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

“Now, now, ladies,” the ringleader, Cody was now almost sure it was Mrs. Brimsby, chirped. “Let the boy breathe—oh, what do I say? Boy? You’re all man now, Cody. What a pleasure to see you. And you brought a friend.”


The congregation of women turned to Candy as if they were one entity with many eyes and even more mouths; a Hydra, Cody thought, or Scylla, the sea monster who had eaten Odysseus’ crew. By the way Mrs. Brimsby put emphasis on the word ‘friend’ he knew she was trying to find out more. Candy, however, wasn’t listening. He stood with his back to the congregation and looked like he was trying to figure out how a shopping cart worked.


Quietly Cody introduced him. “This is Candy.”


A dyed redhead chuckled. “There’s a girl hiding under all those clothes?”


The women shared glances—and damn them to hell and back, but they seemed to know something Cody had been very careful never to show in this town. May Goldberg gave him a good-natured wink. “Good for you, Cody.”


Chapter 8