Christmas with the Headmaster

She stopped believing in fairytale endings long ago…

Gertrude was older, and wiser now, having raised a son and lost a husband. Besides, she was too busy running the town bakery to worry about men and all the complications they brought. Especially the one who left her pregnant and unmarried twenty years ago.

He was a confirmed bachelor..…

Archie fell in love once, but that was when he had dreams of marrying a girl from his town. After all, the girl he'd given his heart to tossed it aside and married another as soon as he left to realize his dream.

Now he’s been offered a position as headmaster...

With Christmas around the corner, he is forced to face his past and the woman who broke his heart when his new position brings him back to the town he grew up in. Will he get the greatest Christmas gift ever or will he find a lump of coal in his stocking?

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Originally published in the Kindling The Flame anthology published in 2025.