I’m writing! I’m wrapping up a ghostwriting project that I might even get to tell you about someday!

I’m writing! I started working on a new full-length, stand-alone novel. It’s got:

• fat heroine
• musician hero
• high school sweethearts
• second chances
• a rescue pug named Guillermo

I’m writing! I put up a little story noodle on Patreon. I’m going to keep doing that there for the time being. It’s available to Tiers 2 and up. Come check it out if you’re into supporting creatives financially between releases.

I’m not narrating! Amy Jo Steele is, and Buck’s Landing will finally be available on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes in short order!

I’m Tweeting! I dipped a toe into TikTok (yikes!), I’ve more or less walked away from Facebook, except for big announcements, and Insta is just…not holding my interest lately. But Twitter has been a huge distraction of late.

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I might be the third to last person to watch The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, but I am all. caught. up. now.

I am also breathless over “Comedy or Cabbage.” Still.

I keep coming back to the last 17 minutes of that episode, and how just…perfect it is, from the angsty Cuban rock song and the hot lights in the club, right down to the camera work and blocking as Midge walks Lenny back to his hotel room. He is always angled towards her, and the way he turns, almost dancing, to keep his body facing hers reads like a deep crush, the kind you’re almost afraid to admit to yourself.

I mean, the sequence at the club is everything–I get little shivers when Lenny loops Midge’s hand around his neck and holds her forearm. It’s so earnest and tender. And panty melting (props to Luke Kirby, who smolders like a six-hour campfire on an August night)–but that walk and the tension so thick you could make a sandwich from it outside shiny-number-thirteen-with-the-missing-one are subtler, which I seriously dig.

The other underrated moment for me happens on the set of Miami After Dark, when Lenny goes for the easy joke, leaning back to get Midge’s attention while flanked by matching blondes, and she responds by waving a cruller. His laughter there feels so authentic, and like he really didn’t expect it, because she can–and does–surprise him, which only makes him love her more.

I get super invested in my favorite characters, to the point where I yell at them on-screen, cry, gasp and clutch throw pillows. When Lenny says, “Someday? Before I’m dead,” my heart made a little squeak of grief that physically whooshed out of me.

The almost imperceptible shift in expression from a caricature of rejection to abject misery as Midge walks away and the shot tightens on him? Oof.

Mutual pining is one of my favorite tropes. I love when two characters just long for one another and the longing stretches to the breaking point. Like, I LOVE it. Usually, I’m in it for the payoff, but on this one? I’m with the creators, who’ve been pretty vocal that this pair won’t cross any lines. That said, I’m a thousand percent here for more unrequited, on-screen chemistry.

Also, Mr. Kirby, if you’re reading this, you would make an excellent Adrian Tempest. Just saying.

I recently answered a few questions while promoting the release of Damselfly Inn’s audiobook, and thought I’d share it with you, since the tour is over.

How did you select your narrator?

Robin’s professionalism and range impressed me, and she nailed Nan’s voice in the interview. 

How closely did you work with your narrator before and during the recording process? Did you give them any pronunciation tips or special insight into the characters?

Robin has an extensive and insightful list of questions for her authors about the characters. Taking the time to answer them thoroughly really brought out the best in my characters when she performed the book.

Were there any real life inspirations behind your writing? 

Lots! Thornton itself is modeled after an idealized version of Middlebury, Vermont, where I went to college. The Damselfly Inn is inspired by an old Victorian house in a meadow not far from Middlebury College. When I was a student, it was abandoned and quietly falling apart. I was fascinated by the house and wished I could rehab it and run it as a B&B. None of my characters are autobiographical or based on real people, but I trained as a chef after college, and my husband is a contractor and fine finish carpenter, so…

How do you manage to avoid burn-out? What do you do to maintain your enthusiasm for writing?

I can’t imagine not being excited about writing. When I burn out, it’s the things around writing that get me down. Day jobs, chores, the never ending work of caring for my home… Writing? That’s a pleasure, and it’s fueled by life, by reading, by soaking in new experiences and cozying up to memories. 

Are you an audiobook listener? What about the audiobook format appeals to you?

I am learning to be. I’ve been an avid book readers since I could sound out words, but sometimes there just isn’t time to snuggle up with a book, and audiobooks are so wonderfully portable in a way that even eBooks aren’t.

If this title were being made into a TV series or movie, who would you cast to play the primary roles? 

This was an easier question a decade ago when I started working on the book! Mandy Moore and Nathan Fillion were in my head for Nan and Joss. Kate is absolutely based on Lauren Graham’s portrayal of Lorelei Gilmore in Gilmore Girls. I think now, I’ll just have to trust the folks at Netflix (hello, Netflix, Thornton would make a great series…just saying!) to cast it.

What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading”?

I’d say that’s nonsense. Before we wrote stories down, we told them to those who wanted to hear them. Listening to a compelling voice tell you a story still takes your imagination to new places, still expands your world, still comforts you like reading the words from a page. 

In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of writing a stand-alone novel vs. writing a series? 

The pros are often the same as the cons, I think, and vice versa. Stand alones don’t require the same sense of overarching plot, or twining plot, that a series does, but that can be both pro and con. Sometimes, leaving breadcrumbs for future stories helps move the narrative along in ways a standalone can’t, but there’s no pressure in a stand alone to set up those future stories or establish things in the world of the book that have to endure past The End.

What’s your favorite:

Food: This is like asking me to pick a favorite child! (Actually, it’s harder, I only have one child!) Sushi and ice cream, probably…

Song: So. Many. Favorites. But here’s a sampling: Strange Currencies by REM, Buried Treasure by Grant Lee Phillips, Slow Show, by the National, June Hymn by the Decemberists, Debauchery by David Gray

Book: Again, I don’t know how people choose… I will always love Anne of the Island by LM Montgomery (the diamond sunbursts and marble halls proposal? swoon!), and I have a lingering adoration for Daphne DuMaurier’s Frenchman’s Creek. Katherine Neville’s The Eight captured my imagination when I was a teen and I still love to re-read it. Recently, Kate Clayborn’s Love Lettering, which does one of my favorite things so well: makes the reader fall in love with the place as well as the characters.

Television show: Ooh! An easy one. The West Wing. Currently airing: Better Call Saul. Runner Up: Schitt’s Creek.

Movie: The Princess Bride

Band: tough call. See the artists listed under favorite song…

Sports team: What are sports? 

City: Florence, Italy.

Are any of those things referenced in appearance in your work? 

I can’t cite specifically where, but I bet they are, hiding like Easter eggs. I don’t write autobiographically, but little bits of me shine through everywhere in my stories.

I challenged myself to read 48 books this year, which, when I think about how much I read when I was a young, single woman with a job and no real responsibility, is nothing…but, writing, parenting, practicing with my bow…it all takes time, time I don’t have to read.

And it is a truth universally accepted that a writer must read.

I completed my challenge this week, which means I could draw this top ten list from those books alone, or…I could go back a calendar year and choose from all of them. So, in no particular order, here are my ten favorite books from the last year of reading:

Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn: I love when the setting of a novel becomes a character, and Clayborn excels at this. New York City came alive in a beautiful and unexpected way in this book, and the relationships around the central romance were very relatable to me.

A Wicked Kind of Husband by Mia Vincy: Confession: I love Regencies, especially saucy ones with anachronistically fierce heroines and cinnamon roll heroes. There will be more than a couple in this list. This one I loved for the marriage on the rocks trope.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern: I felt like Morgenstern walked into my dreams and wrote them out as a fairy tale. Keys and bees and honey and extravagant architecture and secrets…oh, my stars. I also loved The Night Circus, but I connected more with this book.

One Good Earl Deserves A Lover by Sarah Maclean: Another Regency, this one definitely fits the saucy and fierce description above. From the tortured but lovable hero to the prickly bespectacled heroine and the Fallen Angel itself. I mean who doesn’t love an exclusive gaming hell run by rogue members of the nobility?

Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston: I loved the interaction between the siblings and their friends as much as the love story. I love found family and it’s one of McQuiston’s strong suits, and I love the idea of a prince and a first son as a couple.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab: I tumbled into the richness of the prose in this book and the dance between Addie and death. The intertwined destinies and complicated nature of loving and living, and the way Addie survives and self-realizes, were beautifully done.

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade: I found the heroine in this book crazy relatable (that she’s okay with her body, but not okay with how people want her to feel about her body, in particular) and the way the hero loved her dreamy, even if the premise of the book had some flaws. I’m a big believer in suspension of disbelief, which helps.

Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron: The. Food. I mean, the writing and the storytelling and the romance, too (I kept picturing Sendhil Ramamurthy as Nadim. Yum), but the cooking in this book…and cooking is one of my catnips, right alongside rich settings and cinnamon roll heroes.

Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert: Found family and a road trip, neurodiverse, LGBTQIA characters, fandoms, gaming, and geekery…really good stuff.   There’s also something about awkward young adult longing that just gets me, though I suspect it’s the mom in me hoping those kids will get their HFN.

The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon: This is a fourth, maybe fifth re-read for the flagship book, but I reread the whole series in anticipation of Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone. Since I read seven of them as one Kindle bundle, I guess that means my total books read count to 54!

Wait.

I needed to hear that.

I don’t (usually) publish fast. This we know, but I also work two part time jobs and a freelance gig to pay the bills. I have a family and a few hobbies. Since last March, my family has been very cautious about our stay-at-home efforts. We cancelled our 2020 summer travel plans. We stayed put until it was deemed safe to do more than go out for groceries, and even then, we kept it to small groups we could manage outdoors. Our close families, one other like-minded family we teamed up with to survive the summer, the little pod we meet on the outdoor range to draw bowstrings with at the archery club…

Even with stay-at-home orders and school closures, I spin a lot of plates. Guessing you do, too.

I work from home. My husband can’t always, but he does when he can. Our son is home with me. The chickens do their best to keep me entertained, but I know I’m not alone when I say:

It was a lot. I was lonely. I missed my friends. I was tired of my own thoughts and the increasing anxiety over school and the looming cold season and the election and social media and ohmygodIamscreaminginsidemyheart…

Last August, our survival team friends invited us to go camping with them.

::backstory break:: I grew up far more outdoorsy than I’ve become. Girl Scouts, camp, fishing, canoeing, tents, rifles, rambles and splashes in the woods, campfires, dirt and bugs, all of it. I fell out of the habit somewhere along the last few decades, tired of the smell of musty, poorly cared-for tents from the supply shed and eating dinner made with ingredients flooded by splashy Brownies with canoe paddles. I declared myself done and moved on. I did not figure I would find myself ever craving the gentle filter of morning sunlight through evergreen trees, or the smell of a starry night in the dog days of summer, again::

Twenty-one year old me never imagined the possibility of the fifteen months we’ve just been through. Sweet summer child. 

Next week, I’ll release the third novelette…novella? Short novel? book in the Green Mountain Hearts series. I’ll start working on a few new things, new stories, new pen name for a new genre, maybe? New mediums, definitely. Lots of plates, but I am grateful to my friends who knew me better than I knew myself, and forced me to set them down.

Next week, I’m releasing a book, then going back into the woods for a few days, and I can’t wait to tell you more when I get back.

I’ve been sitting on this news since forever, or at least since November, when I was frantically writing a brand new mini-series.

It’s here!

Seven romance authors–including yours truly–have come together to share a limited edition collection filled with nothing but small town love stories.

Here’s the deal: You download the Love in a Small Town ebook and get seven exclusive romances from…

• CA Miconi
• Jade C. Jamison
• Katrina Marie
• Monique McDonell
• Nan O’Berry
• Zoe Hart
• and me!

As a special thank you, we’ll send you one book a month from each author in the anthology! (To review: that’s one collection full of seven romances, plus seven additional books to be delivered to you over the next seven months!)

My offerings are two brand new novellas in a new Thornton-adjacent series, GREEN MOUNTAIN HEARTS: AMBITIOUS HEART (in the collection) and UNBOUND HEART (my second, monthly offering). The third novella, TROUBADOUR HEART will be traditionally released, along with the other two, once the promotion is over.

If you’d like to check out the beginning of AMBITIOUS HEART, click the title to read the first scene.

Click the image above to head over to Book Funnel where you can download the book to your device. Please note, by downloading the anthology, you’re agreeing to subscribe to all seven authors’ newsletters, along with Love Kissed Book Bargains, and Love Kissed FREEBIES. Feel free to unsubscribe anytime.

Grab your copy of Love in a Small Town!

“Wake up, Auntie Mira. Uncle Adi says he’s going to drink all the grown-up drinks by himself if you don’t come down soon.” Her nephew Finlay was seven, and an alarming conversational sponge.

“Mom said she’d make him shovel the whole backyard all by hisself if he did that,” Finlay’s little sister Elodie was almost six and took everyone at face value.

“Merry Christmas, sweet beans.” Miranda hugged them close. “Let’s go downstairs and rescue Uncle Adi from mimosas and shoveling.”

“Mira, honey,” her mother hugged her hard. “Ariel told us everything.”

“Michael called just a little while ago,” her father added. “He’s bringing Elliot over here around noon.”

Miranda looked up from her mother’s shoulder. “He is?”

“Seems the boy wants to be with his mom today,” her dad said. “Rough night over there, sounds like.”

Miranda’s heart skipped. “Is he okay?”

Her father chuckled. “For Michael, not Elliot. He said the puppy was up half the night crying or peeing.”

“Adorable, furry karma,” Adrian said, placing a mimosa in Miranda’s hand. “Merry Christmas, Bossy.”

“Merry Christmas, Adi.”

“Adrian, come in here and help Greg with the table,” Ariel’s voice cut through the moment.

Miranda leaned her head on her brother’s shoulder. “Why again did I get Bossy for a nickname?”

Adrian laughed. “Where do you think Ariel learned it?”

“Me,” their mother reminded them. She swatted Adrian on the rear and put an arm around Miranda’s waist. “The kids have devastated their gifts already, but there are a few things under the tree for you, sweetie.”

“Your gifts!” Miranda’s chest tightened. “Everything is still at my house.”

“We’ll worry about that later, honey,” her mom said. “Let’s sit for a minute before Ariel marches us all in for brunch.”

Miranda couldn’t help worrying though. She’d used Justin’s key, but only to pace the floor of his downstairs den waiting for Adrian to come pick her up. She’d forgotten the gifts and the huge box of homemade Christmas cookies, but Adrian remembered to bring Marvin.

“Where’s the cat?”

Her father pointed down the hall to where the playroom was. “Ariel put him in there with a foil pan and some kitty litter Greg had around from an oil spill in the garage. She didn’t want him near the tree or the table.” Her father sighed. “He’s got some food and water. He’ll be okay.”

“Poor Marvin,” Miranda said. “It wasn’t his fault. I never should have left that candle burning when I went to get the sushi. I completely forgot about it.”

“Things happen, my girl. You’re all okay, and that’s what matters.”

The funny thing was, she actually felt okay. She had a splitting headache, her hair needed washing, and she was going to have to re-do the kitchen after the firefighters had opened a wall behind the sink to check for fire spread, but she felt okay. No panic attack, no clammy anxiety.

In fact, she hadn’t had one since the night she met Justin.

The doorbell rang before she had a chance to sit with her parents. 

“Miranda, get the door. Ariel’s shackled me to the silverware,” Adrian called from the dining room.

She made her way to the front hall and opened the door. She figured she looked frightening enough to scare off anyone who was out knocking on doors on Christmas day.

“Justin.” A happy shiver ran along her arms at the sight of him.

He was holding two huge bags of wrapped gifts, most of which Miranda recognized as her own. “Merry Christmas. The rest is in the car.”

“What are you doing here?” She took a bag from him and set it inside the foyer. “How?”

“Your brother left a note with his number and an address. Said to be here at noon for brunch if I could and told me where your key probably was so I could bring all the stuff for your niece and nephew.” His lips turned up wryly. “I probably look like a wreck, but I only stopped long enough to shower and get your things.”

“Justin? Is that you?” Adrian breezed into the foyer and handed Miranda his Bloody Mary. He took the remaining bag out of Justin’s hand and put it inside. “Come in. It’s freezing. Is there more in your car? I’ll grab it.”

While Justin was shrugging out of his coat, Adrian gave Miranda a silent double thumbs up and mouthed cutie. Miranda giggled.

“What?” Justin looked around, coat in hand, at the chic splendor of Ariel and Greg’s house. 

Miranda took the coat and hung it in the coat closet. “My brother. He’s too much.”

“Is it okay? That I’m here? Adrian insisted…And I was worried about you both after last night.”

“I’m glad you’re here,” she said. “And we’re going to be okay.”

“How’s Marvin?” Justin asked. “Contrite at all?”

“That cat wouldn’t know contrite if it bit him in the ass,” Adrian said, coming back inside with his arms full of gifts from Justin’s car. “He’s definitely my patronus.”

Justin laughed, obviously charmed by her brother. “Is Elliot at his dad’s?”

“He’ll be here later. I want you two to meet properly,” Miranda said, “so he has someone to talk about his new game with.”

“Come in here, you two. Ariel’s going to have a heart attack,” Adrian called. 

“I’ll teach him everything I know,” Justin said.

Miranda knew he was talking about the video game, but she liked the sound of it, just the same.  “Are you ready for this?”

Justin took her hand. “Almost.”

“Almost?”

“Almost.” Justin looked up at the mistletoe ball hung from the chandelier in Ariel’s foyer. “Merry Christmas, Miranda.”

When his lips met hers, Miranda sank into the sweetest Christmas gift she’d had in years. 

Elodie’s piping voice reminded them they weren’t alone. “Auntie Mira is kissing that man.”

Justin blushed, but didn’t let her go. Miranda laid her head on his shoulder to hide her smile as the dining room burst into raucous applause.

“Bossy, bring him in here. I had Adi set a place. It would be nice if I met the man before I feed him.”

Justin raised a brow. “Bossy?”

Miranda’s laughter carried them into Christmas brunch.

The End Beginning

At number thirteen, her son was sitting in the open cab of Engine 3, wrapped in a blanket, holding Marvin. The cat, despite his role in the unfolding events, was peacefully settled in his boy’s lap, cleaning his paws.

Miranda’s Camry appeared around the corner of Coturnix and Justin took a deep breath. This part of the job was always the worst for him. The car was already slowing, even as he waved. He didn’t need to look behind him to know what Miranda was seeing as she approached. The scene was all too familiar to him–cruisers, an ambulance, the engine…

It didn’t always look worse than it was.

The window started to slide down. “What’s going on? I–Justin?” 

She barely stopped the car before throwing it in park and getting out. He put out an arm to stop her. “Miranda. Elliot is fine. Your house is okay.”

“I need to–Elliot–“ She blinked at him as his words sunk in. “What happened?”

“Hey, breathe.” He stepped into her field of vision, braced her elbows, and spoke firmly to hold her attention. “The cat knocked over a candle in the kitchen. It caught on a cloth or a towel. Elliot did good. He called 9-1-1, the crew said he smothered it with a small rug and got out. He was outside with Marvin when we got here.”

“They’re okay? Can I go over there? Justin, I–“

“I know. Let’s move your car out of the street and walk over together, okay? They’re clearing the scene. You’ll be able to go inside as soon as we’re sure there’s no danger. In the meantime, I’m going to give you two the keys to my place.” He resisted the urge to touch her cheek; he was in uniform and she was in shock. “It’s too cold out here, and you’ve got dinner in the car.”

“I don’t care about dinner, I just–“

“I know, but you’re going to be hungry when the adrenaline passes, and the house is going to need to ventilate before you should be back inside.”

He radioed a colleague to let them know Elliot’s mom was coming through, and moved her car while she walked ahead. Jogging to catch up while carrying a good-sized sushi order was tricky, but he was by her side when she got to her driveway. Elliot saw her coming and jumped down, scattering the cat. Marvin, sensing an ally, leaped from the ground to Justin’s shoulder, digging in with his claws to stick the landing.

Justin winced at the weight and the stabbing claws, but let the cat perch while Miranda and her son held each other. He heard the boy’s tears and Miranda’s shaky reassurance. He even thought he heard her whisper, “Goddamn Marvin.”

When a high-end sedan rounded the corner a few minutes later going way too fast, it didn’t surprise Justin to see the guy from the weekend before hop out of the car. He’d taken the cat and the sushi (which he secured in the fridge before leaving Marvin alone) to his house, but Miranda and Elliot were still in the driveway talking to his chief, a police officer, and the paramedic.

He went to help his crew clean up get back to the station, but it was hard to ignore Miranda’s distressed voice arguing with her ex. His heart sank, watching Elliot shuffle into his father’s car while Miranda cried. 

His crewmate, Lacey Harrington, watched the family drama unfold as well. “Sucks more on Christmas, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah.” He hated the thought of Miranda alone in her smoke-scented house for the night. “She’s got a sister nearby. I wonder if she thought to call her family.”

“What’s going on there, Pearson?” Lacey said softly. “I know she’s your neighbor, but…”

“I really like her, Lace.”

Lacey punched him lightly on the arm. “Then finish your shift and go get her, dummy.”

He sighed. “I haven’t even known her a week, and now I’m just one of the first responders from her Christmas fire.”

“Chicks dig firefighters,” Lacey said. “Why do think I joined up?”

Justin laughed. He’d kept his distance from the station crew since his parents’ passing, preferring the semi-anonymity of his online friends, but Lacey’s good-natured ribbing was a reminder that they were his family, too.

The chief released the engine crew, and led Miranda into the house to go over the damage. She glanced over her shoulder at him as they passed. She’d been strong for her son, but she was all alone now, and he wished he could stay behind and reassure her.

“Chief,” he said. “Hold up.”

He joined Miranda and the Chief near the giant ornament. “Miranda, I’ve got to go back to the station, but Marvin and your sushi are at my place. Make yourself at home there when you’re done with the walk through. Call your sister, okay?”

The Chief nodded–both an acknowledgement and a dismissal. Miranda drew in a shaky breath. “Oh no. Ari…Thank you.”

Justin left her there with the Chief, wishing it was his house they’d visited instead.

Every evening, when she got home from picking Elliot up at his robotics club meeting, the lights greeted her, but Justin’s house was dark. She’d never thought to ask what he did for work. 

Christmas Eve was spent running a few last minute errands and packing gift baskets for friends. Elliot abandoned video games for online research about caring for his new puppy. 

As if he sensed a rival, Marvin clung to Miranda like a burr, impersonating a small outboard motor and kneading her with his marmalade murder mittens whenever she slowed down.

Elliot chose sushi for their traditional Twas the Night Before Take-out, and Miranda was on her way back with their haul when she saw Justin’s SUV in the parking lot at the fire station. Remembering the stash of Starbucks gift cards in her glove compartment, she swung into the lot. Closer inspection revealed  and went inside.

“Can I help you?” A young woman in a department uniform was manning the desk.

Could this woman help her? She felt like a fool, following a wild hunch on Christmas Eve, while her dinner waited in the car. “I just wanted to stop in an wish the department a merry Christmas.”

She was stammering. It felt like a lie. Until she pulled a couple of cards from her pocket and handed them across the desk. “These are for the crew.”

The firefighter smiled. “Thanks, ma’am. That’s a nice thing to do. Fingers crossed we don’t need ‘em tonight.”

“Right. Yes,” Miranda said, unsure of what else to say. Is Justin here? Is he firefighter, too?

“Inky, is that Mrs. Grayson? Cap’s on the horn with Station 5. He’ll be out in a–Miranda?” Justin came through the swinging door to the engine bay and stopped so fast the door banged into him from behind.

“Inky?”Miranda looked again at the young firefighter. “Emma Skewdosky?” She remembered Emma from the high school, not all that long ago. Somehow, over the generations, the pronunciation of the family’s name had become squid-OFF-ski. Her friends had called her Inky.

“Oh, my gosh, Mrs. McCall,” she said. “I love your hair!”

That’s right, I started coloring my gray just after her graduation. Right around the time Mike left. “Thanks, Emma.”

“It’s Ms. Brewer,” Justin said quietly.

She could get used to hearing him say her maiden name, though she’d never felt so far from being any kind of maiden. Emma was blushing scarlet. “It’s Miranda.”

Emma held up the gift cards. “I’m going to go put these in the truck stockings.”

“I’ve got the office,” Justin said to Emma’s retreating back. He leaned against a file cabinet, a shy smile teasing his mouth. “You just dropped in here to leave Christmas presents?”

“I–“ She didn’t have an excuse beyond I just wanted to see you. “I saw you car on my way by, and…”

He stood, pocketing his hands. “And?”

“And I wanted to see you.” She blurted it out. “I’ve been busy all week, but the lights have been so nice to come home to. Your house has been dark, and I wondered…”

He stopped her rambling. “I’m glad you came by.”

“Me, too, I–You are?” Her heart was thumping too slowly, great pounding beats that knocked against her ribs. Surely he could hear them.

“I’ve had night shifts this week. Covering for the crew who have families. I liked seeing the lights up on your house, too.”

He moved the neighbors snow and put up his own lights on her house. He covered for his colleagues so they wouldn’t miss pre-holiday magic. Swoon.

“Are you working tomorrow?” Miranda failed to keep the hope from her voice.

“Yeah, overnight tonight into the morning. Made sense, since I don’t have anyone waiting on me to open a stocking. Y’know?” His words were light, but Miranda heard the loneliness in them. It was a frequency she vibrated at, as well.

“Well, Merry Christmas. I have dinner in the car. I should–“

This time the alarm cut her off. Justin moved so quickly she wasn’t sure how he’d crossed the room. “Sorry. Gotta go. Merry Christmas, Miranda.”

She waited alone in the office until after the sirens and flashing lights were gone. She wondered if anyone was still at the station, but of course there would be someone left on duty. She fished her keys from her pocket and let herself out. 

She was halfway to her car when she heard Emma’s voice from the doorway. “Merry Christmas and thanks for the coffees!”