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Please also enjoy an excerpt from Mia’s story,
DEAR SANTA, DEFINEGOOD
World champion snowmobile racer Mia Brooks sacrificed love in exchange for her dreams. Alongside her brother, Jacob, she now co-owns and manages the most successful outdoor adventure outfitter in Jackson, WY.
Jacob schedules an excursion for a bachelor party the week before Christmas. But when he falls ill the night before, Mia must take over the adventure, and she is less than thrilled. Things only get worse when Mia finds that the groom-to-be is none other than the man who made her choose all those yearsago.
Struggling to hold onto her heart, and her dignity, Mia must find a way to cope with the unfinished business of a first love; an only love. She thought she had moved on, but being in his presence proves more difficult than she could have imagined. The cold, snowy days in the woods lead Mia to make the ultimate choice – salvage the past, or move on to an entirely newfuture.
Chapter 1
“Jacob! Wake up!”I pounded on my brother’s bedroom door as I ran down the hall, frantically tying the belt on my bathrobe on my way to the kitchen.
Mumbling to myself about how late we were, I put on a pot of coffee and pulled two microwavable egg sandwiches from the freezer.
My brother and I owned Brooks Adventure Outfitters in Jackson, Wyoming. While we don’t open the shop until 10 a.m., we had gone out the night before to celebrate our birthdays, and today…we were running late.
While the coffee was brewing and the sandwiches were cooking, I went back down the hall to get him. Pounding on his door, more firmly than before, I shouted, “Jacob? Jacob, wake up!”
Not hearing an answer, I opened the door and jerked my head back, eyes widening, cringing at the stench that hit me. My eyes watered, and when I looked to the bed…no Jacob. “Jacob?”
A loud moan came from his attached bathroom. “In here.”
I crossed his room and saw him lying on the floor, his back against the tub, arm resting on the toilet seat. “What the heck, Jacob? For goodness’ sake. Did you really drink that much last night?”
“I’m so sorry, Mia. I didn’t think I did, but then I woke up this morning feeling awful.”
He really did look absolutely miserable. Skin splotchy, eyes red, T-shirt…well, disgusting.
I flushed the toilet, wet a rag with cold water, and wiped his face, watching as his eyes started to close and his head lolled back.
“C’mon, take off your shirt, and let’s get you back in bed.”
He slouched forward and I pulled his shirt off and over his head, throwing it in the bathtub behind him to retrieve it later.
Jacob and I were twins. Yesterday had been our thirty-first birthday and, by the looks of him, he’d drank way too much. The birthday was nothing monumental, and it had been on a Monday. Even so, the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar had been filled with friends willing to celebrate any occasion.
My curly blonde hair fell into my face as I leaned down to help him up. The smell of smoke from the bar last night had permeated the long strands, and I almost felt sick from the combination of awful scents. I needed a shower.
“C’mon big guy, you gotta help me.” My hands were under his arms, and I tried to lift him from the ground. He was well over six feet tall, a former linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks, as gorgeous as Chris Hemsworth, and solid as a bull. Or, since we live in Jackson, Wyoming… a buffalo.
Jacob and I grew up in Laguna Beach, California. Our dad was a football coach for the San Diego Chargers. I loved the beach, but I was drawn to the mountains. My parents took me skiing at Snow King Mountain, in Jackson Hole, when I was six years old. I spent my entire young life trying to get back.
During that first visit, my dad had taken me on an overnight snowmobiling trip through Yellowstone Park. The guide took us through the snow-covered trees, along a path cut specifically for what he called sleds and wound through the hills into an open pasture. This was the first time I experienced true exhilaration.
Settling in front of my big, burly dad, I recall him leaning around me so he could face me. We were on a so-called sled for two, and I was nestled in front of him so I wouldn’t fall off. He asked me if I was ready. I smiled gleefully, nodding my answer. He gently bonked his helmet to mine so I would know he understood me, and then he revved the throttle.
We shot out across the pasture like a rocket, and I screamed with delight. Laughing into the wind, I held on for dear life as my dad turned sharp, heading in a new direction. That moment solidified that wherever life took me, it was going to be on a snowmobile. I had found my passion.
Doing my best to get my brother from the bathroom to his bed, I heard him mumble against his chest, “I didn’t drink very much last night, Mia.”