Candy Cane Christmas

A Cottonbloom story

by Laura Trentham

A very Cottonbloom Christmas!

Jeremy Whitehurst has tried to leave his bad-boy behavior and tarnished image behind in Alabama for a fresh start in Cottonbloom, Louisiana. Unfortunately, trouble has dogged him across state lines. Stepping up and protecting a young woman from her abusive boyfriend earned him a beat-down and got him fired. Although the thanks in the girl’s dark eyes made it all worth it, he recognizes she’s just a different kind of trouble. A trouble he’s not sure he can stay away from.

One rebellious summer dented Kayla Redmond’s carefree innocence. Now her focus is on completing her associate’s degree for bookkeeping, and no one is going to derail her plans. Unfortunately, her job at Fournette Brothers Designs puts her in the path of the one man who has seen her at her worst, yet his blue eyes don’t judge her. He sees beyond the brokenness inside of her and rouses her wild side once more. But, that’s what got her in trouble in the first place.

Christmas is coming and Kayla’s ready to forgive herself and take a chance. But the holiday has only ever brought heartache to Jeremy. No Christmas miracle kept his mother clean or out of jail. Will one reckless night and some time spent in the back of a cop car be the best present Jeremy’s ever been given?

I’ve been waiting a long time for Jeremy to get a HEA and Trentham delivers beautifully.  She gives us all of his background info that we’ve been waiting for, plus forgiveness and a chance at something more than just living for him.

Jeremy’s been beating himself up for his bad decisions for a long time but he’s proven himself to be a better man, to have learned from his past.  Now he just has to realize it J  Kayla also has a little self-forgiveness to do and to realize that bad choices don’t define us.  Like Jeremy, it’s what you do from then on that’s important.

While there isn’t a lot of conflict here, the growth that they go through is just as important.  It’s a Christmas novella so there’s the requisite heart and emotion, learning and moving forward, fresh starts and healing old wounds … but of course with Trentham flair!  She’s not going to give us just any old holiday cheer – ours has leather, motorcycles and cop cars just to keep things hopping.