A Miracle for the Reclusive Veteran

Nate Miller craves the solitude of his rustic cabin, a refuge from the weight of his military past and the guilt of letting others down. Tending to his duties at the Cozy Cup coffee shop in Sweet Bloom, Texas, is more than enough “people-ing” for him. With a tempting job offer in Colorado pulling him toward a quieter life, Nate’s convinced he’s better off alone—until a vibrant single mom and her kids move in next door, stirring feelings he can’t ignore.

Autumn Hill is determined to give her children stability after a painful divorce. Trading bookkeeping services for a temporary cabin, she’s convinced the only one she can rely on is herself. Yet Nate’s quiet heroism—rescuing her from a cabin fire, tending her sprained ankle, and lighting up her kids’ faces with Christmas tree adventures—has her leaning on him in ways she never expected. His steady presence and tender glances make her heart flutter, tempting her to dream of more.

As Christmas lights glow, they find themselves the target of a matchmaking Secret Santa scheme that has their chemistry simmering like hot cocoa on a winter night. But with Autumn’s cabin stay nearing its end and Nate’s Colorado plans threatening to pull him away, their budding love faces a frosty deadline. Can Nate open his heart to become part of her family, or will their love fade with the holiday season?

This is the next “can’t miss” installment in the Love in Sweet Bloom series by award-winning author Kristen Iten. Filled with all the sweet Christmas romance and cozy holiday cheer you’ve come to expect from her heartwarming Christmas tales of love and happily ever afters. A Miracle for the Reclusive Veteran is a cozy, small-town Christmas romance perfect for fans of Hallmark movies and heartwarming love stories!

SNEAK PEEK of Chapter One

Weren’t small towns supposed to be sleepy little places? If that was true, Nate Miller was pretty sure no one had ever told the local population of Sweet Bloom, Texas.


According to him, there wasn’t anything wrong with people—as long as he could keep his distance from them. But that was easier said than done while he was on the job at the Cozy Cup, Sweet Bloom’s only coffee shop, and the busiest java joint he’d ever seen.


People coming. People going. People everywhere. 


All. Day. Long. 


The town circle outside the shop crawled with chatty neighbors, made all the more talkative by the holiday season that was upon them. While their presence created a steady stream of customers that was good for business, they were starting to make his upcoming decision to change jobs a whole lot easier. 


Nate was standing behind the counter with his back to the door when the Christmas bells on it jingled for the umpteenth time that day. He sighed as he finished wiping down the side of the espresso machine. Another customer had arrived. Glancing up at the clock, he counted down the hours until the sun would set and he’d be free to return to his refuge in the woods outside of town—the lonely cabin he called home. 


“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.” A cheerful woman’s voice met Nate’s ears, singing along with the festive music filling the shop.


He turned to face her, resting the palms of his hands on the counter in front of him. “I thought you were a baker, not a caroler, Joanna.”


“I’m both,” she said with a bright smile, patting the baby strapped to her front and then kissing his head. She strolled up to Nate, past tables decorated with evergreen centerpieces and glowing with white, twinkling lights, and set a small box on the counter. 


“What have you got there?” he asked, eyeing the box.


“I brought a few samples of my newest creations for you and Ruth to try. If you like them, I can add them to your daily order.”


She gave the box a satisfied pat and then stooped to inspect the glass case where her baked goods were on display.

“It looks like y’all have been selling lots of goodies today.”
“It’s always busy when folks are putting up the Christmas decorations in the park,” Aunt Ruth said, stepping out of the stock room and coming to stand next to Nate. She pointed out the window at the group of men who were hard at work assembling a massive Christmas tree in the town circle.


Nate looked down at the white curls on the top of her head, each one perfectly positioned and frozen in place by the same brand of hairspray she’d used for the past fifty years. He smiled when she slipped her arm through the crook of his elbow.


“The boys out there had quite the appetite today,” she said. “I don’t know what I’d do without my grand-nephew holding down the fort.” 


A twinge of guilt pricked Nate in the heart when Aunt Ruth gave his arm a squeeze. He still hadn’t told her about the job his old buddy from the Army Rangers had offered him. It was a dream job with one major perk—it required a whole lot less people-ing than his current position at the Cozy Cup. 


When he’d trained to become an Army Ranger, he’d learned to know his limits, and these days he often reached them before half of his shift was over. He had no delusions of being Superman, but the stillness of the woods surrounding his cabin on the family property had become his own fortress of solitude. More and more lately, he craved that solitude. 


Something had to change. 


“Nate’s one of the good ones,” Aunt Ruth said, patting his arm. She tugged her bright-red sweater closed around her despite the heat coming from the coffee machines behind the counter.


His gut twisted. There was no way she’d say such a thing if she knew he was seriously contemplating a move to Colorado. He should have told her a long time ago, but how was a man supposed to look at the elderly woman who’d helped raise him and tell her that he was thinking about bailing on the family business? Aunt Ruth had been there for him and his mom like no one else had when his dad walked out on them. The very thought of starting that conversation caused his stomach to churn. 


But it had to happen sooner or later. He was just about out of runway for making a final decision about his job offer. Either way, somebody wasn’t going to be happy. 


If he stayed at the Cozy Cup, he’d be miserable. If he left, Aunt Ruth would be disappointed. No matter what decision he made, he was going to let someone down. 


Story of my life.


But there was no use upsetting her until he’d made a final decision. Until then, he could use a bit of a distraction. He slipped away from Aunt Ruth and opened Joanna’s box. 


All the best scents of the season hit him at once as he inhaled the steam rising from the freshly baked goods. A smile spread across his lips as he ran a hand over his fiery-red beard. “Hot and fresh. I take back everything I ever said about you, Joanna. You’re welcome here any time.” He grabbed a square-shaped cookie decorated to look like a Christmas gift and shoved half of it into his mouth.


Joanna threw a hand to her hip and put on a phony look of offense. “And just what have you been saying about me?”


A deep chuckle rumbled around in the back of his throat as he munched on his free sample with a bulging cheek. “That’s privileged information.”


Ruth stepped around the counter, making a beeline for Joanna’s chubby-cheeked baby. “Don’t you listen to a word that boy says,” she chuckled. “Nate has never said a cross word about anyone in this town. He’s just pullin’ your leg.”


“I know,” Joanna said. “Everybody knows Nate’s an old softie at heart.”


Nate laughed and patted his stomach. “I’m going to be an old softie in more places than just my heart if you keep bringing these things over here. What is this?” He held up the last fragment of the cookie for a moment before popping it into his mouth.


“You like it?” Joanna asked. “It’s spiced sugar cookie with butter and molasses frosting. It’s my newest Christmas invention.”


Ruth ran her fingers along the folds on the chubby baby’s arm as she cooed at him. “Nate seems to approve. Go ahead and add some to our order for tomorrow. I’m sure they’ll be a hit.” 


Nate could hardly suppress a smile at the goofy faces his aunt made as she conducted business in baby-talk-mode. “You doing all right over there, Aunt Ruth?”


“Why, yes I am,” she said in her overly exaggerated baby voice, still refusing to look at anything besides Joanna’s little bundle. “We’re doin’ all right, aren’t we, pumpkin?”


The baby squirmed and kicked with excitement, his round face lighting up with a smile. 


“Such a happy little guy,” Aunt Ruth said to Joanna. “You and Sam certainly are blessed. Baby’s first Christmas.” She sighed. “Is he loving all the decorations?”


“Yes, he can’t take his eyes off the lights. You should have seen him when we walked past the community tree out there just now.”


Nate began his slow retreat. If he played it right, he’d be able to slink away to the stock room and escape the twenty minutes of small talk that was sure to follow.


“How about you, Nate?” 


Nate ducked when Joanna called out to him. Crud! He’d been caught deserting his post. “What?”


“When are you going to add an ornament to that tree out there?” she asked.


“Me? Nah, that tree is more of a family thing—not really for single guys.

”
Both women locked their expectant gazes on him and nodded.


“That’s kind of the point,” Joanna said, an ornery grin creeping onto her lips. “When are you going to stop being a single guy so you can make a family ornament for the community tree?”


“Arts and crafts aren’t my thing,” Nate said, his voice flat as his mind searched for an emergency exit from this conversation. 


“You might like it more than you think,” Joanna said. “Sam, Emmie, and I had the best time making our ornament. Even this sweet little guy got in on the act.” She swept her hand over the dark hair sprouting from the crown of the baby’s head. “We used our fingerprints to make a family of snow-people. Emmie can’t wait to hang it.”


“That’s nice,” Nate grunted.


“You know there’s more than enough room for each family in town to hang a special ornament on that big old tree,” Aunt Ruth said, her kind eyes prodding him down a path he wasn’t the least bit cut out for. 


“That’s good… for them.” He leaned against the counter along the back wall and crossed his arms over his chest. 


“It’s good for everyone with a family,” Aunt Ruth said. “And for those who are looking for one.” She wagged her brows at Nate. “You know you’re my only shot at becoming anything remotely close to a grandma, and I’m not getting any younger.”


The dramatic wink his aunt shot his way set off warning sirens in his head, demanding he make a strategic withdraw. There wasn’t a man in all of Texas who was less likely to become a family man than he was, and he wasn’t interested in discussing all the reasons why. He’d shave off the beard that had taken him two years to grow before he’d have that conversation. 


With anyone. 


Ever.


His Adam’s apple bobbed with a gulp as his gaze bounced between the eager eyes of the women pinning him down. He was outnumbered and outgunned. It was time to regroup, redirect this conversation, and count the minutes until he could retreat to the solitude that called his name. 


“Slow down there, Aunt Ruth. I’m just not the marrying type.”


Aunt Ruth gasped. “Why, Nathaniel Miller, it’ll be a hot day at the North Pole before I let anybody talk about my favorite grand-nephew like that.” She wagged her boney finger in the air in his direction. “Don’t you say such a thing.”


Nate held his hands up in surrender and chuckled. “It would take a miracle, is all I’m saying.”


“Well, it’s a good thing this is the season for miracles,” Joanna said. “I got my first one two Christmases ago, and they just keep coming.” 


She kissed the top of her baby’s head in a way that hit Nate’s stomach in a confusing way—one part curiosity, one part longing, and one part bone-chilling alarm that got his heart pumping in overdrive.


“You’re a great guy, Nate,” Joanna said. “You just haven’t met the right lady yet.”


Nate bit down hard on the inside of his cheek to keep from blurting that he’d already met her years ago and had blown it. He wasn’t interested in meeting anyone else. “Being on my own is what I do best.”


“Sounds lonely,” Joanna said, her face contorting into an expression of pity that no man ever wanted to see directed his way.


“Sounds perfect,” he corrected.


“Speaking of you roughing it out there on your own,” Aunt Ruth said, turning her attention to him with a sudden burst of energy. “I forgot to mention that you’re going to be getting new neighbors soon—sometime today, actually.” 


Nate’s stomach jolted in a gut-twisting kind of way. One of the few joys in his life was driving outside Sweet Bloom’s city limits for the day and turning onto the long gravel road that led deep into the old campgrounds his family used to operate every summer. Five hundred acres of space that he didn’t have to share with another human being. It was his own personal slice of heaven on earth. 


He gulped down the agitated nerves clawing their way up his throat. “Neighbors? Who are they? How close? You don’t mean someone is moving into the old campground, do you?”


“They wouldn’t be your neighbors if they didn’t move into one of the old cabins,” Aunt Ruth said with a chuckle, clearly unaware of the gravity of the situation.


Nate’s jaw hung slack as he digested this unfortunate turn of events, his eyes blinking so rapidly the Christmas lights woven into the wreath hanging on the door became as dizzying as strobe lights. “Nobody’s lived in those cabins since you closed the camp down fifteen years ago. They can’t be moving into one of them.”


“Nobody’s lived there but you, you mean,” Aunt Ruth said. “And I haven’t heard any complaints from you.”


“Wouldn’t they rather pitch a tent in the fresh air… on the other side of the property, instead of living in a dusty old cabin?” 


“Relax, Nate.” Aunt Ruth made her way around the counter and patted him on the arm. “I’m sure the company will do you some good.” She smiled in her most disarming way. It was the same smile she’d used to convince him that working at the Cozy Cup would be good for him. 


She’d been wrong about that, too. 


His mind raced in double time, trying to come up with a way to convince his aunt that moving someone else onto the campground was a bad idea. “But some of those cabins are in rough shape.”


“Jace has kept up on the maintenance for me over the years—for the most part, at least. They’ll do in a pinch.” Her expression sobered. “This little family needs this, Nate. I know I can count on you to be the good neighbor they need you to be.”


Family?


He’d known every hill, live oak, and stand of cactuses on the property since he was a boy. Those woods had been his refuge when his world had crumbled the day his father left, never to return, and it had become his home once again since his discharge from the US Army. There wasn’t a single rabbit hole or armadillo burrow he wasn’t familiar with. He knew where the deer would bed down overnight before they knew themselves. That patch of land he’d grown up on was perfectly balanced and had room for just one human—him. 


Nate raked his fingers through the curly bush on top of his head, tugging a fistful as he grappled with the idea of what having to share the woods with an entire family would mean. The churning in his stomach hadn’t even begun to slow before the bells on the door announced another guest. 


Nate’s breath hitched in his throat when he looked up and met the most alluring pair of emerald-green eyes he’d ever seen. They were framed with long lashes and accentuated by only a hint of makeup. He couldn’t tear his gaze away. Maybe he wasn’t looking for love, but he wasn’t blind. 


Whoever this woman was—she was stunning. 


He swallowed hard, forcing a deep breath into his lungs, his heart pounding as she offered a shy smile and friendly wave.


Joanna turned her back on the woman to face Nate. With bright eyes and a mile-wide smile, she mouthed the words, “She’s gorgeous.” As if that should mean something to him. 


He cleared his throat and ignored Joanna’s wagging brows. Reminding his hormones that this stranger would get a cup of coffee from him and nothing more, he nodded at the woman. 


“Autumn!” Aunt Ruth hurried over with her arms outstretched. “You’re early.”


The woman greeted her with a warm smile and accepted Aunt Ruth’s extended hug. “I thought it would be best to get the kids settled in as early as possible.” She pulled back from the hug and jabbed a thumb toward the windows at the front of the shop. Two young children sat just outside at one of the small café-style tables decorated for the season. They were all smiles as they poked their fingers into the inflatable Santa Clause nearby. 


“What are those little munchkins doing out there?” The kids laughed at Aunt Ruth’s animated waves. 


“They begged me to let them stay outside. It’s not every day they have a chance to sit at the table with Santa,” she said with a laugh.


Nate’s chest felt all kinds of warm at the rich and lyrical qualities of the woman’s voice. She wasn’t like the other women who came into the Cozy Cup to shoot the breeze. He could listen to her talk all day long. The corner of his mouth curved into a smile as he soaked in the sound. If all his customers were like her, he wouldn’t need to pack up and move out of state. 


Aunt Ruth turned to Nate. “I don’t think you’ve ever met Autumn before. Her grandmother and I were best friends when we were little.” She stepped aside, leaving a clear line of sight between Nate and the woman who had made him forget his woes for the time being. Placing a hand on the woman’s back, Aunt Ruth guided her toward the counter where Nate stood. “Autumn, this is my grand-nephew, Nate. He’s going to be your neighbor.”


His smile faded.


Autumn offered her hand in greeting. “Howdy, neighbor.”


His gaze fell to her hand, and he froze. This woman was his new neighbor? He took Autumn’s hand, his back stiff and straight. Looking past her, he watched the final portion of the community Christmas tree lowering into place. His stomach knotted when he thought of what that tree represented. 


Family. 


Life-long commitments. 


Unattainable dreams. 


“Hey”—he gulped—“neighbor.” 


Aunt Ruth bounced on the balls of her feet, beaming from ear to ear as her gaze shifted from Nate to Autumn and then back again. If there had been any question about Aunt Ruth’s sudden interest in his relationship status that afternoon, all of them were gone now. 


“Y’all are going to get along just fine,” Aunt Ruth said with Joanna nodding enthusiastically beside her.


He swallowed hard. Now, more than ever, it was clear that Nate needed a change of scenery. He glanced over at his new neighbor, heat rising into his cheeks under Aunt Ruth’s continued gaze. 


As good as the view was from where he was standing, Colorado had never looked better.