Sunday, December 2, 2012

'Twas the Night - Sandra Hill, Kate Holmes, Trish Jensen (Bell Bridge Books - 2001)

What do a Blue Angels pilot, a bounty hunter and an ex-NFL football player have in common? The three bad-boy bachelors of Snowdon, Maine have to make it to a friend's Christmas Eve wedding on time or die trying! — They're willing to risk anything to make that happen -- even dashing through the snow in the goofiest bus on Earth, bright red and filled with a bunch of merry, meddling senior citizens known as the Santa Brigade. All too soon, these men will have met their matches in three special women: a woman from their past, a forest ranger so hot she ought to be declared a fire hazard, and a woman on the run. Ho, ho, OH!

Three roguish St Nicks are hoping what they truly want for Christmas will be nestled in their beds after the stockings are stuffed and the gifts placed under the tree. Come along for the ride, as three unforgettable couples discover who's naughty and nice while serving up holiday cheer with the Santa Brigade.


I loved this book.  I was expecting an anthology of three stories, but what I got was one story written in a round-robin style  with each chapter starring a different hero.  All three men - Sam, Kevin and Stan - grew up in Snowdon at an orphanage.  Each was a hell-raiser who was put back on the straight and narrow by George, whose wedding they are trying to get to.  Their only option, because of a blizzard that has shut down the roads is hitching a ride with the Santa Brigade a group of feisty senior citizens who bring cheer to homeless shelters around the region.  Sam is a Blue Angels pilot who makes a splashy connection by jumping out of a helicopter to join the bus.  There he meets up with Reba the girl he loved and left.  He would like nothing more than to pick up the relationship again.  Sam has some issues with his past that he's going to have to deal with before that can happen.  Kevin is a private investigator who has been looking for Callie who is supposed to testify in a trial in New York.  When he finds her, she is not what he expected.  Now he has to decide what to do with her.  Finally, there's Stan, the ex-football player.  George had asked him to stop and pick up Dana and bring her to the wedding.  She isn't what he expected in a forest ranger and he would really like to keep her around.  Now that his football career is over he has to decide what to do with the rest of his life.  This story involved the trip back to Snowdon via several shelters.  I loved all the senior citizens on the bus and the way they tried to help the guys with their love lives.  I also absolutely loved the purpose of the Santa Brigade and times they were in the shelters.  I really enjoyed watching the guys and gals as they got more deeply involved in what the Brigade was doing.  I could also see how each person was individually affected by the trip.  The romances were fantastic and perfectly written for each guy.  I loved the conclusion and the way they worked out their plans for the future.
 
 

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