Christmas Kiss From The Sheriff
A Christmas to remember!Clear Spring’s new schoolteacher Gemma Starling feels as if she’s been given a fresh start. So long as no one discovers her dark secret – she once shot a man in self-defence!Sheriff Craig Parker has forsworn love, but delightful Miss Starling intrigues him. And when events at the school turn dangerous, Craig won’t let her face it alone. Gemma might just be the one woman he could ever love, but will the secret she’s hiding tear them apart or bring them together by Christmas?
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A Christmas to remember!
Clear Springsâ new schoolteacher, Gemma Starling, feels as if sheâs been given a fresh start. So long as no one discovers her dark secretâshe once shot a man in self-defense!
Sheriff Craig Parker has forsworn love, but delightful Miss Starling intrigues him. And when events at the school turn dangerous, Craig wonât let her face it alone. Gemma might just be the one woman he could ever love, but will the secret sheâs hiding tear them apart or bring them together by Christmas?
âMaybe you have a guardian angel.â
âNo,â she said. If she had an angel watching over her she would be safe and comfortable at home. Perhaps by now she would even have finished law school. âIâve found I must depend on myself and my wits.â
He snorted lightly.
âGlad you havenât had any trouble,â he said. âPart of my job is to make sure people in town stay safe.â
âI thought your job was to uphold the law.â
âFigure itâs the same thing.â
His words only served to make her feel guilty. How would he feel if he knew Clear Springs harbored a fugitive from justice?
Gemma, my heroine in this story, strives to do her bestâeven though things happen to derail her plans. Isnât that how it is for many of us? Unexpected obstacles thwart our best-laid plans. Some are good. Some are difficult. How we choose to face them is up to us, but always the choice takes us on a new path.
I hope you enjoy Gemma and Craigâs story, which is set in Southern Californiaâs gold country. If you have read my other stories you may recognise some familiar names and faces in Clear Springs.
I love to hear from my readers. You can write to me at [email protected].
KATHRYN ALBRIGHT writes American-set historical romance for Mills & Boon. From her first breath she has had a passion for stories that celebrate the goodness in people. She combines her love of history and her love of stories to write novels of inspiration, endurance, and hope. Visit her at kathrynalbright.com and on Facebook.
Books by Kathryn Albright
Mills & Boon Historical Romance
Heroes of San Diego
The Angel and the Outlaw
The Gunslinger and the Heiress
Familiar Stranger in Clear Springs
Christmas Kiss from the Sheriff
Stand-Alone Novels
Texas Wedding for Their Babyâs Sake
The Rebel and the Lady
Wild West Christmas
âDance with a Cowboyâ
Visit the Author Profile page at millsandboon.co.uk.
Iâd like to dedicate this story to my sister-in-law, Marlanaâa constant supporter of my writing ever since I married into the family. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for always being there for me through lifeâs ups and downs. You light up my life. Love you!
Iâd also like to acknowledge my editor, Julia Williams, for her encouragement and help in honing this story to a much better version of the original draft. Thank you for all your hard work, Julia!
Contents
Southern Californiaâ1876
Gemmaâs warm breath turned to ethereal vapor in the frosty air as she marched determinedly toward the one-room schoolhouse. Unruly! That was the word. The children had been so full of energy yesterday that they had scarcely settled the entire day. Whether they had learned anything at all in the space of the seven hours was a mystery. The closer the days drew to Christmas, the more challenging it was to keep their attentions. Did all teachers suffer this problem or was she somehow lacking in the correct process of discipline?
Of one thing she was well awareâher education by tutors had not prepared her in the least for the life she now led.
Thank goodness for the one year she attended the university in Boston. Teaching was not so very different from being a lawyer or judgeâparticularly in the area of divvying out discipline. Her father had prepared her well in that regard.
She adjusted her small lunch pail and the books she carried to a more comfortable position in her arms and turned from the main road to the dirt path that led to the new school building. Fresh tracks marked the tall damp grassâan oddity this early in the morning. Unease rippled through her, making her shiver as she stared at them. The sun glistened on a thin layer of frost, but where the imprints occurred, the weeds and grass were crushed down and wet. The footprints circled from the front steps of the building around to the small attached woodshed at its side. They were large enough to be those of a grown man.
Now who would be lurking around the school at this hour?
She climbed the two front steps and pushed the skeleton key into the lock when the door moved freely. Odd... She had locked it last thing yesterday. Quietly she opened the door and glanced about the one large room, taking in the vague lingering scent of varnish that still clung to the new benches and the loose clump of pine garland that she had deposited on her desk before leaving yesterday.
