So many Christmas songs will pop into your mind while reading this delightful, fanciful story about miracles, traditions, and love.  SECOND CHANCE CHRISTMAS by Lori Wilde begins with a rather broad stretch of the imagination: a baby is left in a church manger in the middle of a snowstorm. Lori Wilde immediately captures your heart when you witness a young woman giving up her baby son. Life has beaten her down but there’s no doubt of her love for the infant. And her awareness that she is unprepared. Leaving Gabriel in the manger is an act of desperation. But fate and luck are in play.

Two amazing, wonderful people are there to take possession of the baby boy, willing to keep him safe until the young mother steps up to reclaim him. If she decides to reclaim him, which remains a gnawing doubt throughout the story.

Christmas is a busy time for folks in Twilight, Texas. For Joel and Jana, it means many extra hours of work and volunteer projects. Yet for some reason they are ready and willing to take responsibility for the care of baby Gabriel. The attachment is almost immediate. Joel already knows he loves children as he is very close to his niece and nephew and has a large, warm family. Jana, on the other hand, is diving in headfirst into an unfamiliar role: being a member of a family, albeit a temporary one.

Joel and Jana are not a couple, but they do work together: Joel is Jana’s boss. They are thrown together at township functions since Twilight is such a small town. Jana is by design a free spirit. Her years in the foster system have made developing relationships impossible. Joel has been brought up in a loving close family. Jana is just beginning to warm up to the rather invasive life of living in a small town, not to mention Joel’s family. Taking care of this baby is going to put these two into an awkward position, to say the least. Or will it?

The town of Twilight has taken notice of the close friendship of these terrific, caring people. Secretly there has been a growing interest in the possibility of something more than friends between Joel and Jana. Never a better time than the holiday season. But there is the matter of trust. Jana has not spent her life where trust is expected. She has certainly longed for this type of connection, but it is elusive all the same. Joel has his hands full trying to get past Jana’s self-imposed wall. Twilight is betting on Joel. So will you.

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