A young expectant mother trying to warn the father of her child that her three brothers will soon be on his trail comes to Cedar Cove on Christmas Eve only to find the cad gone, the town inn full, and her only refuge, thanks to the kindness of the town librarian, an apartment above a stable filled with animals for the upcoming Christmas pageant. A fainting spell introduces Mary Jo Wyse to firefighter/paramedic Mack McAfee. When she goes into early labor, he rescues her once more—by delivering her baby. Familiar townspeople, three impulsive brothers on the hunt, and a pair of appealing protagonists bring to life this sweet, humorous romance that, with its many obvious parallels, is a satisfying, almost tongue-in-cheek retelling of the Christmas story. The Cedar Cove books are set in a town much like Macomber's own Port Orchard, WA.

Mary Jo Wyse, the protagonist of this trite little throwaway, is extremely pregnant. She sets out for Cedar Cove on Christmas Eve to hunt down her child's delinquent dad, David. Hot on her trail are her three overprotective brothers (the three Wyse men—get it?), determined to make David do the right thing. Mary Jo can't find a hotel room or her man, so she takes shelter at Grace Harding's ranch, in an apartment above a barn. She delivers her child that night with Grace, an EMT, and several farm animals as onlookers, and everyone is reminded of the true spirit of Christmas. Clearly, subtlety is not the order of the day. Sadly, neither is quality storytelling. There's more life in a lump of coal. (Oct.)