Welcome to small town living where everyone knows each other and life is pretty much an open book. Believe it or not the folks that have lived in these small towns develop amazing support groups with friends and neighbors who become extensions of their family. Christine Rimmer's story revolves around the people of Elk Creek who will at times make you smile and other times make you grit your teeth. Typical of a town like Elk Creek.

Preston McCade had a pretty full life working his horse ranch so he wasn't really giving the arrival of a princess to Elk Creek very much attention. All that would change in a flash. Arabella didn't come alone. She had a woman, perhaps as a chaperone, a bodyguard no mistaking his purpose and a baby in tow. But what caught Preston's ultimately got his attention was that Arabella was asking question and looking for him. He had two choices to wait till she got around to actually contacting him or take the bull by the horn and go see the lady -- princess -- and find out what he had to do with her visit to his town.

Preston didn't make a habit of entertaining the groupies that were a main stay on the rodeo circuit but it only takes one. Belle was charged with the responsibility of bringing Preston the son he sired with a woman who died right after giving birth. Ana, Ben's mother and Belle's friend trusted Belle to honor her wishes for the boy to be with his father. A father who didn't even know Ben existed. A double edged sword for Belle. Getting Preston comfortable with taking care of a baby was bittersweet knowing when she left to go back home it would be without this lovely child she was beginning to love as her own.

First impressions are important to Belle as her response to Ben's father is going to weigh heavy on the ultimate decision she has to make. She is hoping to like the man who would be guardian and father to the little boy she loves. At first glance Belle and Preston have nothing in common -- a rancher and a princess seemingly worlds apart but it turns out they wind up with much more in common than their love for Ben. Preston can't help but admire Belle for her choices in life, where she could have been pampered -- as he believed royalty was -- to the reality that she as many of her family were committed to useful careers helping other.

And Belle is equally attracted to this rugged rancher who is a good solid man -- someone she just knows she could trust with her life and maybe her heart. But with worlds so far apart could there be any chance for their mutual attraction and respect to go any further.

Perhaps it's a slight leap of faith to suspend disbelief and to believe that there could be a future for a rancher and a royal princess but I still like happy endings.

Book Summary

Arabella Bravo-Calabretti came to Elk Creek, Montana, with a secret to deliver and a job to do. Being a Bravo Royale, she was going to do it right. Before she handed her best friend’s darling son, Ben, over to his unwitting father, they would all spend Christmas together. Only then could she be absolutely sure that rancher Preston McCade was ready to be a dad.

Or…was that really the reason Belle was hanging around? She and Preston were practically from different planets, yet the attraction was undeniable. Before long, someone was utterly in love with a rancher—and Christmas in Montana was presenting one surprise after another