The rustic beauty of a country Christmas fills the Simple Gifts crafts shop, while the Amish residents of Willow Ridge pull together in uncertain times�and in the face of an unexpected homecoming.

Nora Hooley�s shop is abuzz with preparations for the holiday open house, and Rosalyn Riehl is handcrafting wreaths from evergreen boughs, pinecones, and other natural materials. The work is a welcome diversion for the only unmarried daughter of Cornelius Riehl: her gruff dat has been receiving envelopes marked Past Due, leaving dutiful Rosalyn to manage the household�s inexplicably shrinking budget. Then another distraction swaggers into Simple Gifts�blue-jeaned and leather-jacketed, with a reputation that precedes him.

Marcus Hooley hightailed it to Willow Ridge on a wing and a prayer�not that he�s the praying type. He rejected his Amish roots long ago. But behind the bad-boy attitude is a gifted horse trainer who�s counting on some bent-but-not-broken family ties to throw him a lifeline. He can�t erase his past, but a sparking attraction with strong, spirited Rosalyn holds the promise of a second chance . . . and of shedding light on shadowy secrets to build a bright tomorrow.