Cody Laughman, a lonely firefighter in New York City, gets a blast from the past when his late father’s lawyer approaches him with news. It has been three years since Cody’s father’s death, the family house needs to be sold. Although Cody is glad to get rid of this part of his life, there is one final thing he needs to do -- fly home to Muffin, Alaska, and make the property presentable.<br><br>He expects this to be a quick visit, just cleaning up some old memories he usually ignores. But memories are stubborn, and on top of everything else, he finds a real Christmas elf living in the attic of his house. Not a tiny fairy, but a full-grown, deliciously handsome man. He doesn’t even have pointed ears.<br><br>But can Cody open up to the possibility of finding love, when the ghost of Christmas past is still haunting him?

The Firefighter in the Snow

He woke up with a start after too little sleep. A loud noise had jerked him awake. A clatter from the attic perhaps, or the garage. But when he listened intently, it was gone again. Maybe an animal. The smaller creatures especially sought refuge inside when the winter came. On the other hand, his brain kicked in just as he was about to go back to sleep, small animals didn’t yell, “Ouch!”.


It was impossible to tell what time it was just by looking outside; the same blackness from before greeted him. Twenty-four hour night. It was entirely possible that he had overslept, it was late in the morning, and this was a neighbor to see what was going on. There could be a perfectly harmless explanation.


But his watch said it was four in the morning, and the voice had come from the attic. The people in this town were curious and they meddled in each other’s affairs, but they drew the line at midnight visits. Or at least they used to.


Chapter 4