Retrieving the mail from his old apartment brought more than just letters for Vince Cutler. When he opened the door on the lovely Jolie Wheeler and rooms he hardly recognized, he knew he'd found the person to fix up his bare new bachelor quarters. But behind their banter, he sensed a pain that his friendship couldn't assuage. The warm embrace of Vince's family reminded Jolie achingly of the nephew taken from her, and the sister she refused to see. Vince's embrace made keeping the distance between them all the more difficult. And all the while the spirit of Christmas was working within Jolie's heart to reconnect her with her family...and with Vince suring this very special season...

Arlene James has written romance for 24 years, and has published more than 50 novels. A mother of two wonderful sons and now a happy grandmother to the brightest of all grandchildren, she is finding her fifth decade to be great fun.

She and her very supportive husband of 27 years (whom she agreed to marry on their first date!) particularly enjoy traveling and their busy social life. They have ventured over much of the world while calling Texas home.

Arlene grew up on a ranch in south central Oklahoma and still maintains strong ties in that area. She is most thankful for loving Christian daughters-in-law, the godly grandparents of her youth and the three strong men in her life. She firmly believes that writing has afforded her the best of all possible means of earning a living, and credits a junior high school English teacher with proving to her that her dream of being an author was entirely achievable.