Paws and Pine Needles

She built high walls around her heart. He spent a year proving he wasn't going anywhere. Clara Hayes put everything into running the Cedar County Rescue Shelter. Saving animals was easy. Trusting a man with her guarded heart? Impossible. Caleb Johnson accepted her strict boundary a year ago: just friends. He promised to stay steady, build trust, and never push for more.Then a surprise delivery arrives at the shelter just days before Christmas, sending Clara rushing straight to the Johnson Christmas Tree Farm-and straight to Caleb. With full-blown holiday fun sweeping over Cedar County, snow-dusted Fraser firs, and a giant rescue dog named Ajax causing chaos with his frozen pinecone stash, the comfortable boundary Clara relied on starts to crack. But carrying deep emotional scars isn't an easy thing to unpack. Will the magic of the farm and Caleb's quiet patience be enough for Clara to finally let her guard down, or will past hurts keep them on opposite sides of the fence?