Holly Jacobs - A Valley Ridge Christmas

The whole town’s in on this Christmas secret!

Maeve Buchanan isn’t the jealous type. But with another Valley Ridge wedding approaching, she’s feeling a twinge of envy. Everyone seems to be finding “it”—except her. Not that romance is high on her priority list! Inspired by the arrival of a homeless family one snowy night, Maeve—Valley Ridge’s own George Bailey—is determined to give them a permanent home by Christmas.

To make this surprise happen, fiercely independent Maeve is going to need a lot of help. Particularly from the irritating newcomer Aaron Holder, who thinks Maeve is just too good to be true and suspects her motives. Working together won’t be easy. But it’ll be worth it…in so many ways!

He spotted Maeve Buchanan crossing the street.

Aaron didn’t know what to make of the fiery redhead who volunteered her time to a library and took in stray homeless families.

She had to have an angle. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he’d learned the hard way that everyone had an angle. Everyone was out for something. Just because he couldn’t see what Maeve was after, didn’t mean she didn’t have an agenda.

To listen to his uncle and the customers at the Feed Store, she was too good to be true. And Aaron realized that if something seemed too good to be true, it generally was.

Maeve was a puzzle.

Dear Reader,

My love of Christmas has nothing to do with my holidayish name. Many people think my birthday must be sometime during the festive season. It’s not. It’s in August. Mom liked the name Holly because she didn’t see any potential nicknames in it. This is why I spent most of my life as Hall. To the point that I turned in papers in school as Hall. Move over Madonna and Cher.

So, the fact I’ve written seven Christmas books over the years doesn’t have anything to do with a birthday, or my name. I just love the season. It’s a special time. There’s a spirit of giving and kindness that I’d love to see last throughout the year.

My heroine Maeve Buchanan carries that spirit with her year-round. As opposed to Aaron Holder, who’s troubled by his past and future. Ultimately, he finds his place in the present next to Maeve—a place he never thought he’d find.

It was so much fun to return to Valley Ridge and meet up with the other couples from the first three books. It’s at one of their weddings that Maeve and Aaron share a very special dance.

Thank you for sharing your holiday with me and Maeve and Aaron! I hope you enjoy A Valley Ridge Christmas.

Holly Jacobs

A Valley Ridge Christmas

Holly Jacobs

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

In 2000, Holly Jacobs sold her first book to Mills & Boon Books. She’s since sold more than twenty-five novels to the publisher. Her romances have won numerous awards and made the Waldenbooks bestseller list. In 2005, Holly won a prestigious Career Achievement Award from RT Book Reviews. In her nonwriting life, Holly is married to a police captain, and together they have four children. Visit Holly at www.hollyjacobs.com, or you can snail-mail her at P.O. Box 11102, Erie, PA 16514-1102.

For Jack

And for librarians, who have made such a difference in so many people’s lives…including mine. Special thanks to Miss Kitty here in Erie.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Epilogue

Excerpt

PROLOGUE

BOYD MYERS WANTED more than anything to glance over at his wife, Josie, but he didn’t dare take his eyes off the road. Not that he could see much of the road beneath the white wall of snow.

“We need to pull off the interstate.” His voice seemed very loud after listening to the wind buffet the RV for so long.

He white-knuckled the steering wheel and hunched forward, as if moving closer to the windshield would help him see some landmark. A guardrail. A sign. Another car. He hadn’t seen headlights in what felt like forever. That didn’t mean there was no one else on the road, only that the snow hid them—and that possibility scared him.

“There,” Josie said, pointing to the right.

Boyd jumped and tightened his grip, thinking she’d spotted some other vehicle, but Josie simply said, “A town. Valley Ridge.”

A small sign bearing the words, Valley Ridge, lit up for a split second under his headlights. There must have been other signs farther back that they’d missed because the turnoff was almost immediate. If he’d been going sixty-five miles an hour, he’d have shot right by the exit ramp. But because he was only going ten, maybe fifteen miles an hour, it was possible for him to ease the RV off the highway.

“Now I know how the shepherds felt,” Josie murmured.

“Shepherds?” he asked.

“They had a star that lit the way to Bethlehem—all they had to do was follow it.”

Despite the weather and his anxiety, he chuckled. “If there were stars tonight, we’d never see them through the snow. We’ll have to be thankful for the street signs.” The off-ramp ended and he brought the RV to a halt. “Which way?”

“All we have to do is follow the signs,” she said, pointing.

There was another sign proclaiming Valley Ridge to the right.

Some of his anxiety eased—Josie always knew what to say. He put her through so much, but her optimistic attitude never wavered.

Boyd had never heard of Valley Ridge. He wasn’t sure if they were in New York still or if they had crossed over into Pennsylvania—not that it mattered. Just as it didn’t matter how small a town this Valley Ridge was. It would have some parking lot he could pull the RV into. And if not, pulling over to the side of the road there had to be a great deal safer than pulling over to the side of the interstate. Frankly, he hadn’t been sure he could tell where the side of the interstate was.

He eased the RV onto the two-lane road and followed the sign that pointed to the right. It felt as if it took hours to enter the town proper, but he finally spotted a sign that read Valley Ridge Library. He couldn’t see the building, but there were reflectors that marked what he assumed to be the driveway. He pulled the RV between them and parked. It was probably the middle of the unlit parking lot, but for tonight, that would suffice.

He turned off the engine and finally looked at his wife. “I wasn’t sure we were going to make it.”

“I never doubted you for a minute.” Josie’s arms were resting on her enormous stomach. “Carl slept through the whole thing.”

He glanced at his two-year-old son, safely strapped into his car seat in the back.

“I’ve never driven in such a bad storm.” And he never wanted to be out in weather like this again.

His fault. This was all his fault.

If the plastics plant he’d worked for hadn’t closed. If he hadn’t lost his job, they wouldn’t have lost their tiny bungalow in Plattsburgh, Vermont. If they hadn’t lost the house, he wouldn’t have sold everything to buy a twenty-year-old RV that had seen better days and packed up his family, then headed off to North Dakota and the promise of work there.

As if she knew what he was thinking, Josie leaned over and kissed his unshaven cheek. “It will all come out in the wash, Boyd.”

He smiled to hear her using her grandmother’s saying. Her grandmother had been a crusty old woman who’d scared the heck out of him at first, but eventually became a grandmother to him, as well. When their families objected to them marrying at such a young age, she’d stood up for him and Josie.

“We’re all here together, safe and warm,” Josie said. “The storm can blow the rest of the night. It won’t bother us.”