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

Candy asked, “May I stay, if I help you clean?”


If he was honest with himself, Cody liked the idea of having him around for a while. There was something about Candy that intrigued him. He wasn’t ready to acknowledge that yet, though, so he just shrugged. “It’s a lot of work,” he pointed out.


Cody felt his resolve giving in. It was a lot of work indeed. Some help would be appreciated. Candy’s presence would be…nice.  6


Even though this part of the world lay in natural darkness, the town’s center was bathed in light—Christmas illuminations hung from every streetlight and every roof. The windows were lavishly decorated with lampions, candles, and electric fairy lights. Anything to fight the glum blackness of the polar night. As if to show how feeble mankind’s efforts were, the northern lights sparkled green and yellow in the sky, paling the season’s tacky light show in comparison.


Chapter 7