CHAPTER 1

          Kaleb Brantley hated December and everything that had to do with it. The days were too short, making the nights seem as long as forever. It was colder than hell and dark…

          But, most of all, there was the incessant Christmas badgering. Lights, trees, carols, and an ever-increasing barrage of commercials urging you to shop, spend, buy. And every reminder of the holiday season ate at the edges of his soul and heart like drops of acid.

          He scowled at the roaring flames in the fireplace, slapped one hand on the mantel, and rubbed his fingers over the polished edge of the wood. With his gaze locked on the flames, Kaleb told himself that if he could, he’d wipe the month of December from the calendar.

“If you wish, you can’t stick your head in the snow and pretend Christmas isn’t happening.”

          Kaleb flicked a glance at the woman in the open doorway. His housekeeper/cook/nag, Martha Stewart, stood there glaring at him through narrowed blue eyes.

          Hands at her wide hips, her gray-streaked black hair pulled back into a single thick braid that hung down over one shoulder, she shook her head.

“But I must warn you… There’s not enough snow to do it anyway, and whether you like it or not, Christmas is coming.”

“I don’t and it’s only coming if I acknowledge it,” Kaleb told her.

 “Well, you’re going to have to pay attention because I’m out of here tomorrow.”

“I’ll give you a raise if you cancel your trip,” he said, willing to bargain to avoid the hassle of losing the woman who ran his house so he didn’t have to.

          A short bark of laughter shot from her throat.

“Not a chance in hell, Scrooge! My friend Ruthie and I do this every year, as you well know. We’ve got our rooms booked and there’s no way we’re canceling.”

          Kaleb had known that, but, as usual, he just hadn’t wanted to think about it. And, this was another reason to hate December with all his might. Every year, Martha and Ruthie took a month-long vacation. A cruise to the Bahamas, then a stay at a splashy beachside hotel, followed by another cruise home. Martha liked to say it was her therapy to get her through the rest of the year living with an oddball like himself.

“If you love Christmas so much, why do you run to a beach every year?”

          She sighed heavily.

“Listen, Kaleb! Christmas is everywhere, you know. Even in hot, sandy places! We buy little trees, decorate them for our rooms. And the hotel lights up all the palm trees...”

          Martha sighed again, but this time, it was with delight.

“You should see it… It’s absolutely gorgeous.”

“Fine!”

          Kaleb pushed away from the fireplace, tucked both hands into the pockets of his jeans, and stared at her. Every year he tried to talk her out of leaving and every year he lost. Now he knew he must surrender to the inevitable.

“You need a ride to the airport?” Kaleb asked.

          A small smile curved her mouth at the offer.

“No, Kaleb, but thanks. Ruthie’s going to pick me up at the crack of dawn tomorrow. She’ll leave her car there so when we come back, we don’t have to worry about taking one of those damn shuttles or some strange Uber…”

“Okay then…”

          He took a breath and tried to smile at her.

“Have a great time,” he muttered.

“See?! The enthusiasm in that suggestion is just one of the reasons I need this trip.”

          One dark eyebrow lifted.

“You worry me, Kaleb,” Martha said. “All locked away on this mountain hardly talking to anyone but me… It’s not healthy… And it doesn’t help you…”

          Martha kept going, but Kaleb tuned out. He’d heard it all before. The woman was determined to see him ‘start living his life’ again. Didn’t seem to matter that he had no interest in that.

          While she talked, Kaleb glanced around the main room of what Martha liked to call his personal prison. It was a log home, the wood the color of warm honey, with lots of glass to spotlight the view that was breathtaking from every room.

          Pine forest surrounded the house, and a wide, private lake stretched out beyond a narrow slice of beach. Kaleb had a huge garage and several outbuildings, including a custom-designed workshop where Kaleb wished he was right at that moment.

          This house, this sanctuary, was just what he’d been looking for when he’d come to Idaho five years ago. It was isolated, with a small town just fifteen minutes away when he needed supplies.

          A big city, with the airport and all manner of other distractions, was just an hour from there, not that he ever went. What Kaleb needed, he had Martha pick up in town and only rarely went to town himself.

          The whole point of moving here had been to find quiet. Peace. Solitude. Hell, he could go weeks and never talk to anyone but Martha. Thoughts of her brought him back to the conversation at hand.

“Anyway, don’t worry,” she was saying, “my friend Sparkle Pearce will be here around ten, tomorrow morning to fill in for me while I’m gone.”

          Kaleb nodded. At least, Martha had done what she always did. She arranged for one of her friends to come and stay for the month she’d be gone. Kaleb wouldn’t have to worry about cooking, cleaning, or pretty much anything but keeping his distance from whatever busybody she’d found this year.

          He folded his arms over his chest.

“I’m not going to catch this one rifling through my desk, right?”

          Martha winced.

“I will admit that having Betty come last year was a bad idea... I’ll give you that…”

“Yeah,” Kaleb agreed.

          She’d seemed nice enough, but the woman had poked her head into everything she could find. Within a week, Kaleb had sent her home and had spent the following three weeks eating grilled cheese sandwiches, canned soup, and frozen pizza.

“I’d say so.”

“She’s the curious sort.”

“Nope… She’s nosy.”

“Yes, well…” Martha added, clearing her throat, “as I’ve said, that was my mistake. And I already told you how sorry I am. But my friend Sparkle isn’t a snoop. I think you’ll like her very much…”

“Not necessary,” Kaleb assured her.

          He didn’t want to like Sparkle Pearce. Hell, he didn’t want to talk to her if he could avoid it.

“Of course not.”

          Martha shook her head again and gave him the kind of look teachers used to reserve for the kid acting up in class.

“Wouldn’t want to be human or anything. Might set a nasty precedent.”

“Martha...”

          The woman had worked for him since the first day he’d moved to Idaho. And since then, she’d muscled her way much deeper into his life than he’d planned on allowing.

          Not only did she take care of the house, but she looked after him despite the fact that he didn’t want her to. But Martha was a force of nature, and it seemed her friends were a lot like her.

“Never mind. Anyway, to what I was saying, Sparkle already knows that you’re cranky and want to be left alone…”

          Kaleb frowned at her.

“Gee thanks…”

“What? Am I wrong, Kaleb?”

          When he didn’t answer, she nodded.

“I thought so… She’s a great cook and runs her own business on the internet.”

“You told me all of this already,” he pointed out.

          Though she hadn’t said what kind of business the amazing Sparkle ran. Still, how many different things could a woman in her fifties or sixties do online? Give knitting lessons? Run a babysitting service? Dog sitting? Hell, his own mother sold handmade dresses online, so there was just no telling.

“I know, I know.”

          Martha waved away his interruption.

“She’ll stay out of your way because she needs this time here. The contractor says they won’t have the fire damage at her house repaired until January, so being able to stay and work here was a godsend.”

“You told me this, too,” Kaleb reminded her.

          In fact, he’d heard more than enough about the amazing Sparkle Pearce. According to Martha, she was smart, clever, a hard worker, had a wonderful sense of humor, and did apparently everything just short of walking on water.

“But how did the fire in her house start again? Is she a closet arsonist? A terrible cook who set fire to the stove?”

“What are you saying? Of course not!” Martha sniffed audibly and stiffened as if someone had shoved a pole down the back of her sweatshirt. “I told you, there was a short in the wiring. The house she’s renting is just ancient and something was bound to go at some point. The owner of the house is having all the wiring redone, though, so it should be safe now.”

“I’m relieved to hear it,” he said.

          And relieved he didn’t have to worry that Martha’s friend was so old she’d forgotten to turn off an oven or something.

“I’m only trying to tell you,” she broke off to give him a small smile of understanding, “like I do every year, that you’ll survive the month of December just like you do every year.”

          He ground his teeth together at the flash of sympathy that stirred and then vanished from her eyes. This was the problem with people getting to know too much about him. They felt as if they had the right to offer comfort where none was wanted… or needed, for that matter.

          Kaleb liked Martha a lot, but there were parts of his life that were closed off. For a reason. He’d get through the holidays his way. Which meant ignoring the forced cheer and the never-ending lineup of ‘joy to the world’ and ‘feel good’ holiday-themed movies where the hard-hearted hero does a turnaround and opens himself to love and the spirit of Christmas.

          Hearts should never be open. Left them too vulnerable to being shattered. And he’d never set himself up for that kind of pain again. Not for all the… joy in the world.