Snowfall and Secrets

She’s made the biggest mistake of her life…

Tess McBride manages to snag a mid-year teaching job on Mackinac Island, Michigan. However, her timing is a little off, it's the dead of winter and she's never been in temperatures below fifty degrees.

Just her luck, her landlord, Lukas, is as hot as the sun. A Michigan blizzard leaves them trapped in the same house together and things heat up, fast. Tess finds herself falling for Lukas, in spite of the secrets that could ruin everything before it even begins.

…and it’s about to ruin everything

Lukas Baird likes his quiet life hiding out on a frozen island making fudge. His past haunts him, but as long as he doesn’t have to talk to that many people he’s fine.

But when Tess shows up, she stirs up feelings that he’d long since buried and for the first time in years, he lets his guard down. But when she reveals her secret, all he wants to do is run.

Tess had made a lot of mistakes in her short life. She
thought she got it out of her system after high
school, but apparently at twenty-five, she was still as dumb
as she was at eighteen. Maybe more. This was definitely the
stupidest thing she’d ever done.
After the plane touched down on the nearly frozen
northern Michigan runway, she turned her phone on and
discovered twenty messages from her mother and four
sisters. They all said the same thing.
“Come home.”
She’d lived in Southern Florida her entire life. But she
had to get away from there. Though she sure picked a crappy
time of year. The second week of January wasn’t exactly
smart.
Passengers at the tiny airport disembarked down a
stairway instead of into the airport. As she stepped off the
plane, she knew she made not one big mistake, but two. Prior
to this moment, she’d never been in weather under forty
degrees. This was probably below zero. She wasn’t prepared
for cold like this.
The wind bit at her face and hands as she ran for the
airport. She had gloves on, but they were useless against the
chill. Lost in thought, she waited for her bags. She would
need to stop at a store to get a better coat before she headed
to the island. Never mind that she blew most of her savings
on the best winter weather gear she could find in Miami,
which wasn’t the place to buy for a Michigan winter.
A hand tapped her on the shoulder. She turned and found
herself having to look up at a man with chiseled features. She
sucked in a breath. She always had a weakness for tall, dark,
and handsome.
“Are you Tess?” he asked.
She nodded. If this was her boss, she was in so much
trouble.
“Are you Dr. Jorgenson?”
He chuckled. “No, I’m Lukas, and I’m a little young to be
the superintendent of a school. Doc doesn’t leave the island
during the winter. I’m your landlord.”
She nearly burst out laughing. She was so in for it.
“How’d you recognize me?” she asked.
“You’re the only one not dressed for the weather. Doc
said you were from Florida, but I thought you’d have more
sense than this.”
Tess wore a wool coat over a sweater dress, ankle length
leggings, and knee high black boots. She was more covered
than she’d ever been in Florida. Yet she was still freezing.
Before she could answer, he continued speaking.
“Do you have a heavier coat and gloves in your suitcase?”
Tess shook her head. “I bought the best I could find.”
He frowned. “The shops are closed. You’ll have to come
back to the mainland later and get more gear. In the mean‐
time, you’re gonna lose a couple of fingers. Seriously, are
those the only gloves you have?”

She nodded and looked down at her thin gloves that
matched her dress. She had four other pairs, but they were
all the same kind, and trying to layer them didn’t make much
sense. She knew he was right; her fingers were in danger.