Small town. Big secrets. A relentless ex. One very determined mountain man. Greta Pine came to Timber Creek to disappear. By day she’s the curvy, no-nonsense diner queen who keeps the coffee hot and the town gossip hotter. By night she triple-checks locks and sleeps light, because the past she’s been running from doesn’t know the meaning of letting go. Until her ex finds her. However, Nate Bishop, six-foot-plus of mountain man calm, razor instincts, and a smile he rarely uses—unless Greta’s the reason, won’t let that happen. He’s supposed to be a “stop by for pie” kind of guy. Instead, he becomes the only wall between Greta and the darkness closing in. As Christmas blankets the ridge in snow and twinkle lights, strange packages and colder threats start showing up at the diner door. A storm rolls in, trapping Greta and Nate together in a safe house with one bed, one growly protector, and more chemistry than the town’s power grid can handle. She’s sunshine with a mean right hook, and he’s the grump who makes being guarded feel like being cherished. But her past didn’t come to exchange gifts—it came to collect. To save the woman who’s stolen his peace and his heart, Nate will have to use every shadowy connection he swore he was done with, and Greta will have to trust a man for the first time in years. This Christmas, hiding isn’t enough. Love fights back.