A fugitive can't run from her feelings for a lawman in this heartwarming holiday historical romance set in Southern California's gold country. Clear Springs' new schoolteacher, Gemma Starling, feels as if she's been given a fresh start. So long as no one discovers her dark secret—she once shot a man in self-defense! Sheriff Craig Parker has forsworn love, but delightful Miss Starling intrigues him. And when events at the school turn dangerous, Craig won't let her face it alone. Gemma might just be the one woman he could ever love, but will the secret she's hiding tear them apart or bring them together by Christmas?