THE NIGHT HE ASKED ME TO WAIT

I believed the worst about Jake Holloway for twelve years.

The night before I left for college, he kissed me under the Northern Lights and whispered, "Wait for me." I waited. He never called. Never wrote. Never explained. So I convinced myself he'd used me all along-that our friendship meant nothing, that I was just the granddaughter who'd inherit the farm someday.

I built a life far away from Montana. Far from him. Far from the pain.

Then Gran died and left me half her Christmas tree farm. The other half? She left to Jake. The boy who broke my heart. The man I now have to work with for twelve days to save the farm from foreclosure-or lose everything.

"You've been dismissing me for twelve years, Maya. Why would this be any different?"

He's right. I have been. Because dismissing him is easier than facing the truth I'm terrified to uncover.

But when I find fifty-seven letters he wrote me-all returned unopened-everything I believed begins to crumble. What if the betrayal I've clung to for twelve years was a lie? What if I threw away the one person who truly loved me?

"I'd sell a thousand horses for you. I'd give up everything."

Now we're racing against time. Twelve days to save Gran's legacy. Twelve days to decide if love is worth the risk of breaking all over again. Twelve days to discover if second chances are real, or if some mistakes can never be forgiven.

Christmas Eve is coming. The bank wants their money. And I'm standing at a crossroads between the life I built and the love I lost.

The question is: am I brave enough to choose him this time?

One farm. Two enemies. Twelve days to save it all-or lose everything, including each other.