Let’s start here. The twelve days of Christmas are actually after the holiday.

And my dad, being the great guy he is, and the fire departments battalion chief, signs up one of his rebellious firefighters for a retreat because of his bad behavior.

The guy is a total grouch.

But when the grumpy silver fox misses the bus for the adult redemption camp, Dad sticks him with me for twelve days.

Alone.

So, on the dozen days some mysterious true love—which I have yet to experience—should be bringing me gifts, like French hens and golden rings, I’m in charge of this firebird on our pear farm. Being the city man he is, he doesn’t have a clue how to can fruit, mend fences, or milk cows.

But he knows how to kiss . . .

Not that we should be doing such a thing. Only his silver beard is sexy, and his crooked smile kind of sweet. He has this alpha energy vibrating around his well-honed body but underneath the grumpy exterior is a man lonely for something more in his life, like me.

And instead of gifting each other random birds, leaping lords, and piping pipers, the gift we give one another is time . . . and our bodies.

But what about our hearts?

Maybe true love will strike after all.

A lot can happen in twelve days.

Meeting Ross Davis, professional baseball coach and my sports crush, is a funny story involving a stalled elevator, the potty dance, and an attempt to get into his hotel suite. In my defense, that last one was an accident.

He came to my room instead with a bottle of scotch and a sad soul.

My one night was not a stand, but more like a lie-in. As in, we snuggled and talked and not another thing happened.

So, nothing surprises me more than seeing him again when he becomes the manager of the Chicago Anchors, my hometown pro-team, and our paths intersect once more.

It's here the story gets fuzzy, because Ross Davis, that sexy silver fox, has a proposal for me.

Baseball players are notoriously superstitious, and Ross is somehow convinced I'm his good luck charm. One who brings him success by sleeping with him.

Only sleeping.

The problem with this arrangement begins when those funny, fuzzy things called feelings get involved. Eventually, his elevator pitch is no longer an easy walk in the ballpark or a simple sleepover in his bed.

And I'm worried I'll be the one left in the outfield when the season ends.

Silver fox. Short stories. Long on swoon.

Wise men say fools rush in, and these six short stories with silver foxes hold that statement to be true.

Reunited:

Tommy and Edie reunite with family and friends who are family five years in the future from their original meeting in Hawaii where a breast cancer survivor fell in love with a former rock star.

The Red Dress Affair:

Ruth Avery unexpectedly celebrates Valentine's Eve with a stranger who looks familiar. Two days later, the sexy baseball catcher is now her client who needs a reputation makeover.

Chance Encounter:

While Kaylie Donagel is on the hunt for the man of her dreams in Ireland, fate has other plans for her when one annoying, but hot, pub owner gets involved in her mission.

Quarantine Song:

Single mom, Iris Yonker, has trouble keeping her hands to herself when a hot, silver fox neighbor needs assistance during a lockdown.

Rekindled:

Swoonworthy firefighter Ash Flaherty crushed on Ember Matherson in high school, and when the two find themselves on a blind date twenty years later, sparks fly.

The Wedding Dress:

Small-town florist Hetty Rose needs a dress for a wedding, but the last person she expected to crash her fitting room in the boutique is Bear Grady, a local biker.

**From single moms to hot firefighters, destinations and fitting rooms, reunited lovers or second chances at love over 40, these short stories are filled with characters over 40, steamy time, and all the swoon.

Love doesn't break us; it makes us whole, my nana used to say.

However, one minute, my world is set on fire, literally. The next, I am raising a six-year-old as a single mom without a clear path ahead of us. No place to live. No job. No money.

I'm returning to Sterling Falls to claim what's mine, then there will be no looking back on this beloved small town, a place I consider a handful of sand in the hourglass of my life.

Then again, Clay Sylver has shaken up that ancient time clock. The silver fox in his forties is a bit cocky, but solid in every way that matters. He loves his siblings. He works hard. He owns an honest business. Honest, the emphasis here. He also suffers from damsel-in-distress syndrome with a savior complex for lost causes, like stray animals and down-and-out women.

And I have a secret crush on him.

When I see Clay stranded on the side of the road one dark, stormy night, I stop to offer assistance. Burning with fever, Clay is sick, and my mom-instincts kick in to give him comfort. That decision throws me off course again. While my past lurks everywhere, I find myself falling in love with Sterling Falls once more and falling harder for the man giving my son and me a safe haven.

Love is a risk, according to Clay, but he's slowly rescuing my heart while I'm saving his.