What Child is This? - C. J. Carmichael (Ebook - Dec 2013)

Series: Frost Family Christmas (Book 1)

It's Christmas at Frost Farms and farm owner, Garret Frost, and his Public Relations Manager, Lily Parker, each have their own reasons for dreading the holiday this year. Garret’s a widower, stressed with the responsibility of running the family’s maple syrup business while raising his young son on his own. While Lily’s still trying to recover from the tragic loss that ended her marriage.

Adding to their personal challenges, Garret’s adorable son Duncan has just told Santa that all he wants for the holidays is to visit the North Pole. How’s Garret going to manage that? And then an abandoned baby is found in the manger of the nativity scene beside the Sugar Shack...

Just as it seems like the holiday will be a total bust, an almost-kiss under the mistletoe has Garret looking at Lily in a whole new way. Despite all the holiday mayhem, could this end up being the best Christmas ever?

Short and sweet Christmas story. Garret runs the family maple syrup business while at the same time is trying to raise his son. Christmas is a rough time for him as he lost his wife and unborn child two years earlier. In spite of his grief, he is determined to give his son the best Christmas he can. The big thing currently happening is the prep work for the holiday festival, Frosty Frolics.

In charge of the event is Lily Parker. She was hired as public relations manager by Garret's mom, who, it turns out, has more than just business help in mind for Lily. Lily was happy to get out of New York City after the end of her marriage, but she's not sure that the small town is right for her after all. 

Garret's been curious about Lily from the time she started working for him, but now he's starting to notice her as a woman. He's not real happy about it to start with, as he had put any idea of relationships out of his mind since his wife's death. He's not so sure he wants to risk his heart again when there's always a chance that he could end up alone again. Lily intrigues him, but his growing feelings scare him. Every time he moves a little forward, he ends up retreating and pushing her away.

Lily's got the same feelings for Garret, but his hot and cold attitude makes her mad. Her marriage had ended when her husband pulled away from her when she needed him the most. She has enough in her past to deal with, she doesn't want to get involved with another man who does the same thing. 

Things get even crazier at the farm when an abandoned baby is found in the Nativity scene. No one knows how it got there or who the baby belongs to. One thing Garret notices is that Lily gets upset every time she's around the baby. He's curious, but more than that, he wants to comfort her in her distress. 

While they are dealing with the unexpected infant, Garret is also trying to figure out how to make his son's Christmas the best he can. It doesn't help that the only thing he asked Santa for is a trip to the North Pole. Duncan wants it so bad that he tries to get there on his own, sending the family into a frenzy as they search for him. When he's found, the reason for his wish comes out and is a very emotional moment for both Garret and Lily. 

I loved seeing Garret and Lily come together. Both of them have enough sadness and heartbreak in their pasts, and I loved the way that together they found something that would fill the voids in their hearts. 

The secondary characters were also well done. Garret's sister is protective and his parents are nurturing. I enjoyed seeing them take in the baby while the police try to figure out who she belongs to. I also like the small town setting and how the people look after their own. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Ivy and her family, as I suspect they are going to play a bigger role in the story than I first thought. I am also looking forward to learning more about brother Jimmy, who is only mentioned a couple times. I expect that his story will be very interesting.