Last Christmas, he buried his wife.This Christmas, his daughter writes a letter asking Santa for only one thing:A reason for Daddy to smile again.Elijah Cole never planned to fall in love again. Grief has made him careful. Protective. Closed off. His world revolves around his seven-year-old daughter and the quiet mountain town he helped rebuild after a devastating winter tragedy.Then Ava Bennett arrives — stranded by a snowstorm, hired temporarily as his daughter’s tutor.She’s only staying until Christmas.She isn’t supposed to see the cracks in his strength.She isn’t supposed to notice the unopened investigation file in his desk.And she definitely isn’t supposed to feel at home in a place she never planned to stay.But as twinkling lights fill the house and laughter slowly replaces silence, old secrets begin to surface. The accident that took his wife may not have been an accident at all.And loving him may put Ava in danger.With Christmas approaching and the truth threatening to tear everything apart, they must decide:Is one more Christmas enough to risk loving again?Or will fear steal the only miracle they’ve ever needed?