Happy Hunky Days #4

DAY FOUR ...Happy Hunky-Days!

Happiest of Holidays from the Guilty Indulgence Book Club. We are pleased to be with you every day and hope you will all join us for our 3rd annual Happy Hunky-days - Twelve fun filled days of Christmas where we treat you with gifts of joy and happiness (aka free books and very yummy eye candy!). All good readers who comment will get a chance to win some really great e-books from our featured authors! Seriously, you can even be quite naughty and still get free books - just remember to register and comment!  

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The Reluctant Santa

Since his mother abandoned him on Christmas Eve never to return, Colin McDermott has hated Christmas and sworn never to have children. But this year two angels are giving him everything he didn't want. A Santa suit, a child and a chance at love again. This is his last chance to learn the true meaning of Christmas.

REVIEW:

This a a longer short story but worth the extra time to read.  For me this had a very Charles Dickens feel to it.  So if you are a fan of the classic story of Scrooge and his eventual awakening then you will love this story.  Colin is a really sweet likable guy but very closed off emotionally since his mom left him on Christmas Eve when he was a child.  He does not know the details of her disappearance as he has avoided discussing it with his Grandmother ever since.  But this Holiday Season he is forced to face his worst fear - being a father himself.  When his boss challenges him to meet a high sales goal or loose his promotion, Colin sets off to win a big contract with one of the Hospitals.  Thinking this is going to be a piece of cake he is shocked to find out that in order to win the contract he has to work with his former College Sweetheart, who left him without an explanation, to get the boards approval.  In order to win her favor he agrees to fill in for their missing Santa at the Hospital's party.  But all is not as it seems and Colin quickly learns the real reason for her leaving - she was pregnant with a child that previously he had told her he would never want.  Determined to make sure that his daughter never knows the pain of hunger and abandonment that he felt he sets out to get to know her and make sure that she is taken care of.  What he didn't count on is falling for her mom all over again and wishing that he could really be more than just a financial insurance blanket for his daughter.  But can a man who has been hurt so deeply in the past overcome it all to be the Dad he himself never had?  Can a women who ran from him before ever learn to trust him enough to let him in?  This story is a very touching tale of putting aside our need to constantly get one more dollar, the next promotion, the corner office, etc. and focus on what really counts - family and love.    Very well written and moving.

RATING:  Four Chocolate Dipped Strawberries.