Holiday Op

Acknowledgements/Dedication

To my mom for her wicked sense of humor and all the stories of how she tortured Dad while he was in the military with ‘surprises at mailcall.’ And to my dad for surviving it all with grace and a blush. You guys were the best.

For Glen Kerley… my ‘soldier boy’ from long ago who, when threatened with a teddy bear during bootcamp, made me the ‘counteroffer’ of an 8-man inflatable raft with an auto trigger in return… if I dared. This one's for you, kiddo.

To Anne Elizabeth for your love, friendship, and support, and for all the incredible hard work you put into these collections. And also thank you for being my teacher on this journey. I've learned so much from you about life and about writing, especially about the art of the short story. Thank you for sharing your time, talent, and knowledge with me.

To Leanne Burroughs, our wonderful publisher, for believing in ‘our ongoing mission’ of writing these military and intelligence community anthologies to educate people about our military heroes and heroines. And to Patty Howell, our editor extraordinaire, for keeping my POVs straightened out (NOT an easy task) and for always making my stories so much better. Thank you, Ladies!

To Carl, Ed (K.I.S.A.), Dracos, and Thor for letting me pick their brains on ‘life in bootcamp’ and ‘inprocessing procedures’ for Spec Ops guys, and life in the Rangers.

As always, to my wonderful husband Charles for loving me and believing in me, for taking care of the homefront when I'm on deadline, and giving me the freedom to go into my cave and write without distraction and to follow my dreams. I love you, Dearest, more than you will ever know.

Most importantly, to our warriors and their loved ones. Thank you for your sacrifice and dedication. You give so much to keep us safe. We owe you more than we can ever repay. May this collection of sweet romances bring you a smile and warm your hearts while you're away from your loved ones and families… especially during the holiday season.