The last she’d seen him, Jax had been one of the brave ones still sitting naked on an ice block in the Locketts’ front yard.
Lana had been to a lot of New Year’s parties in her life, but nothing had been anywhere close to the party she and Rick had together after leaving, cuddled in front of the fire on Rick’s couch. He must have figured out her preference for sleeping on them, because they’d stayed right there all night long, without a bottle of wine or a glass of champagne in sight.
There was a hedgehog in a Christmas sweater, a grumpy cat in an uglier Christmas sweater, and a kitten that liked to chew on them, but Lana was willing to share. Rick had a big enough heart to love them all.
She didn’t know exactly what this relationship would end up looking like. She was still going to have to travel, even though she was setting up her own office in Moose Springs (as close to Frankie’s bakery as humanly possible). But they’d agreed that for every week they spent apart, they’d make sure to spend three together.
And if the Montgomery Group didn’t like that? Too bad. Lana finally had a home and a place she belonged. She wasn’t going to waste that precious gift for one single second.
As the fire died down, the clock on her phone clicking over to six in the morning, Lana slipped out from beneath the blanket she and Rick had shared on his couch, padding to the door. She had always greeted every new year, every new beginning. Even as things changed, who Lana was would always stay the same.
Rick opened his eyes when she slipped on his jacket and tucked her feet into his boots. Then his lips curved as he closed them again, rolling over into the space she’d left next to him. Trust took time, and it would be a long time before the scar tissue in his heart completely softened, giving way to the belief that she wasn’t going anywhere. That he was more than enough for her. But clomping her way outside in Rick’s oversize boots was a start.
The world was at its darkest this early in the morning, and the thick blanket of snow had muted the forest into the kind of silence that one experienced only a few times in their lives. For Lana, with the silence came peace. As she leaned against the railing of Rick’s porch, the moon slowly drifting across the sky, a moose stepped out of the forest.
At first, she didn’t understand what she was seeing, not until it moved fully into the yard.
Never had she seen a female moose so delicate, so tall and perfectly proportioned, her sleek coat gleaming beneath the moonlight in a white so pure, it took Lana’s breath away. An albino moose.
Then that perfect moose destroyed the carefully constructed Christmas display in front of Rick’s porch, as if the lights were a cobra and she was determined to save them all. The Santa Moose stepped back, snorting a breath into the air.
Yep. One more job well done.
Lana knew exactly what that was like: hurting something in the hopes of fixing the problem. The only difference was the businesses of Moose Springs were far more resilient than a string of holiday lights. They’d given her a second chance, and she was determined to make the most of that chance. Unlike this incredible moose, Lana had good people willing to stand by her, even when she screwed up. People to help show her the error of her ways. Moose Springs had never needed Lana to save them. There was only one thing they had ever needed from her.
“Rick?” she called into the house, eyes never leaving the ghost slipping off into the forest.
“Yeah?” He already sounded resigned. The man loved her…and he knew her too well. Lana never had been able to resist a challenge, and Moose Springs was her home. She was determined to prove she was worthy of it. She just needed a good lure.
“I’m going to need you to put that Santa suit back on.”
Acknowledgments
It’s funny what starts the idea for a book. In the case of Mistletoe and Mr. Right, it all started with a penis on a mountainside. And a moose gone rogue. Then it just sort of took off from there.
I’m a sucker for a love story between two lonely people, and I have a special place in my heart for Lana and Rick. One bigger than life, one quiet and shy, both ready to just find each other already. The holidays are a special time, but they can also be especially lonely. It makes my heart happy that these two never have to spend another holiday apart.
As always, this book wouldn’t be here without a lot of people’s hard work, dedication, and support. Publishing is absolutely a team sport, and I’m so grateful for my teammates!
The biggest thanks will always be to my husband, Kenney. You bring so much light to my life. Thank you to my family for your amazing support every single day, and as always, thank you to God for this life that I love so much.
Thank you to my editors, Mary Altman and Christa Désir, for your patience, insight, and guidance on this manuscript. Your brilliance made Mistletoe come to life! Thank you to Stefani Sloma, Sarah Otterness, and the entire Sourcebooks team for all your hard work, each and every day. You are all amazing!
As always, thank you to my agent, Sara Megibow, for being the best agent I could ask for. You make being a published author so much less scary.
Thank you to my GH sisters for being there through this publishing journey, every step of the way. Thank you to all my talented critique partners for your help making this book come together. Special thanks to C.R. Grissom, Laurel Kerr, and Leigh Sullivan. C.R., thank you for always being so generous with your time and for your attention to detail. Laurel, thank you for all the plot hunting and advice on this story. Talking destructive moose and plastic elves with you is a blast! Leigh, you always save my tail with your eagle eyes.
Most of all, thank you to my readers. I hope this book brings you a little slice of Christmas joy.
Come back to Moose Springs and visit with Zoey & Graham!
Chapter 1
The bald eagle soared overhead, turning lazy circles against a backdrop of rich forested Alaskan mountainside.
As luck would have it, Graham Barnett had seen this same eagle on the way to work that morning. High above them both, the sun-kissed peaks of the Chugach Mountains glittered with their snowy caps, tree lines receding into grays and browns of weathered boulders.
Graham couldn’t have asked for a more peaceful moment to enjoy his hometown of Moose Springs. A moment to sit on the back steps of his diner, take a break, and sip a root beer.
If it just weren’t for the moose trying to make love to his pickup truck fifteen feet away.
“Ulysses, we do this every day, buddy.” Resting his arms on his thighs, he watched the fifteen-hundred-pound bull moose press his nostrils to the window of Graham’s abused Dodge, snuffing along the seal. Long, wet streaks of moose goo smeared on glass still crusty from the previous day’s love affair.
“The truck just isn’t into you. You’ve got to let this go, man. Move on to something better.”