Page 3 of The Professor's Holiday Surprise

My heart squeezes at the bittersweet miss of my fantasy guy turning out to be this nice—but also an off-limits professor. “Thank you.”

“And what made you pick horticulture?”

“I love working outside. The longest job I ever held was at a greenhouse. When I looked at the courses CSCC offered, this one jumped out at me.”

“It’s a hard class.”

“That’s okay. I’m up for the challenge.”

“Good girl. That’s what I like to hear.”

The way I warm at his praise that is embarrassing.

He clutches the edge of the desk that he’s sitting on, his knuckles turning white, and he clears his throat. “So, what, uh, were you listening to when you were dancing?”

And now I’m just deeply embarrassed.

“Christmas music,” I admit.

He grins. “Really? In August?”

“In my defence, I couldn’t find another radio station.”

His eyes twinkle. “Sure. Were you singing along?”

Damn it. Busted. I smile despite myself. “Maybe.”

The door swings open and a couple of young men come in.

As Dr. Lowry introduces himself to them, I steal a final sweeping glance over him. I take in his well-used boots and his worn leather belt. The big belt buckle like a shining beacon to the stretched denim right below it, curving tightly over his…his…

I can’t even think the word.

The other students find seats in the third row. I sit down in the front row and try to pretend I’m not going to go home and think of that taut bulge, touching myself to the way he called me a good girl.

Chapter 1

Noah

First week of December

“Another package arrived for you today,”my brother Drew tosses over his shoulder as he stalks past me to the mud room.

“Thanks. I’ll be out to help with chores as soon as I eat something.”

“There’s stew in the oven.” And with that, Drew jams his cowboy hat on his head and hunches his shoulder, bracing himself to head out into the cold, dark night on our ranch.

Before I grab my dinner, I take advantage of the moment of privacy and whisk my new delivery to my room before I open it to check out the deluxe Santa costume inside.

My brothers would destroy me if they found out what I plan on doing with it.

It’s honestly a miracle none of them have figured out what I do on Sunday nights, since we all live together and we have been all-in on the ranch business for as long as I can remember.

Drew, Zane, and myself all live in the main house. Only Trick has his own place, up on the ridge toward the back pasture. Fair enough—it was his baseball earnings that bought us the ranch inthe first place almost twenty years ago, giving the Lowry boys a place to call home for the first time in our lives.

While Trick was under the bright lights, smashing home runs and securing himself a place as a future Hall of Famer, the three of us have turned Wildfire Ranch into a serious business.

And now it’s good that Trick has his own house, because he went and fell in love with his coach’s daughter right at the end of his baseball career, and now they have a baby boy. Probably the first of many kids, the way he looks at her.

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