In a secret corner of my brain the story sounded rather
familiar and as a long time reader of anything Diana Palmer
has written it wouldn't be so surprising to come across a
reissued tale. Both stories in WHITE CHRISTMAS are
reissued, originally published in 1987 and this information
is clearly noted. However if you weren't lucky enough to
have read these stories now is your chance to get two for
the price of one. WHITE CHRISTMAS is a welcome revisit to
some old and dear friends who delighted me the first time
and brought back nice memories the second time around.
In the first story Woman Hater we have a young woman
basically sent into the lion's den when Nicole accompanies
her boss Gerald home to the family ranch. Gerald needs to
get away from corporate stress and give his body a chance
to rest. Going to the family ranch in Montana would be just
the thing.
Nicole had turned her back on her family's wealth and
social standing. She was making her own way and loved her
job as secretary to Gerald at his company. The two of them
worked very well together with great respect for each
other.
But flying into Montana was going to present some issues
for Nicole. She came from horse country and her father was
a well-respected horseman. Hopefully no one would make the
connection between Nicole and her family.
Being at the ranch was kind of bittersweet reminding Nicole
of all she missed being in the city. Winthrop was becoming
quite impressed with all this very young lady knew about
horses. In fact he was becoming attracted to Nicole even
though he was fighting that attraction with all his
strength.
Winthrop used his unfortunate experience with his fiancé as
a means to keep his distance from most people and most
especially women. But Nicole was finding a way into his
carefully brick walled life. And if he was being honest
with himself he was beginning to enjoy the sunshine this
young woman brought into his very drab life.
The second story is The Humbug Man which is a shorter almost
novella tale about a woman Maggie and her son Blake.
Maggie's grandfather's ranch is kind of up for grabs. He
left it to her and now she has to decide what to do with
it. Her intention is to sell since her life and her sons
are in the city now. Not that she had much of a personal or
love life to return to and being on the ranch was such a
wonderful opportunity to spend time with her son. The only
truly down side was their surly neighbor Tate who barely
acknowledged her presence and yet made an indelible
impression on Blake. And now Blake has a plan -- a way to
keep him from returning to the dreaded military school and
stay with his mom while playing matchmaker between Maggie
and Tate.
Quite an undertaking. Perhaps with a little help all things
will fall into place and Christmas will bring the best gift
possible to all of these three wonderful but lonely people.
Diana Palmer loves to write about strong men with very
specific weaknesses especially when it comes to dealing
with the opposite sex. Her ongoing theme seems to be love
can bring even the strongest man to his knees -- marriage
minded so to speak. It's truly a gift making a hard man
into a loving family one but no one does it better than
Palmer. In WHITE CHRISTMAS Diana Palmer treats us to her
signature style of rough and tough cowboys with plenty of
passion and strong family values.
Master storyteller DIANA PALMER delights readers with
timeless romances featuring unforgettable heroes. Cozy up to
the fireplace with these two tales of love set during the
merriest time of the year
WOMAN HATER Everyone in Nicole White's office described
their boss's mysterious older brother as a real woman hater.
So when Nicki had to tag along with her ailing employer to
his brother's Montana home, she was prepared for the worst.
To her surprise, what she found was a man more roughly
masculine than any she'd ever met. But Winthrop
Christopher's distrust of women ran straight to the bone.
Nicki knew she should steer clear of him, but she couldn't
hide the feelings he stirred in her. Could she ever teach
him to love again?
THE HUMBUG MAN Montana rancher Tate Hollister was the
grouchiest widower Maggie Jeffries had ever met. But, as the
holiday season progressed, Maggie discovered that Tate
wasn't completely immune to the Christmas spirit. In fact,
his loving embrace might just be the gift of a lifetime.