Santa Fe Fortune & How to Marry a Matador

and huge down comforters. From each window, visions of a winter wonderland beckoned her to run outside and play. Christine felt her inner child delight in the thought of making snowmen and snow angels, then racing indoors to hot cocoa and homemade cookies. Maybe Ellen was more right about this trip than she knew. A fresh change in scenery and limited interruptions could set just the right stage for quality Mommy and Tyler time.

    A little while later, Christine sat at the large farm table near the front of the great room sipping her coffee and studying directions to the local market. Tyler stirred, then sat up and rubbed his eyes, yawning.
    “Where are we?” he asked, clutching Jasper.
    “Winterhaven.”
    “Huh?”
    “It’s where we’re staying, baby. What do you think?”
    He looked around, still a little dazed.
    “Where’s the TV?”
    “I don’t think there is one.”
    His small lips pulled into a pout.
    “What’s there to do?”
    “Plenty! There are puzzles over there in the cupboard. Legos, Lincoln Logs…”
    “Lincoln who?” he asked, astounded.
    “I’ll show you, honey. It’s fun.”
    Unconvinced, Tyler scooped his little backpack off the floor and extracted a portable video game. Next, he dug out its charger, settling back on the sofa to survey the surrounding lamps. “Least there’s ’lectricity.”
    Christine studied her son, thinking he was a tad too modern for his own good. She had to admit, though, that even she’d forgotten about old-fashioned fun stuff like roasting marshmallows until she’d walked in here. “You hungry?” she queried, thinking he must be.
    Dark eyes lit up. “Deep-dish Chicago pizza?”
    “Not here.”
    “Oh,” he said, disappointed.
    Christine folded the map in her hands, noting the snow had stopped outside. It was likely a temporarily lull in the weather. Best to take advantage while they could.
    “I was just reading about the local market. I’m not sure if they’ll have pizza, but they’re bound to have provisions. How about you and I head over there and check it out?”

Chapter Three

    Christine halted her brimming shopping cart in the aisle as Tyler dropped in a huge bag of marshmallows. They were at Mac’s Market, the sole grocers in the tiny village on the outskirts of Burlington. Already they had chocolate bars and graham crackers. Their list was nearly complete. “Can’t forget the cocoa,” she said, smiling at her son. She reached for it but it was high on a shelf, all the way to the back.
    “Here, let me help with that,” a familiar masculine voice said over her shoulder.
    Christine heard a happy bark and turned to find the man from the road behind her. He wore winter boots, jeans, and a gray college sweatshirt beneath his open parka. Up close and personal, he looked even better than he had outdoors, his short dark hair and ruddy complexion a heady complement to his eyes.
    “Well, hello,” he said with a smile. Mason wriggled on his haunches beside him, wagging his tail. Tyler stared up at the guy and his jaw dropped.
    “Are you really an angel?”
    “Beg pardon?”
    “Mommy says you’re an angel.”
    Christine felt her face flush. “Oh no, I think he misunderstood. I was just… What I mean is…” She glanced down at Mason, then up at him, amazed. “They let dogs in here?”
    The man leaned forward with a confidential whisper. “He doesn’t know he’s a dog. He thinks he’s a college student.”
    Why did the mention of college spark some vague recognition? Christine’s eyes locked on his sweatshirt. “Carolina?” she asked with surprise.
    “The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,” he said with pride.
    “No way.”
    “Way.”
    “You went there?”
    “Most certainly did.”
    “Small world.”
    “And you?”
    She looked at him and smiled. “I know why the sky’s Carolina blue.”
    “God’s a Tar Heel,” he said with a laugh.
    Tyler studied him with awe. “I thought you might know God.”
    The man eyed Tyler curiously. “Here,” he said to Christine, “let me help you with that cocoa.” He reached for it and easily took it from the shelf, handing it to her. She accepted it, inexplicably spellbound as his blue eyes crinkled at the corners.
    “You know, I never got the chance to thank you for our daring rescue.”
    “Oh, it wasn’t so daring,” he said.
    “We could have been stuck there for hours.”
    “How’s the SUV holding up?”
    “As long as I stay on the road it works like a