This quality author returns to Wyoming for a wintry tale involving Charlotte Morgan, a traveller trying to beat the weather in late December. She's been working hard only to be laid off, and now she returns to her home town for CHRISTMAS IN MUSTANG CREEK. January will just have to take care of itself.

I don't know if there could be a worse time of year to lose your job and prospects. Having to be cheerful in front of family and friends doesn't appeal. Charlotte has to admit failure in NYC and make preparations to ship her goods home, so she can't be expecting an upturn in the job market. And what is there for a single girl to do in Mustang Creek?

Since Charlotte's social site post said she was leaving for good and heading home, there's an interested gentleman following her. And not just in a social media followers way. He's a veterinarian and in years past asked Charlotte to come and live with him, but she was too keen on the lure of the city. Now Jaxon Locke wonders if fate has dealt him a lucky hand.

Charlotte was reared by her Aunt Geneva, who is now getting on in years and needs sheltered housing. Accordingly the responsible girl wants to return the care she was given when she needed it. This tie means that Mustang Creek is her home for the foreseeable future. Jaxon has a job offer here from a college friend, and on their first morning back, people already imagine they are a couple, though that's not the case. A lady called Mrs. Klozz, helping Aunt Geneva, seems to know a lot more about Charlotte than expected. Who could argue with an elderly lady making spiced cookies?

I particularly enjoyed the baking scents and good neighbourliness evident in the tale, and there's more: q sleigh ride behind a chestnut Morgan; a responsible animal adoption drive; skiing on fresh snow and taking care of horses on Christmas Day. CHRISTMAS IN MUSTANG CREEK is a good-hearted story, and the main tension I feel comes from Charlotte not wanting to have her life mapped out for her by busybodies in town who, after all, may have good ideas but also wish to suit themselves. Settle down with a warm drink when you read CHRISTMAS IN MUSTANG CREEK which is an adult romance by Linda Lael Miller in the Brides of Bliss County series.