Holden: Christmas in Snowy Falls, #9

By Kali Hart

Rachel

I have one goal.
Buy out my aunt so that Middle of Nowhere Alaskan Crafts is one hundred percent mine.
After years of saving every spare penny, I'm so close to having enough money to make the dream a reality.
Except my aunt has one stipulation: Don't get involved with another military man.
It's never been a problem until Holden Black started coming around.
I've turned him down every time he's asked me out, but secretly I love his persistence.
One kiss changes everything.
He promises to keep our romance a secret until I own the store free and clear.
But is anything ever a secret for long in a small town?

Holden

I've been stuck on Rachel Tomlin since the first time I saw her.
Every day I show up at her shop, refusing to give up each time she shuts me down.
I think that secretly she wants me too.
If I could only figure out what's holding her back.
I'm willing to do whatever it takes to break down her barrier.
Even enter a moose making competition to impress her.
One heated kiss is all it takes for her to surrender to me.
I don't like keeping us a secret, but I certainly love having her in my bed.
In a few weeks, there'll be no more strings attached to her life.
If we don't get caught first.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jackie M. Wallick
• Release date: Jun 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223479475

Book preview

1

RACHEL

I absolutely love this time of year.

The leaves have all turned, the air is crisp, and snow covers the mountain tops. Fall doesn’t last long in Alaska, but the few weeks it sticks around have always been my favorite. Pumpkin spice latte in hand, I stroll to my shop, Middle of Nowhere Alaskan Crafts. In just a couple of short hours, I’ll have my heaviest influx of customers buying up supplies to make their unique moose for the Three Rivers Fall Festival.

Before I can get my key all the way in the lock, I catch a drift of woodsy cologne on the gentle breeze. Holden Black. A wave of electricity travels from my racing heart, all the way to the tips of my toes, and back. But I’m not about to show weakness to the Army veteran I can never have.

You’re out and about early this morning. Looking lovely as ever, I might add. That deep, suave voice creates a yearning deep in my soul. I have a laundry list of reasons why I can never get involved with a military man again, and no matter how badly I’d like to pretend they don’t exist, I can’t.

This your first time in town during the festival? I ask as I unlock the door and step inside the shop, allowing him admittance outside of business hours. I don’t dare make eye contact. His crystal blue eyes have a way of ensnaring a woman in a trance.

Yeah. It must be a bigger deal than I thought.

You have no idea. I’ve lived in Three Rivers all my life, except for a couple of years I spent in Anchorage with my ex. I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I haven’t missed a single festival, except when I was seven and came down with the chicken pox. This town goes nuts for it.

Guess you’re anticipating a busy day.

Yes, quite. From behind the counter, I steal a glance at Holden who’s examining a spinning display of stickers. I have to look closely to detect the Army in him. His blonde hair has grown out long enough to thread fingers through it, and the stubble dusting his cheeks is definitely out of regulation. But the hints are still there, especially in the way he carries himself. Once a soldier, always a soldier.

What’s this moose making competition all about? he asks, abandoning the sticker rack and strutting to the front counter. The first time I laid eyes on Holden he was standing right where he is now. That the man was buying a gift for his mom back in the states only made me crush harder.

The challenge is to use your creativity and imagination to make a moose in a way no one else has. It takes all my concentration to push through my opening tasks. No one is allowed to start until today, or you’re disqualified.

How would anyone know if you started sooner? If I’m not mistaken, Holden has taken a genuine interest in the competition. I’d never tell him, but it makes him that much more attractive. A flash of a future where the two of us enter the contest together teases me. It can never be, Rachel.

When registration opens, you have to present the different types of materials you’ll be working with. That way no one changes up their design in the middle of the competition. Whatever types of materials you present today are the only ones you’re allowed to use.

Interesting.

The most unique moose—decided by popular vote—wins.

So that’s it, then? Holden sounds unimpressed.

I know it sounds simple, but wait until this weekend when they’re all on display. You’ll be amazed at what people come up with. I steal another glance, but he catches me this time. Everyone who attends can vote on their favorite. I have to keep talking or I’ll do something foolish, like give in to the man who’s been asking me out every day for a week.

You entering?

No. I glance around the store that I hope will be one hundred percent mine in a few short weeks. Just twenty-three hundred dollars and you’ll be all mine. That’s why most of the inventory is priced to move for this competition. I’m ready to buy out my aunt so she no longer has something to hold over my head.