The Christmas Cradle
Linda Warren
Harlequin American, Nov 2004, $4.99, 249 pp.
ISBN: 0373750463

All seven-year-old Ellie Kincaid wants for Christmas is a mommy. Her annual letter to Santa breaks the heart of her dad, horse rancher Colter, but he knows he will never fall in love again.

Marisa Preston feels lonely around Christmas-time because eight years ago she met the love of her life Colter, a rodeo star. Her upper crust parents ended her relationship with her beloved as she just was not strong enough to deal with their pressure.

Marisa is at the Dalton's Department Store in Dallas where she works in management, being the daughter of the company's driving force. Colter happens to be in the store shopping with his daughter when he and Marisa see one another. Colter hates Marisa for breaking her pledge to marry him though she insists she made mistakes and was only seventeen. She meets Ellie, his daughter with Shannon whom he married just after Marisa left him; they have since divorced. What he never knew is they had a son who died. Marisa needs to tell him what really happened, but will he listen? If Ellie has her way, Santa has finally delivered her present.

Fans will cherish this entreating Yuletide second chance at love tale due to the lead couple, especially Colter, who is a rare realistic hunk; his placing his daughter first makes him a solid father. Though the ice storm seems a bit contrived as this strands Marisa, contemporary readers will not care as this device enables her to gain the time she needs with Colter. Still, the cast makes for a strong holiday romance that will bring good cheer to one and all.

Harriet Klausner