Mistletoe Detour

Book 0: Millers of Morgan Valley

by Kate Pearce

Genres: Holiday books; Women's Fiction

Synopsis

This Christmas, one California cowboy finds that love, like the perfect gift, can be even more wonderful when it’s unexpected…
 
Called out to rescue a stranded driver on a snowy night, rancher Ted Baker is surprised to find his old high-school friend, Veronica Hernandez, at the wheel—with her pet pig, Bacon, riding shotgun. Ten years after leaving Morgantown, Veronica is as warm, lively, and lovely as ever. If she and Bacon need a place to stay over the holidays, Ted’s got a spare room that needs filling and, maybe, a heart that could use the same…
 
Veronica has landed herself in a jam—and what better place to lie low than her sleepy hometown? But spending time with Ted is making her wonder why she ever left…and whether it’s too late to turn this Christmas pit stop into a new beginning…
 

Release date: October 26, 2021

Publisher: Zebra Books

Print pages: 96

Sample

When his cell rang, Ted jerked upright, and almost knocked his beer over as he leaned across to find his phone. It was late, it was snowing, and he’d settled in to watch a rerun of his favorite baseball team’s memorable moments from last season. From the drool on his chin he might have been napping....

Even as he swiped frantically at the chips on his chest, he answered the phone in a professional manner. His father and grandfather had instilled that in him from birth.

“Baker’s. How may I help you?”

“Hey, Ted, it’s Nate, your friendly neighborhood sheriff. I passed a broken-down vehicle on my way out of Morgantown, and stopped to tell the driver to expect a tow truck in the next fifteen minutes. Sorry to pass the buck, but I’m on my way to a multi-vehicle pileup near Bridgeport because some idiots don’t know how to drive in ice and snow.”

“It’s not a problem, Nate. I’ll go out there right now.” Ted stood and a veritable shower of orange crumbs peppered the floor. “Where’s the vehicle?”

“It’s a small, white rental. Hazard lights are working fine. It’s pulled over just before the entrance to Morgan Ranch. Should be easy to spot unless we get more snow.”

“Okay, no problem,” Ted said. “I’ll get out there right now.”

“Thanks, Ted. I’d prefer it if the car was taken off the road so no one can drive into the back of it. Let me know if you have any problems, okay?”

“Will do. Drive safe, Nate.”

Ted ended the call and glanced guiltily at the collection of empty packets on his side table. Chips, peanuts, and a protein bar counted as dinner, right? With his father being away, he hadn’t bothered to cook. There didn’t seem much point when he lived right opposite a pizza parlor.

He set his untouched beer back in the refrigerator and put on his heaviest jacket and boots. Whenever he was called out, he always tried to start the car and get people moving before deciding to take it into the shop. At this time of year, that usually involved standing in the snow and ice while he froze his nuts off, so he’d learned to be prepared. As the sole mechanic, with the only garage and gas station in Morgan Valley, he was called out to all kinds of situations.

He went down the stairs into the garage below his apartment, and spent a few minutes making sure he had everything he needed stashed in his tow truck before opening the doors and heading out into the inky blackness. Once he got out of the town proper, and into the sparsely populated Morgan Valley, there weren’t many streetlights.

Not that it worried him. He’d lived in Morgan Valley his whole life, and knew the roads like the back of his hand. It took him less than fifteen minutes to locate the broken-down vehicle. He carefully backed up on the side of the road behind it and set his hazard lights flashing.

As he approached, the driver’s door flew open, and a woman scrambled out and rushed toward him.

“Oh, thank goodness! Nate said someone would be along, but I was beginning to wonder whether he’d forgotten about me, and worrying about ax murderers, and—” She paused for breath, and a huge smile broke out on her face. “Oh, it’s you! Ted Baker! How cool is that!”

She pointed at her chest. “Veronica Hernandez. We went to school together, remember?”

Still reeling from the force and brilliance of her smile, Ted nodded like a dumbass. “Yeah, I mean, hey, what’s up?”

She pointed at her car. “It’s embarrassing, but I ran out of gas. I thought I had enough to get me to Uncle Victor’s, but I obviously miscalculated, and now I’m stuck.” She gazed hopefully up at him. “Can you give me a ride into town so I can call him to come get me?”

Ted cleared his throat. “Yeah, of course, but—”

She interrupted him. “Shall I get my stuff and put it in your truck?”

“Sure, but I’ll need to hitch up the car and take it with us, okay?” He surveyed the narrow, unlit road. “It’s not safe to leave it out here in this weather, and on this bend. It won’t take long. Do you have the keys?”

She handed them over and followed him back to the car. “Are you sure it will be quick?”

“I can’t see why not.” Ted opened the trunk, took out her bags, and walked them over to his tow truck. “There’s no damage so it should load up easily.”

Ted returned to the car and paused by the open door, peering into the murky interior, which smelled odd. A weird snuffling noise made him back up a step.

Veronica eased past him. “Oh, my little darling, are you okay? I’m coming right now.”

Ted retreated farther as she emerged with a bundle of blankets and held them tenderly to her chest. It was stupid the way his heart immediately plummeted to his boots. Of course she was married and had a family. She’d always been way out of his league, and he was an idiot to think otherwise.

But if that was her kid, it had one hell of a breathing problem....

She tenderly drew the blanket away and stepped close to him.

“This is Bacon, my pet pig. Isn’t he the sweetest thing ever?”

Veronica waited as Ted stared down at Bacon; his mouth was working, but no sounds came out. From what she could see in the flickering lights, he hadn’t changed much since school. His brown hair and eyes were as cute as ever, he definitely needed a shave, and he’d filled out his gangly frame quite nicely.

“I thought”—he paused and looked directly at her—“that was your kid.”

“Gosh, no!” She gave a snort of laughter, which sounded remarkably like one of Bacon’s. “He is pretty special to me, though.”

“So I can see.” He stepped back. “Why don’t you and . . . Bacon take a seat in my truck while I get this car loaded up? There’s a flask of coffee in there if you need it.”

True to his word, it didn’t take long for them to be heading toward Morgantown. As they drove down the deserted main street, Veronica gazed eagerly at the town she’d called home for the first eighteen years of her life.

“It looks good.” She half turned to Ted who hadn’t said much since they’d gotten under way. “I was worried it might have gone downhill like a lot of small towns.”

“Is this the first time you’ve been back?” Ted asked as he drove the tow truck into a vast garage, which easily swallowed her car as well. He closed the doors, leaving them in relative silence.

Her smile dimmed. “Yeah, not that I haven’t wanted to come back, but things got . . . complicated.”

“I know how that goes.” He grimaced. “I didn’t think I’d still be here when I was pushing thirty. I thought I’d be living in a big city doing something with the motor sport industry.”

Impulsively, she reached over and patted his denim-clad knee. “You could still do it. You’re not that old.”

“Thanks.” His smile was wry as he turned off the engine and opened his door. “I feel about ninety some days.”

He came around to her door and offered her his hand. “Don’t want to wake the pig.”

She let him help her down, her hand firmly grasping the front of his open jacket, her face momentarily buried against his chest. He smelled like motor oil, leather, and coffee, which was surprisingly comforting.

“Thanks for this.” She followed him to the far corner where there was a door. “How much do I owe you?”

He unlocked the door and went up a flight of stairs into a large open-plan apartment that faced right down o. . .