Cowboys & Christmas Kisses - Baker Brothers of Copper Creek Book 3 (PAPERBACK)

Tate Baker is a handsome cowboy who loves Christmas. He’s bound and determined to help his mom and five brothers enjoy the season—the first Christmas on the ranch without their father.

Then he rescues a beautiful young woman from an avalanche. She has fair skin, blond hair, and eyes like an angel. And all his plans are thrown into disarray.

Noelle is a reporter who doesn’t do Christmas. She’ll tell you it’s because the holiday is too far removed from the real meaning of Christmas these days. But really, she’s hiding from the bad memories of a particular Christmas past. One that keeps her guilt-ridden and alone, with no family to help her.

She’s stuck at the Baker ranch for Christmas. And Tate and his family are driving her crazy trying to get her to join in on the holiday activities.

Tate is falling fast for the Christmas angel he’s rescued. But Noelle is anxious to get away.

Can he help her overcome the past—before she slips away?

Tate noticed her first. It was like they had a deeper connection, now. Knowing he lost his father around Christmas had created some kind of tether between them. It didn’t matter that he didn’t know about her past. He needed help and support, and she could give that to him. The handsome cowboy had saved her life, after all.

She looked at the family with fresh eyes. They didn’t appear as happy as she’d remembered them being the day before. Ruby and Jessica didn’t have the cloud hanging over their heads, but the Baker family did. How had she not seen it before? Maybe she was losing her touch.

Brock was his usual grumpy self. The others hid their sadness better, but there was still something heavy filling the room and sucking the air from it. The closer it got to the anniversary of their father’s death, the worse it would become. She knew from experience.

She chewed on the inside of her cheek as her eyes locked once more with Tate’s. He lifted his glass and smiled at her, drawing the attention of his mother. Liz’s face broke into a wide grin.

“Oh, Noelle dear, you’re up. Come get something to eat.”

Tate got up from his seat and pulled out a chair beside him. Noelle accepted his offer and watched as Liz filled a plate with a little of everything. Everyone at the table continued to talk amongst themselves. But something was different. There weren’t seven men anymore. Tate settled into his seat beside her.

She leaned closer to him. “There were more of you, right? I’m not remembering wrong?”

He took a bite of toast and glanced around the table. “You’re right. Travis and Sean are gone.”

“Which one was your brother? The other was related to… Ruby, right?”

Nodding, Tate picked up his fork and stabbed at his eggs. “Travis is Ruby’s brother. Sean is my oldest brother.”

“Where did they go? I thought there was no leaving?”

He stilled, his fork mid-air. Then he stared at her. “You can’t. They’re probably out checking on the roads or our herds. We can’t even get to town unless we ride out on one of our horses. We don’t have many who can make that trip.” He lowered his voice. “You’re not thinking of taking off on one of our horses, are you?”

Noelle rolled her eyes. “Of course not. I wouldn’t get close to one of those things if my life depended on it.”

Tate gave her a wry smile. “One of those things? Do you mean to tell me you’re scared of horses?”

A blush crossed her face.

A low chuckle slipped from his lips sending goosebumps along her arms. “Tell me again, why did you take this assignment? I’d assume a gig like this one would require you to get close to the animals. Ride them, even.”

She stirred the food around her plate, avoiding his humored stare. “Actually, my job only requires me to ask a lot of questions and write the answers down.”

He leaned toward her once more, his low voice doing nothing to improve the tingling sensation she felt all over her body. “Well, that’s no fun, is it? How can you really know what you’re writing about without experiencing it first-hand?” The tone of his voice almost made it sound like he was referring to something else entirely. His warm, brown eyes delved deeper, teasing her.

She met his gaze once more and froze. “I find that you can enjoy things just as much by asking questions.”

“Yeah?” he whispered. “Tell that to people who go sky diving for the first time. Or when someone see a lightning storm out their window and a bolt strikes right in front of their house. Or when two lovers get that first kiss. How can you get the same experience when all you’re doing is asking questions?” His lips curled into a smirk, and his eyes didn’t leave her face.

Her mouth went dry. First kisses. She must have heard wrong. There was no reason to bring up that kind of thing. Her stomach clenched, and she felt the heat in her cheeks deepen. What was wrong with her that it had affected her so much? She swallowed, gathering her wits about her.

“I’m not a novelist. I don’t pretend to transport people into their wildest fantasies. I teach, inform, and give people the facts so they don’t have to research these issues on their own. If someone wants to go sky diving, they wouldn’t want to read about it anyway.”

His eyes narrowed slightly as he leaned back. “Fair enough.”

She released the breath she’d had trapped in her chest and reached for her glass with a trembling hand. Why on earth was she reacting to him like this? She could think of a few reasons. For one, he looked like he belonged on the cover of some magazine. For another, it touched her heart that his family included the real reason for the season in their holiday celebration. Plus, knowing he’d saved her, seemed like they had a connection in some way.

Noelle eyed him as she brought the glass to her lips and took a sip. It didn’t matter, really. She couldn’t afford to fall for someone. In fact, she didn’t want to fall for anyone. Loving someone only ended in heartbreak. They always ended up leaving, either by their own choices or by fate. No one stayed in her life for long, and Tate would be no different. His home was up here in the mountains where he was living some kind of fantasy cowboy life, but she was a city girl. She was better off alone.

But even as she watched him interact with his family, her heart constricted. A dimple appeared in his chin when he laughed. And speaking of his laugh, it was like a warm, maple syrup kind of laugh that strangely enough, felt like it covered her in a blanket of security. It was like the universe was telling her that he could be the exception.

So why was it so hard for her to give it a chance?

Regular Print Paperback
Page Count: 262 pages
Font Size: 12
Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.5
ISBN: 978-1-964875-26-2
Ebook Publication Date: December 27, 2021
Publisher Name: Kenzo Publishing LLC