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The Gift of Family
Committed to her spinsterhood, Isabel Flores isn’t about to trust a man with her hard-won independence or her heart—especially not lawman Ben MacGregor. But when a little boy is abandoned on her property, the so-called “Debonair Deputy” of their small Tennessee town helps her care for the child. And Isabel begins to hope he might be more than just a handsome flirt.
Ben is well aware of Isabel’s aversion to love and has his own secret reasons for avoiding relationships. But as he and Isabel do their best to make the holiday special for their young ward, Ben wonders if he could be a family man after all. Will this Christmas be the first of many for Isabel and Ben’s little instant family?
“What’s your favorite thing about Christmas?” Ben asked.
With any other woman, Ben would’ve been able to find a way to make her relax. Isabel wasn’t just any woman, however. The fact that she disliked him made his task that much harder.
Her focus was on her gloved hands folded tightly together in her lap. “I like many things about this time of year. One of them is the renewed spirit of charity. People tend to treat each other better.”
Her statement was a telling one. While he understood how it felt to live under the weight of a town’s critical scrutiny, he hadn’t grown up with a scandalous father like Isabel.
“Anything else?”
“I enjoy baking. This time of year has plenty of opportunities for that. My sisters and I spend extra time in the kitchen making treats for their friends.”
“What about your friends?”
Her chin jutted out. “My sisters are my friends.”
“Someday your sisters will marry and move away,” he said gently. “What happens then, Isabel?”
This book is the final installment of my Smoky Mountain Matches series. I count myself blessed to have been able to create a fictional world centered around a place near and dear to my heart. I hope you’ve enjoyed these characters and their stories. While I’m looking forward to new projects, I admit I’ll miss the O’Malleys and their friends. When I planned the first book, The Reluctant Outlaw, I had no idea if it would be published, much less become an entire series! I’m grateful to my editor, Emily Rodmell, for her invaluable guidance throughout this journey.
For more information on these and other books, please stop by my website, www.karenkirst.com. I’m active on Facebook and Twitter, @karenkirst, and love interacting with readers.
Blessings,
Karen Kirst
KAREN KIRST was born and raised in east Tennessee near the Great Smoky Mountains. She’s a lifelong lover of books, but it wasn’t until after college that she had the grand idea to write one herself. Now she divides her time between being a wife, homeschooling mom and romance writer. Her favorite pastimes are reading, visiting tearooms and watching romantic comedies.
A Lawman for Christmas
Karen Kirst
And the King will answer and say to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”
—Matthew 25:40
To my husband, Marek, and our three boys
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