The Holiday Secret

Riverside, the town’s main street, was only three blocks long and yet it was crowded with moments he’d rather forget.

He’d been home on leave for the first time when he’d met travel blogger Jennifer St. John. She’d checked into the Evergreen Inn on her way to the Great Lakes Circle Tour, seeking out “backwoods beauty” on her latest adventure. To say that Carter was flattered when Jennifer had asked him to show her some of the sights around the area was an understatement.

Jennifer was stunning and vivacious—and Carter had fallen hard. In his pursuit of her attention, it didn’t matter they’d been raised in different environments. Had very different goals.

Carter’s mom had expressed some concerns about the relationship, but he’d brushed those aside, as well. Sure, Jennifer came from a wealthy family, but she was assertive, not entitled. Goal driven, not self-centered.

And the most amazing thing? She seemed to be wild about him, too. Delayed her trip so they could spend more time together.

Carter had been devastated when Jennifer announced it was time for her to move on. Earning a coveted spot with the SEALS meant going off the grid for months at a time, and he had no doubt there would be guys lined up to take his place at Jennifer’s side.

A week before Carter was deployed again, though, she’d shown up at the inn to say goodbye. Carter’s fear of losing Jennifer was stronger than any misgivings he’d had about marrying a woman he’d known less than a month. He’d stumbled through a proposal and wonder of wonders, Jennifer accepted.

It wasn’t until Carter had begged her not to give up on their marriage only a few years later that he’d found out why.

Unbeknownst to Carter, Jennifer had posted a photograph of her local “guide” on one of their outings and her popularity had skyrocketed. As she began to document their romance, her followers had clamored for more. Carter had unwittingly provided it in the form of a proposal.

Jennifer had never loved him. Not really. She’d loved what Carter had done for her career. He’d been convenient. And their child was collateral damage when Jennifer decided a family didn’t fit her long-range goals.

Three-quarters of the people waving at the squad car weren’t privy to all the gory details, but there was no hiding the fact Carter’s marriage had crashed and burned.

One more reason he avoided the town.

You have to replace some of the bad memories with the good ones, his mom had said.

But it was difficult when the bad ones had become embedded in his heart like shrapnel.

A flurry of movement on the sidewalk caught Carter’s eye.

A six-foot-tall Dalmatian wearing a gaudy plaid tuxedo was handing out candy canes along the parade route. Dash, the animal shelter’s official mascot, was a fixture at events like this and never failed to attract a crowd of his own.

Carter watched Dash pause in front of an attractive young woman and two little girls. Everyone who’d turned out for the parade boasted more layers than Karen’s beef Wellington, but Carter recognized Anna Leighton and her twin daughters immediately. The Leightons were the only family in town with hair the color of a newly minted penny.

Anna reached for a candy cane, but Dash was faster. In a daring move, he planted a kiss on the back of Anna’s hand...and instantly blew his cover.

Liam Kane.

Carter still hadn’t sent back the response card for the couple’s Christmas Eve wedding. Maybe because he was still trying to figure out why he’d been invited.

Liam and his brothers ran Castle Falls Outfitters a few miles outside of town, but their paths hadn’t crossed until Aiden, the youngest of the three, was involved in a hit-and-run.

Aiden had a reputation for being a daredevil, so his claim that a vehicle had forced him off the road had been met with skepticism in the community...and in his own family.

Carter had believed the guy, though. There were times when his own survival had been dependent on his ability to discern whether or not a person was telling the truth, and something in Aiden’s story had pushed Carter to do a little more digging.

When the driver of the vehicle turned out to be the younger brother of one of the teens Aiden had been mentoring, he’d decided not to press charges.

Carter had heard that both Justin and Tim Wagner had been spending a lot of time with the Kane family since then, learning how to build canoes and maybe some valuable life skills, as well. A risky move on Aiden’s part—believing in second chances—and Carter hoped the boys wouldn’t take advantage of it.

His role in the case had officially ended when he’d filed his report, but apparently the Kane family thought they owed him something for doing his job. Hence the invitation to the wedding.

But as far as Carter was concerned, weddings ranked right up there with Christmas.

If it were up to him, he’d happily skip them both.

Dash moved to the next family and Carter did a double take.

The child standing next to the Leightons looked familiar, too.

Because it was his child...

Thank you, Mom.

Relief poured through Carter as his gaze cut to the woman standing next to Dash. He choked back a laugh.

Not only had she brought Bea to the parade, his mom must have taken his daughter’s advice on what to wear for the occasion.

The knee-length down coat Karen insisted would never go out of style had, at least a decade ago. A leather bomber hat, complete with fur-lined earflaps, had been a Christmas present from Bea the previous year. The gaudy purple-and-red scarf that covered her face from nose to chin, a thank-you gift from a knitting group that had stayed at the inn.

Carter glanced in the rearview mirror just in time to see the woman standing next to Anna’s twins lift her face toward the sky. The scarf slipped a few inches and Carter almost stomped on the brake, which would have made him responsible for a massive pileup of reindeer and musical instruments he would have been hard-pressed to explain to his supervisor.

Several people in the crowd shifted position, blocking Carter’s view, but he knew he hadn’t been imagining things. A delicate profile. A swatch of hair as dark and glossy as a coffee bean.

Ellery. Incognito.

Carter’s grip tightened on the steering wheel.

Why had she brought Bea to the parade?

A question you’d probably know the answer to if you’d listened to your mom’s voice mail, an inner voice chided.

But Carter had been helping a young mother locate the car keys her toddler had tossed in a snowbank a few minutes before the parade started and then a guy had tried to drive around the barricade...

Now he wished he’d taken the time.

It wasn’t that Carter didn’t trust his mom’s judgment. He did. What he didn’t trust was the tiny spark of something that flickered to life whenever Ellery was nearby. Like finding an ember in the ashes of a fire you thought had been stamped out.

He’d been burned once before, though, when he’d listened to his heart and not his head.

“Look, Miss El’ry.” Bea’s voice dropped to an almost reverent whisper as they strolled down one of the snowy paths fanning out from the pavilion after the parade. “Ponies!”

Ellery followed the little girl’s gaze to a sleigh parked under a nearby lamppost. She smiled at the description. Not ponies, but a matched pair of coal-black Friesians. The team stood shoulder to shoulder, their breath creating plumes of frost in the air. The bearded driver, clad in a buffalo-check flannel shirt and bib overalls, resembled the lumberjacks in the sepia photographs on display in Karen’s gathering room.

Ellery was about to suggest they walk over and say hello, but Bea had already changed direction. Ellery’s feet almost slid out from under her as she struggled to keep up.

The driver flicked the brim of his wool cap when they approached. “Good evening, ladies. Stanley Potter at your service. Are you ready for a little jaunt around the park?”

Bea clapped her hands over her mouth and the only sound that slipped out was a tiny squeak.