A California Christmas

Spend the holidays in Silver Springs, where the greatest gift of all is the love you never expected.
Up-and-coming TV anchor Emery Bliss can’t imagine anything more humiliating than the sex tape her ex revenge-posted online. That is, until it causes her to lose her job on top of her self-esteem. Seeking solace—and anonymity—in Silver Springs, Emery isn’t looking to get involved with another man any time soon. But when she’s thrown back into contact with Dallas Turner, she sees something that his many detractors have missed.
Being home for the holidays and his adoptive mother’s wedding isn’t where mountain climber Dallas feels most comfortable. Thanks to his troubled childhood, he’d rather be on a rock face alone than trying to connect with people. Emery, however, makes him want to overcome his past…somehow.
Both Emery and Dallas had been planning on a quiet, solitary Christmas, but the sparks between them are lighting a fire strong enough to last—possibly forever.


Praise for the novels of Brenda Novak
“I adore everything Brenda Novak writes. Her books are compelling, emotional, tender stories about people I would love to know in real life. Christmas in Silver Springs is a story that will stay with me for a long time, about two people who deserve to find their happily ever after. You can’t miss this heartwarming, beautiful story. This is truly a holiday story you will want to read again and again.”
—RaeAnne Thayne, New York Times bestselling author
“Fascinating characters, powerful conflicts and complex emotions make any Brenda Novak book a must-read for me.”
—Sherryl Woods, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“Once you visit Silver Springs, you’ll never want to leave.”
—Robyn Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“Heartwarming, life-affirming, page-turning romance. I can always count on Novak to make me weep, laugh and fall in love!”
—Jill Shalvis, New York Times bestselling author
“Brenda Novak doesn’t just write fabulous stories, she writes keepers.”
—Susan Mallery, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“The perfect read to cozy up to on a long winter night.”
—Susan Wiggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author, on Before We Were Strangers
“The author deftly integrates topics such as coming to terms with one’s past and the importance of forgiveness into another beautifully crafted, exceptionally poignant love story.”
—Library Journal on Discovering You
“This Heart of Mine had such beautiful details that it captured my full attention—and had me sniffling and smiling while waiting to board my plane.”
—First for Women


Also by Brenda Novak
ONE PERFECT SUMMER
CHRISTMAS IN SILVER SPRINGS
UNFORGETTABLE YOU
BEFORE WE WERE STRANGERS
RIGHT WHERE WE BELONG
UNTIL YOU LOVED ME
NO ONE BUT YOU
FINDING OUR FOREVER
THE SECRETS SHE KEPT
A WINTER WEDDING
THE SECRET SISTER
THIS HEART OF MINE
THE HEART OF CHRISTMAS
COME HOME TO ME
TAKE ME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
HOME TO WHISKEY CREEK
WHEN SUMMER COMES
WHEN SNOW FALLS
WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES
IN CLOSE
IN SECONDS
INSIDE
KILLER HEAT
BODY HEAT
WHITE HEAT
THE PERFECT MURDER
THE PERFECT LIAR
THE PERFECT COUPLE
WATCH ME
STOP ME
TRUST ME
DEAD RIGHT
DEAD GIVEAWAY
DEAD SILENCE
COLD FEET
TAKING THE HEAT
EVERY WAKING MOMENT
Look for Brenda Novak’s next novel
THE BOOKSTORE ON THE BEACH
available soon from MIRA.
For a full list of Brenda’s books visit www.brendanovak.com.


A California Christmas
Brenda Novak


To Luci Malone, a member of my online book group on Facebook and a true bibliophile who has come to many of my events, including when I visit the Authors Booth at the California State Fair each summer. I’ve never seen anyone have to fight so hard just to survive. She’s beaten pancreatic cancer not once but twice, and now she’s battling it for a third time, yet she forges ahead with such grace, determination and courage. She’s an inspiration to me and lifts everyone around her to a higher plane. Here’s to beating it once again!


Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Epilogue
Excerpt from The Bookstore on the Beach by Brenda Novak


1
Monday, December 7
Dallas Turner figured he shouldn’t be surprised when he walked into his mother’s house to find someone who wasn’t part of the family in her kitchen. Aiyana had taken him in, hadn’t she? She’d taken in and raised seven other boys, too. Only a couple of years ago, she’d expanded the campus of New Horizons—the school she’d started twenty-four years ago for troubled boys—to include a girls’ side.
But she hadn’t adopted any girls yet.
This wasn’t a girl, anyway. Although he was seeing her from behind, he could tell it was a full-grown woman who was reaching into the cupboard. A full-grown woman who wasn’t entirely dressed.
“Hello?” he said.
Startled, she whipped around, and he nearly dropped the groceries he’d carried in. This was no stranger to him, as he’d first assumed. It was Emery Bliss, someone he’d known when he was living here in the artsy community of Silver Springs, ninety minutes northwest of Los Angeles. He hadn’t seen her since he moved away after graduating high school ten years ago, but he recognized her instantly.
She was equally surprised to see him—or to see a man suddenly standing behind her. He didn’t know which.
With a yelp, she yanked her T-shirt down far enough to cover her underwear. “Excuse me, I—I didn’t expect anyone to be home until this afternoon. Aiyana said—” She blinked several times and her blush deepened. He was no longer the skinny boy with the bad acne whose gaze had so often trailed after her when she returned her horse to the equestrian center of her private school, where he’d worked mucking out stalls, but he could tell she now recognized him. “I was just...getting a bowl of cereal and...”
Her words trailed off as she edged along the counter, leaving her breakfast behind while she stretched her T-shirt down as far as possible, holding it in a death grip with both