A Family Like Hannah's

Starting over is serious business

With her professional skiing career cut short by an accident, Hannah James is putting all her energy into transforming Snowy Sky Resort into something special. There’s only one obstacle. Famous pro-snowboarder-turned-consultant Tate Addison has his own ideas about taking the Rankins, Alaska, lodge to the next level. But Hannah won’t compromise her dreams. She gets that Tate is trying to create a stable home for his orphaned six-year-old nephew—a boy Hannah already adores. And if she isn’t careful, she could also fall for the boy’s too-attractive uncle. Is she risking heartbreak? Or do she and Tate really want the same things out of life?

“Hannah, maybe you should accept that I’m here to stay?”

She frowned. “I will accept that, Tate, around the same time I accept the bad recommendations you’ve made for Snowy Sky.”

“Hannah—”

Interrupting with her hands, palms up in a conciliatory gesture, she said, “Okay, shoot, I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to get into this again. I want to apologize for the snowball. I don’t lose my temper very often and I—”

“Good, because I don’t want to fight with you, either.”

Something hitched in her chest because his voice was low and smooth and his eyes were pinned on hers.

“Quite the opposite, in fact.”

Hannah’s face felt hot and her pulse began to pound because the opposite of fighting was...

Dear Reader,

I was fortunate to be born into a family of optimists. I’m talking about the kind of people who, if a car breaks down in the middle of nowhere on a dark night with no cell phone service, will say something like, “I only had to walk five miles.” Or “At least it wasn’t raining.”

Hannah James comes from this kind of family, too. She is just this type of person, dealing with every devastating blow life hands her with a steadfast and cheerful grace because, in keeping with her eternal optimism, she truly believes that things will improve. But even the most positive among us have our breaking point. For Hannah that point is rapidly approaching. The dream she’s worked so hard to achieve is in danger of being snatched from her grasp. And to complicate matters, she’s falling for the would-be dream-snatcher, Tate Addison.

Tate wants to make a home in Rankins, Alaska, for the nephew he’s gained custody of. To Tate, a home requires a family. But how can someone who’s never had a family make a home? Especially with such a broken and dysfunctional background as his? And even if he could, how could he ever expect to make a family like Hannah’s?

Thanks so much for spending some time with me in Rankins. Check out my website, carolrossauthor.com, for social media links, the latest book news and other titles in the Seasons of Alaska series.

All my best,

Carol

CAROL ROSS lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two dogs. She is a graduate of Washington State University. When not writing, or thinking about writing, she enjoys reading, running, hiking, skiing, traveling and making plans for the next adventure to subject her sometimes reluctant but always fun-loving family to.

For Aaramie, my niece, friend, fellow adventurer, food enthusiast, joke sharer, amusement parker and travel buddy. You are my “Hannah” inspiration.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

TATE ADDISON STARED down at the single piece of luggage on the dingy, threadbare carpet and felt the knot of tension cinch even tighter in his chest. How could that tiny suitcase hold everything Lucas owned in the entire world?

Tate frowned at the woman standing nearby, the woman who had given birth to him. He refused to call her mom. She’d never earned the title.

“Penny, where are the rest of Lucas’s things?”

She blinked as if surprised by the question. “Well, Tate, this is it. This is all of it. You’d be surprised how much you can pack in one of these soft-sided suitcases.”

“This isn’t even the suitcase I sent him, and I’ve sent him enough to fill twenty suitcases. Where is his skateboard, his tablet, the movies and games, the game system...? His baseball glove?”

Penny swiped a casual hand through the air. “You know how kids are. They break things, grow out of things, lose things...”

It dawned on him then. A hot flash of anger bolted through him. “You sold his stuff?”

“Just what was I supposed to do? He couldn’t eat that baseball glove. Kids are expensive, not that you’d know anything about that while you’ve been living the high life and I’ve been stuck here taking care of him. Do you have any idea how hard that has been on me?”