Winter Magic — Joan Johnston

From New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author JOAN JOHNSTON, read Mike's story, continued from Sullivan's Promise.

In the five years since Mike Sullivan had his face ripped off by a grizzly -- leaving scars that make him look monstrous -- he's become a lone wolf, working on his family's Montana ranch by day and retreating to a log cabin at night. Returning from a nighttime run to town for supplies, he discovers a woman and her four-year-old daughter huddled in a truck stalled on the side of the road. With a growing blizzard dropping temperatures to thirty below, he has no choice except to rescue them. But the closest place for safety from the storm is his isolated cabin in the woods.

Joanna Henderson has been driving with her daughter, Daisy, for days, fleeing an abusive relationship in Texas. She's grateful when a tall, bearded stranger, only his blue eyes showing between his pulled-down Stetson and a scarf that covers the lower half of his face, stops to help. But she worries that going with him may be more perilous than staying right where she is. Joanna becomes truly frightened when she finally sees the stranger's ruined face and realizes that, once again, she's at the mercy of a dangerous man she doesn't trust.

Between a woman's need and a man's loneliness, the buds of friendship flower into true love.