Will working together
...lead to together forever?
Recently divorced, Parker Davis needs to focus on his new job so he can provide a stable home for his daughter in time for the Christmas holidays. The problem is, he’s frequently at odds with his boss. He and Emma O’Connell approach everything differently. Yet he finds her intriguing, and Bluestone River festivities keep pushing them together—often enough that two people at odds could find themselves evenly matched in love!
Parker was taken aback by the intensity in Emma’s face.
So much was going on inside her and she’d revealed so little. She could talk about Mike and Ruby and the resort in detail, but he knew nothing about how she spent her days. He knew nothing about her deceased husband except his name.
“Are you ready? I thought I’d move the birds to a separate part of the nature center now,” he said.
Emma’s face brightened. “Let me get my camera out.”
“A real camera,” Parker teased.
“Absolutely.” Emma shrugged off her backpack and dug inside. “Phones are fine, but I like the real thing, too, especially since I’m creating my slideshow for the open-house weekend.”
“You can wait here and I’ll get the cart. I can move both birds together.”
The walk to the boardwalk gave him a chance to settle down—his thinking, anyway. His heart wasn’t listening to logic. Earlier, seeing Emma walking toward him, the early-morning sun shining behind her, his heart had skittered.
Dear Reader,
Welcome back to Bluestone River, a prairie community in Illinois. The new mayor and others who want the best for Bluestone River have announced exciting holiday events to bring the town back to life. In this book, a treasured landmark is also the place where love ambushes Parker Davis and Emma O’Connell—just in time for the festive season.
With the arrival of Parker Davis, a wildlife expert hired to fix up the nearly defunct nature center, the plan is to officially reopen on Christmas Eve. As Parker’s teenage daughter points out, he’s way overqualified for this job. That’s okay. After a painful divorce he’s grateful for a fresh start in Bluestone River. Emma O’Connell, a local and a big town donor, comes with a few surprises. She’s healing from wounds of her own, but that doesn’t stop the connection blooming between the two of them.
As Parker discovers the magic of the Hidden Lake bird sanctuary and Emma finds the new direction she’s been looking for, can they learn to trust each other and believe in love again? At its heart, this is a story of healing and the joy of new beginnings.
Please visit me on Facebook or Twitter, or on my website, virginiamccullough.com.
To happy endings,
Virginia
The Christmas Kiss
Virginia McCullough
Virginia McCullough grew up in Chicago, but she’s enjoyed living in many places, including the coast of Maine, western North Carolina and now northeastern Wisconsin. She started her career writing magazine articles but soon turned to coauthoring and ghostwriting nonfiction books. When fictional characters started whispering in her ear, she tried her hand at writing their stories. Now, many books later, Back to Bluestone River is her second series for Harlequin Heartwarming readers. When she’s not writing, Virginia eagerly reads other authors’ books, hangs out with family and friends and plans another road trip.
Books by Virginia McCullough
Harlequin Heartwarming
Girl in the Spotlight
Something to Treasure
Love, Unexpected
A Family for Jason
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.
To Cynthia—Cyndy—Williams, not only a wonderful friend, but a person who cares deeply for the birds who bring their colors and music to her yard all year round. Cyndy happily extends that love to every living thing.
Contents
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
EXCERPT FROM A MAN OF HONOR BY CYNTHIA THOMASON
CHAPTER ONE
THE PHOTO OF Parker Davis in the Bluestone River Weekly didn’t do him justice. Not even close. The headshot of the newly hired director of the Hidden Lake Bird Sanctuary had appeared with the article announcing his arrival in town. Emma O’Connell guessed the man with a wide mouth and an appealing cleft in his chin to be around forty or so. If he were a corporate type, his wavy blond hair would need a trim, but the unruly look suited his outdoorsy appearance.
Now, seeing him standing maybe thirty feet away, Emma was drawn to what the photo didn’t show. Like the muscular arms filling the sleeves of his snug black T-shirt. No baggy work pants, either. His sawdust-flecked jeans were a perfect fit, along with the tool belt.
Parker’s hands were braced on a plywood sheet balanced on two sawhorses positioned on the gravel patch at the edge of the woods. He was studying what looked like a blueprint spread out on top of the plywood and anchored with rocks on the four corners.
“Good morning,” Emma called out, surprised he was so deep in concentration he hadn’t already noticed her heading his way.
Seemingly startled, he snapped his head up. “Uh, same to you,” he returned in a flat voice.
She checked the uneven ground in front of her and tightened her grip on her cane as she stepped toward him. When she was almost close enough to extend her arm to shake his hand, she casually tossed the cane a few inches in the air and caught it at the bottom end. She gave it a quick twirl under her arm so the handle pointed toward him. “Appropriate for a visit to a bird sanctuary, don’t you think?”
Carved in the shape of a duck’s head with other birds etched into the stick, her cane always brought some kind of reaction. This time it caused the corners of Parker’s mouth to turn up in a closemouthed smile. Emma preferred photographing landscapes to aiming her camera at people, but she’d have enjoyed catching Parker’s expression in that moment. Much better than the picture in the paper.
“Emma O’Connell. Nice to meet you.” She freed her right hand and held it out to him. He quickly brushed his palm back and forth across his jeans before he shook her hand in a quick, formal way.
“I’ve, uh, heard so much about you,” Parker mumbled.
Not quite enough, Emma thought, or she wouldn’t see such frank surprise in his dark blue eyes looking at her through glasses, also dark blue.
Suddenly aware of how intently she was staring at him, Emma shifted her gaze over his shoulder and waved to two carpenters, a father-son team whose truck she’d noticed in the sanctuary’s parking lot. She knew them from other construction projects, including one on her land. At the moment, Bill and Will Rivera were attaching a railing to supporting slats for the boardwalk-in-progress, the sanctuary’s newest feature. The smell of freshly cut wood mingled with the typical earthy scents of fall after a day of rain. “You got the boardwalk project underway fast. You haven’t been here all that long.”
Parker gestured behind him. “We’re just getting started. A few people from the sanctuary board have dropped by to see what we’re up to, so I’ve got my spiel down pretty well by now. Other people in
town hadn’t heard about the boardwalk so I’ve filled in a lot of detail about it, mostly why it’s being added.” He paused. “In your case, I guess I can skip those basics.”
From his low tone, Emma wasn’t sure if Parker thought that was good news or bad. But being a major donor to various Bluestone River projects almost always brought a mix of responses. Long ago, Emma learned it was possible for people who did the hard work of running programs and projects to appreciate her financial contribution, but still be a little apprehensive around her, too. She could almost see people’s guard rising the minute they saw her coming. Like Parker.
She cleared her throat. “The board gave me a set of drawings for the additions to the sanctuary, but that was a formality. They keep me in the loop, even though I’m not involved in running this place.”
Emma wanted—needed—to make it clear she wasn’t there to check up on him. She had nothing to do with hiring him, and certainly had no intention of overseeing the boardwalk construction or any of the work going into reimagining the bird sanctuary. She leaned closer and stage-whispered, “I just throw money at stuff.”
Parker responded with a short but hearty laugh that came from deep in his chest.
Mission accomplished.
Emma walked around him and pointed deeper into the woods. “So beautiful this time of year, huh? Perfect setting for this boardwalk. I’m sure it will attract lots of visitors.”
Parker planted his hands on his hips and nodded. “That’s the idea.”
The deepening creases in his forehead didn’t match the words, but Emma let it go. She sensed the frown was part of Parker covertly studying her. Too bad covert wasn’t his strong suit, because now she had to try to pretend she didn’t notice.
Parker pointed to the carved duck’s head. “That’s a beautiful walking stick, by the way. And like you said, it fits this setting.”
Skipping any explanation of why she needed it, she said, “Matter of fact, it’s made by a local wood carver.”
Indicating the worktable, Parker said, “Come closer, have a look. I’ll show you what we’ve done so far.”
It was only a couple steps to the worktable he’d set up, but she moved carefully and kept her eyes on the natural dips and rises in the ground. The need to consider each movement frustrated her, especially when getting around on flat terrain posed no problem at all.
“We’ll be smoothing out this ground. Filling the holes and creating a gravel walk here. Maybe even a paved one eventually.” Parker twisted halfway around and pointed to the already cleared path snaking through the woods. “The committee covered everything in the design. The boardwalk itself will be wide enough for wheelchairs.”
“I’d heard that,” Emma said.
“And we’re adding lots of turnouts and bridges to crisscross back and forth, so people can double back to the nature center building without having to walk the whole thing.”
“Oh, yes. That’s good.” Very good in fact, but it still pained her to be reassured that way. Happy that everyone would have a chance to enjoy the sanctuary, she hadn’t fully accepted that she was one of the people whose limitations had to be considered. She squared her shoulders and looked directly into his eyes. “I usually walk more easily. I can cover fairly long distances, too. I used to be sort of a girl jock.” Girl jock? Where had that come from? What was she defending, anyway?
Apparently not inclined to delve into her athletic past, Parker tapped his long index finger on a spot on the colorful drawing in front of him. “So, this is where we are. We’ve already got about a quarter mile of boardwalk planked. As you can see, the guys are attaching the railings for this section. They’re quite an assembly line. They cut the wood at their shop and then assemble it all here.”
“The Bill and Will Rivera father-son team did the construction work on another project I was involved with last spring,” Emma said. “They’re good. I’m glad they got this contract.” They’d put up arbors and installed benches for the butterfly garden the conservancy built on the edge of her land.
She plunked her finger on the depiction of the small pier that was part of the original resort. “So that’s called the observation point now, huh?” She turned to get a glimpse of the real pier jutting out in the lake. “A bunch of us here in town spent a lot of summer days jumping off that pier and racing each other to a raft that used to be out in the middle.” She might have added that she usually beat everyone, even most of the boys. “Naturally, Mike Abbot was one of the kids I used to swim with. I’m sure you were filled in on the history of his family’s resort.”
Parker nodded and adjusted his glasses with his thumb and index finger. “Big picture, but not a lot of detail.”
“Have you met Mike yet? And Ruby?” Emma asked, taking note that Parker’s thick frames were the latest style. She liked that subtle hint of healthy vanity.
The wide smile came back. “We have. The morning after Nicole—she’s my teenage daughter—and I got here. Mike and Ruby and their little boy came by with their arms loaded with food.” He let out a little laugh and smiled. “Not just any food, but fresh bread and donuts and apple pie. That was a big hit with Nicole.”
“So what did you think when you saw the place?”
Parker tilted his head and offered a lopsided smile. “Seriously? I know a trick question when I hear one. But I’m a step ahead of you. I was warned. The hiring committee filled me in. I know the Hidden Lake Resort was a big deal around here way, way back. So I wasn’t shocked to see the condition of the buildings. Besides, you can hardly find any of these old-style housekeeping cabins these days. Nic’s imagination took off on a wild ride picturing what this place must have been like back in the day.”
“To someone her age that must seem like eons ago,” Emma mused. “But even when Mike and Ruby and I were kids this place was already out of style.”
“I’ll bet. Those boxy wooden cabins remind me of something out of my grandparents’ era—or even earlier.”
Emma recognized the little ripples of nostalgia that always came up when she thought about Mike’s family’s old resort and working for his folks. Her parents placed high value on impeccable—their word—behavior, good grades and fulfilling one’s duty, whatever that was. Fun with friends and the pure joy of something as mundane as a challenging swim across the lake were eyed with suspicion. That’s why Emma had always counted her summers of goofing around on this lake as some of the few times she felt like a carefree kid.
“Working here for the Abbots was the best summer gig for us kids in town. Mike’s mom was our real boss. We all scrubbed those cabins to a shine and scooped hundreds of ice cream cones.” Emma paused and tapped her thumb on her chest. A little theatrics to add a flirtatious tone. “I don’t want to brag or anything, but I was one of the star gardeners...well, amateur groundskeepers.”
Parker rewarded her light tone with his friendliest smile yet. “You can joke, but you have the same faraway look that I saw in Mike and Ruby when they mentioned those summers.” He waved toward the woods. “How about a walk on the new boardwalk? It should be safe.”
“Lead the way,” Emma said, aware of her rising enthusiasm. “I haven’t been back in these woods since I was a kid.”
Parker waved to Bill and Will as they came off the boardwalk and said they were going to their shop to reload the truck. Emma called out her greeting to the two as they went on their way.
When they reached the slight incline onto the first planks, Parker raised his hand. “Stop right there.”
“I’ll be fine on it, Parker.”
“I can see that,” he said. “But I’m going to give this baby a performance test.” He took a few long strides ahead and widened his stance. He bounced in place, took a couple more steps ahead and jumped high enough to come down hard. “See? The right amount of give, but no sagging. I’m calling it safe.” Smiling smugly, he waited for her to catc
h up.
The air was cooler under the trees sheltering the boardwalk. And damper. Emma was glad she’d worn a heavy wool sweater over her turtleneck. With every puff of wind, the trees dropped more leaves and sent them floating down to the forest floor. “All these trees will be almost bare in a few days. Halloween marks the real end of fall around here,” she said, hearing the sadness in her voice.
They walked along in awkward silence. At least it was awkward for her—and annoying. She didn’t need more evidence of how narrow her life had become. Being alone on a simple walk with a man her age—and single, too, from what she’d heard—was a novel experience. The faint sound of a vibrating phone grabbed Parker’s attention. He took the phone out of his pocket and gave it a glance.
“Go ahead and take that if you need to,” Emma said. “Don’t mind me.”
“Nah, it can wait.” He chuckled. “I thought maybe it was another update from Stacey Schwartz. They contacted me yesterday about a new plan that changes the work we’re doing some.”
“Oh? What’s up?”
“Seems the committee has decided to host an open house over Thanksgiving weekend. Kind of like a warm-up act for the big Christmas Eve celebration,” he explained. “It means fixing up the office and finishing the boardwalk are our priorities. The plan is based on luring people to wander in on the long weekend and have a look. Maybe become sanctuary members.” Frowning, he stared out into the woods. “It’s okay. I don’t mind rearranging the work schedule.”
She forced a neutral expression. An open house on an otherwise busy shopping weekend struck her as a huge waste of time. But that was just her gut reaction. Now and then, something took her by surprise and challenged her hands-off stance toward the sanctuary and the people who ran it. This was one of those times.
“You’re surprised?”
She offered a coy smile. “And I thought I hid it. But then, I haven’t talked to Ruby about things going on in town lately.”
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