew out to visit her friend for Christmas.

  “Big mistake,” she mumbled to herself as she stared out the window at nothing but miles and miles of pine trees covered by thick, white snow. Whenever there was a break in the trees, all she saw was endless open land, and some distant mountains covered in more snow. She felt as if she was caught in a discarded snow globe that was never very pretty in the first place.

  A deep shiver ran through her, and she hugged herself to keep warm. Obviously, her tailored wool jacket was a total waste of money. What she needed to fight the weather that tormented her was some kind of thermal underwear, several sweaters, and a coat made out of bear hide. Not that she was the least bit into killing animals for personal warmth, but she’d recently watched The Revenant on a movie channel. If bear fur was good enough for Leonardo, it was good enough for her.

  “And you picked Montana in the middle of the winter for your escape route? How dumb are you?” she whispered into the rattling side window, fogging the glass with her breath.

  “Did you say something?” Riley asked, while keeping her eyes dead ahead on the unplowed road.

  “Nothing. Just speculating on how cold it is out there. You didn’t tell me I’d need bear skin to keep warm.”

  Riley chuckled. “That would be against the law, and besides, it’s not nearly as cold as it could be. We’ve had a warm December so far, probably due to global warming.”