Liz Isaacson, Shanna Hatfield
Lacy Williams, Carolyne Aarsen
Melissa McClone, Kit Morgan
Laura Ashwood
and
Natalie Dean, Terri Lorah
Cynthia Woolf, Kathleen Ball
Macie St. James, Christina Butrum
Terri Grace, April Murdock
Hannah Jo Abbott, Amelia C. Adams
Josephine Blake, Heather Blanton
Catie Cahill, Parker J. Cole
RL Ashly, Christine Sterling

★★ Curl up with a cowboy this Christmas! ★★

Ring in the holiday season with 23 heartwarming sweet contemporary romances from USA Today and Top 100 Kindle Unlimited All-Star bestselling authors!

Discover second chance romance, love at first sight, small-town Christmas cheer, swoony single dads, enemies to lovers, snowed-in with the cowboy, and many more stories featuring the cowboy next door. Fall in love with the hunky heroes of this limited-edition Christmas cowboy romance collection.

He was her heart-stopping first kiss.
Too bad he doesn’t remember her.

Housekeeper Lyne can’t believe she’s spending the holidays working for the handsome cowboy she shared her first kiss with. Cody is so overwhelmed with the ranch and his family, but that isn’t the reason he forgot Lyne. Can they overcome the past and conquer the present to build a future together?

Lyne was nervous heading to the Rocking CT Ranch to help out her boss’s friend. It doesn’t help that her family has moved away and didn’t bother to tell her where they were going, leaving her homeless. It was a good thing her job at the Bar V5 included room in the bunkhouse for employees. She can do this, it’s no different than being at the Bar V5.

She doesn’t realize who exactly she was helping until they pull up at the ranch and there is no mistaking those blue eyes. Her boss for the next couple of weeks is the cowboy who gave her that first kiss and forgot about her the next day. She can’t leave and it’s obvious he still doesn’t remember her.

Once she gets past her nerves, meeting the rest of the family, snack and dinner goes well. The next day though holds a surprise though.

This is a favorite scene.

The scent of coffee hit him first. Man, he could use a cup. Then he saw who was up. Not Drake.

Lyne stirred a pot on the stove. She wore a baggy sweatshirt that read “Marietta High School” over a pair of leggings. Her hair fell past her shoulders. She looked sleep-rumpled and adorable.

But something about her seemed so…familiar. Even with no makeup on and messy hair, she was attractive. More than he’d realized yesterday.

Whoa, cowboy. This wasn’t the time to let a pretty woman tempt him. She was only there until the twenty-sixth, and she was his employee. She wouldn’t welcome his advances, even if he had time for dating, which he didn’t.

“Good morning,” he said.

“You’re up early.”

“I had something to do.” He eyed her fuzzy pink slippers. Those looked like something Lorelei would wear. Lyne seemed more…practical.

“Must’ve been important to be up at this hour.”

She was fishing. He wouldn’t take the bait. You’re up at this hour.”

“I heard a door. Two, actually.”

Just my luck. “Light sleeper?”

“The lightest. Marlo used to have me do the late night and early feedings for the babies.”

“Marlo?”

“My stepmother.” Lyne’s tone was matter-of-fact. She poured a cup of coffee and handed it to him. “You look cold. Drink this. Your breakfast is almost ready.”

The mug warmed his hands. “You didn’t have to—”

“Cooking for your family is my job.” She motioned to the table. “Sit.”

He sat and took a sip. The hot liquid provided much-needed warmth. “Thanks.”

A big pot sat on the largest stove eye on the right. Something sizzled in a skillet. She stirred something else in another pan.

Cody raised his cup and drank. One sip wouldn’t do. He took another. Once again, the silence felt awkward. “What’s for breakfast?”

“Oatmeal, scrambled eggs, sausage, and biscuits.”

He inhaled. “Missed the baking scent because of the coffee.”

“Priorities.” She didn’t glance his way.

Cody drank more. This wasn’t their regular coffee—served black. But he couldn’t tell what she’d added to it. Whatever she’d done was tasty. He took another sip. “You know your way around the kitchen.”

“I’m a better housekeeper than cook, but you guys won’t starve.”

“Dinner was great last night.”

“Thanks.” She sprinkled pepper into the eggs. “Do you need more coffee?”

He did, but… “You don’t have to wait on me.”

“That’s my job.”

Okay, she had a point. “Betty doesn’t wait on us.”

Lyne pulled a tray of biscuits out of the oven and plated the food. “Hasn’t she worked at the Rocking CT for a long time?”

“Since before I was born.”

“So she’s more like family than staff.” Lyne set the plate in front of him. “Here you go.”

As she turned, her hair swung.

“Lyne…” As she glanced over her shoulder at him, she looked different. Younger. Prettier.

His mind went blank. “Thanks.”

She smiled at him. “You’re welcome.”

Thanks hadn’t been what he wanted to say. He’d been tempted to tell her how nice her hair looked. That she should smile more often. That he wanted to get to know her better. “You should eat, too.”

“I’m not much of a breakfast eater.”

Cody didn’t want to eat alone. Okay, that wasn’t exactly true. He wanted to eat with her. “Most important meal of the day.”

She hesitated as if mulling over what to do. “I could have some oatmeal.”

Lyne dished up a quick bowl with brown sugar and raisins on top. She leaned against the counter with the bowl. 

“Sit down and eat.”

Lyne grabbed her coffee with her free hand and sat across from him. She arched her brow. “Satisfied?”

“Very, especially with this delicious breakfast.” He added jelly to his biscuit and took a bite. When he looked at her again, she ate a spoonful of oatmeal. Once again, a sense of familiarity struck him.

She wiped her mouth. “Is something on my face?”

No.” He stared over the lip of his coffee cup. “This might sound strange, but I’m having a moment of déjà vu.”

Lyne choked on the oatmeal. She grabbed her coffee and drank.

“You okay?” he asked.

She nodded. “We’ve met before.”

“I knew it. But I can’t remember where.”

“The Marietta Rodeo. Twelve years ago.”

“Oh, man. I don’t remember much from that one. The morning before my prelim, I hit my head, but like an idiot, I didn’t tell anyone so I could compete.”

She gasped. Her face paled. “What happened?”

“Not sure.” He rubbed the spot that had hurt for a long time. “But I ended up with a stupid concussion.”

“Short-term memory loss?”

I guess you could call it that. The whole weekend is a blur. Not that my memory is all that great, but I made finals. Only I passed out and wasn’t allowed to compete.”

Lyne bit her lip. “I hadn’t heard that. I, um, went home after prelims.”

“Hope I wasn’t a jerk to you,” he joked.

She half laughed, but her eyes darkened.

Uh-oh. His stomach sank. “What did I do?” 

“It doesn’t matter. And for the first time, I can honestly say it doesn’t.”

“I feel as if I’m missing some key points of what happened.”

She sipped her coffee. “Don’t worry about it, ’kay?”

Something told him to ask more questions, but footsteps sounded on the staircase.

Lyne pushed back in her chair and stood. “That’s my cue. I don’t want anyone to be late to work or school.”

Her eyes said something different, and that bugged Cody.
Melissa McClone. The Christmas tree Cowboy (Kindle Locations 539-612). Cardinal Press, LLC. Kindle Edition.

As these two get to know each other some secrets come out and they work together on that one.

Family is everything to Cody and while he’s attracted to Lyne, he can’t bring himself to make a move toward more than friendship. Thank goodness his family has more sense than him.

Full of fun, family, memories and more!

5 Contented Purrs for Melissa!

Melissa McClone

USA Today bestselling author, Melissa McClone has published over forty novels with Harlequin and Tule Publishing Group.

With a degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, Melissa worked for a major airline where she traveled the globe and met her husband. But analyzing jet engine performance couldn’t compete with her love of writing happily ever afters.

Her first full-time writing endeavor was her first sale when she was pregnant with her first child! When she isn’t writing, you can usually find her driving her minivan to/from her children’s swim practices and other activities.

Melissa lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, three children, two spoiled Norwegian Elkhounds, and cats who think they rule the house. They do!