Harlequin Superromance November 2014 - Box Set 2 of 2: Christmas at the CoveNavy ChristmasUntil She Met Daniel

by Rachel Brimble

  “Thank you so much for your offer of shelter,” she said to the bartender and started to leave.

  The door to the tavern burst open and six people entered—two women and four men—sodden, weary and breathing hard except the man who had pulled her away from the falling FRANCINE. He stood tall, brooding and soaked, taking inventory of the people in the tavern as if he were somehow responsible for each one of them—and ignoring her.

  Copyright © 2014 by Mary L. Biebel

  ISBN-13: 9781460342305

  Navy Christmas

  Copyright © 2014 by Geri Krotow

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.

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  Opposites are irresistible!

  If something feels right to Mandy Colson, she goes for it. That’s why she never stays long in one place and why she’s landed temporarily in sleepy Willow’s Eve. That’s also why she’s got a huge problem with new city manager Daniel Whittier. Sizzling attraction aside, the gorgeous single dad is all about control and playing it safe—and Mandy isn’t.

  So why does everything change when their arguments turn into combustible kisses? Now, instead of moving on, Mandy’s edging closer to Daniel…and falling deeper for a man who might not compromise, even for love.

  “What a klutz I am.”

  Daniel careered through her door a second later and saw her sprawled on the wood flooring.

  “You okay?”

  “Sure, just embarrassed by my two left feet.” Mandy groped around under her sore rear end and found the pen that had started her foot on its sideways journey, then held it up. “Here’s the culprit. Let’s have it arrested for unauthorized loitering.”

  He reached down to grasp her arm and help her upright. Mandy swallowed as she stumbled against his muscular frame. Man, did she want to know how it felt to be held tight and get kissed really thoroughly for once in her life.

  She stepped away and tried to smile, only to realize he was looking at her in a way that wasn’t collegial. Suddenly he pulled her close and bent down to press his lips against hers. Energy popped and she snuggled into an embrace that was as good as she’d imagined.

  Dear Reader,

  I like small towns and the quirky people you sometimes find in them. Those interesting folks are probably in big cities as well, but they tend to stand out more in smaller communities. Willow’s Eve, its people and its problems are fictional. But the small-town feeling of community is something I’ve encountered in many places, and so I wanted to share the spirit of it in this fictional setting.

  I hope you will enjoy the story of Willow’s Eve and the hero and heroine who meet there. Both Daniel and Mandy come from large cities and are quite the opposite in their plans and the way they approach their lives and careers. Yet they fall in love and find that what they’d always thought were the best plans aren’t always the ones that will bring them joy.

  I hope you have fun reading Until She Met Daniel. I enjoy hearing from readers and can be contacted c/o Harlequin Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, ON M3B 3K9, Canada.

  Callie Endicott

  CALLIE ENDICOTT

  Until She Met Daniel

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  As a kid, Callie Endicott had her nose stuck in a novel so much it frequently got her into trouble. She majored in English in college to support her addiction to stories, but it wasn’t enough. Out of desperation, she turned to writing, and now when she isn’t walking on a beach or taking a mountain forest trail, she usually has her nose stuck to a computer screen. That is, when she isn’t feeding her cat, scooping the litter box…and listening to Myna purr. Myna has a new friend, also four-footed, but she doesn’t like Winston, since he’s a rival. However, Winston and the guy in Callie’s life are getting along fine.

  Books by Callie Endicott

  HARLEQUIN SUPERROMANCE

  1900—THAT SUMMER AT THE SHORE

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  Dedicated to all the good, quirky souls I’ve known through the years

  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

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  EXCERPT

  PROLOGUE

  MANDY WAS PRACTICALLY giddy as she looked at the clock on the wall, thrilled that it was her last day at Saggitt Tech.

  It wasn’t the worst temp position she’d ever held, but doing inventory control for the company’s move from Tucson to Phoenix couldn’t compete with her last job—driving a tour bus around Pennsylvania’s Amish country.

  She grinned.

  Now that had been a great five months. People on vacation were fun—people whose jobs were moving to another city...not so much.

  An email notification popped up on her computer screen.

  Please come see me. Bill.

  She headed for Bill Rollins’s new office. He was one of the company’s up-and-coming executives and had worked closely with Mandy and the rest of the relocation team.

  “Hey, Bill,” she said breezily. “What’s up?”

  He frowned. “I just got your farewell email to everybody, saying you were leaving at noon today.”

  “Well, yeah. Saggitt has finished its move and the final inventory report is done, so I’m out of here. My car is all packed and I’ve done my exit interview with personnel.”

  “I thought you were staying.”

  Mandy blinked. “Bill, this was a temporary job.”

  He tapped his pen on the desk. “But we discussed that administrative position over a month ago, when we were still in Tucson. Didn’t you apply?”

  She shook her head. “You mentioned the opening, but it wasn’t for me.”

  “I don’t understand. It’s a perfect match with your skills and education. And we get along so well...I hoped if you were in a different division, then we could, uh, socialize. Outside the office.”

  Damn.

  Bill was a nice guy, t
otally gorgeous. And dull as paste. She honestly didn’t think she’d done a single thing to make him believe she was interested in more than a casual friendship. Still, she felt awful about his hurt expression. It might not be her fault he’d gotten the wrong idea, but it felt like her fault.

  “Um, that’s really nice, Bill,” she said and shuffled her feet, “but I only took the job with Saggitt because it was temporary. I get restless when I’m anyplace for very long.”

  He stared. “We’ve been in Phoenix for only three weeks.”

  “It’s just the way I am.” She smiled weakly. “To be honest, my family doesn’t understand me, either.”

  “You’ve never mentioned your family.”

  “We’re not that close.” Her relationship with her parents was lousy at best, and she didn’t get along any better with her twin brothers.

  “Do you have a job somewhere else?” Bill asked.

  “Nope. I’m just going to drive toward the Pacific Ocean and see what comes up. It’s wonderful what happens when you aren’t tied to a schedule.”

  Bill rearranged the pencils in his pen holder. Now she felt even worse—it was one of his nervous habits. “Why didn’t you send your email to everyone a few days earlier?”

  To avoid scenes like this, she thought, wishing she’d sent her farewell message at 11:59 a.m., and then raced for the door. Only that would have seemed rude.

  “I...um, heard there’s a tradition at Saggitt of doing a little party when someone leaves, and I wanted to save everybody the trouble.”

  “Sneaky,” Patti Kessler sang out from the doorway. “But I’m too stubborn for that to work. I got your email and headed to the store for party food. Come on, Mandy, Bill, let’s go to the lunchroom. Everybody is waiting for us.”

  It was a welcome interruption and Mandy eagerly followed. A lot of women would be thrilled to date Bill Rollins. She just didn’t happen to be one of them. As for staying in Phoenix, it was a nice city, but she was looking forward to cooler weather and tall evergreens. Some of the stories she’d heard about coastal redwood trees sounded fantastical, and she could hardly wait to see if they were true.

  CHAPTER ONE

  MANDY PEEKED THROUGH the door of City Hall’s “parlor.” Everything seemed in order, so she continued down the hallway to her office.

  Mandy Colson

  Senior Center Director

  As always, the printed words on her office door made her smile. Who could have guessed she’d be hired to direct a program for seniors? Definitely not her. But she enjoyed it, though there wasn’t anything unique or unusual about the work. The program was probably the same in almost every town in the country. They provided a hot lunch on weekdays, held exercise groups, sponsored special trips and educational programs—all sorts of things. It was Mandy’s job to organize and oversee the programs, coordinate menus and purchasing, and do anything else that was needed. Sometimes she was like a juggler, keeping dozens of balls in the air, but that was part of the fun.

  Today a group of women had gathered in the parlor for a sewing project. From what she’d overheard earlier, Dorothy Tanner and Margaret Hanson were already sparring—people in Willow’s Eve said they’d been rivals since the day Dorothy had been born, dislodging Margaret’s position as an indulged only child. Mandy suspected that deep down the sisters cared about each other, though a person might have to dig extremely deep to reveal it.

  A soft knock sounded at the door frame and Mandy glanced up to see her next-door neighbor, Jane Cutman.

  “Hi, Jane.” Mandy smiled.

  “Good morning, dear. The coffee is running low and everyone wants you to make the fresh pot. Somebody else could do it, but they like yours best.”

  “Sure thing.” Mandy jumped up and followed Jane into the parlor. The parlor was different from the senior centers she’d seen in the past, not that she’d seen that many of them. But mostly those spaces had been a little sterile. Here, the parlor was a pleasant room with comfy chairs and couches, a few small tables for puzzles or games, and a larger table for bigger projects or groups. It was an ideal social gathering place, which was probably the primary reason for a senior center.

  She smiled at the women who were busily sewing and headed to the coffeemaker. The hot subject that morning was the new city manager, expected to arrive the following day.

  “Except for Mandy,” said Dorothy, “it’s been ages since we had anybody new living in Willow’s Eve.”

  “We’ve had babies,” Margaret interjected.

  “Well, yes, naturally babies,” Dorothy returned. “I’m talking about new people who can converse with us on an intelligent basis without teething and learning to walk first. Tourists don’t count. They just spend money, fly kites and eat seafood.”

  Since her back was turned to them, Mandy let herself grin. Margaret loved trying to get the last word in, but her sister wasn’t any wimp.

  “And we’ve had some folks move here from Vicksville in the past year,” Margaret added.

  “They haven’t joined into the community,” Dorothy snapped back. Margaret must have been doing the one-upmanship thing all morning and Dorothy had lost her patience. “They still drive to Vicksville for church and rarely attend our community events. The city manager will be part of the town.”

  Mandy had misgivings about the new city manager. Things could change when he arrived. She liked Willow’s Eve the way it was. But at least she’d clarified that he wouldn’t be her supervisor. The town’s City Hall provided the space for the program—a large portion of the lower floor. But the program was independent since its funding came through a trust fund.

  “You aren’t still worried about him interfering with us, are you, luv?” Lou Ella Parsons asked.

  “No,” Mandy said, “you’ve all cleared that up for me.”

  Before she’d learned about the setup, Mandy had wondered what would happen. The center had employed her after the old city manager left, and she hadn’t known if a new manager would agree with their hiring choice. When she’d finally mentioned it, the seniors assured her they were the ones who made those decisions. It had been good news. If and when she left Willow’s Eve, it would be nicer to go because she’d decided on it, not because someone else told her to leave.

  Dumping the old coffee grounds, Mandy put fresh ones into the maker and started it. The coffee donation can was half full, so she emptied it into an envelope to stick in the treasurer’s mailbox.

  “All done,” she announced. “It will take about five minutes to brew.”

  “Thank you, dear,” Jane told her.

  “Oh, yes,” Bernice Vicks added. She was a sweet woman who often tried to soften things and keep the peace if arguments arose. “I don’t know what you do differently, but your coffee is especially good, though it isn’t fair to drag you away from your desk to make it for us.”

  Mandy’s smile blew into full sail. “No worries,” she told them. She tucked back a lock of her long pale blond hair, which refused to stay put—she could never hope for the cool, dignified Grace Kelly look her father admired so much in her mother. “I’ll see you all later.”

  The women met on Mondays and Wednesdays to make items for their annual bazaar. From what Mandy understood, it was a big event, drawing customers from several local communities, and even a few from the San Francisco Bay area. Of course, it was mostly because the bazaar also offered a “Sally’s Attic,” featuring collectibles, antiques and the work of local artists.

  Mandy wished now she’d offered to help promote the bazaar through social media such as Twitter or Facebook, but when she’d first heard about the event, she hadn’t been sure she’d be staying long enough at her job to make it worthwhile. Of course, now that she’d gotten some of the seniors more computer savvy, she could train them to take over if she decided it was time to move on to her next adventure. />
  Back in her office, Mandy continued working on the monthly newsletter. She really liked this section of the California coast, and the people were great. She had been expecting to look for a job in Vicksville because the town was bigger, but had stopped at the local variety store in Willow’s Eve. That’s when she’d spotted a help-wanted sign on the bulletin board, and on a whim, had walked down to City Hall and applied for the Senior Center director job.

  Mandy hadn’t expected them to hire her, or to take the job if it was offered, partly because Willow’s Eve was a small enough town that housing might be hard to find. To her surprise, the hastily gathered hiring committee had talked to her for a while, made phone calls to check her references, then hired her on the spot. Housing hadn’t proved a problem since they’d offered her the use of a small house that belonged to the town.

  Overwhelmed by their enthusiasm, Mandy had accepted the job. She enjoyed doing new things, and living in a town the size of Willow’s Eve would be a completely different experience. Later on, she had learned that they’d hired several local people who hadn’t worked out.

  However, Mandy wasn’t planning to stay forever and she’d told them up front she was a wanderer.

  The new city manager probably wouldn’t be there for long, either—he’d signed only a one-year contract. But the job paid well and came with a free house. The town council had found someone from Southern California with terrific credentials—even better than expected. The community had a decent budget for a small town because of the local paper mill and the income from Fannie Snow’s trust.

  Fannie Snow was the town’s biggest benefactress, and Mandy was intrigued by the stories about her. It was a little murky where she’d gotten her wealth—whispers abounded, despite her decades of respectability—but she’d done a bunch for Willow’s Eve, both before and after her death.