“Where will we stay?” his mother asked, uncertainty shadowing her eyes. “There’s no way you have room for us all.”

“The lodge at Saddle Mountain,” he said. “I live there now.”

“What?” His mother stared at him. “I don’t understand.”

“I sold my house and moved up to the mountain.”

“And when were you going to tell us about this?”

“It all happened fast. I got a full-price offer as soon as I listed my house—a couple from the city who want a place near Willow Lake. I moved up to the mountain week before last. The residence there is old, but huge. It’s been operating as a B and B.” He’d sunk his profits from the house sale into the resort, where nearly all his resources went these days.

“What about your insurance business?” his mother asked, her face pale with distress. “Logan, you worked so hard to build it up, and you were doing so well.”

“I’m keeping a stake in it as a silent partner, but someone else is running it,” Logan said. “I’m putting all my energy into the resort now.”

“What?” His mother regarded him, aghast. “You did what?” She turned to her husband. “I thought you said you talked him out of it.”

“I believed I had,” Logan’s father said.

“Look, could we talk about this another time?” Logan said. “How about we discuss Christmas plans?”

“We already have plans,” his mother said. “The Costellos are having their usual Christmas Eve party at the Paradise Cove Clubhouse, and I’m cochair of the church breakfast.”

“Plans are made to be changed,” Logan said. “So I’ve heard.”

“I invited Darcy to spend the holidays with us,” India said. “Do you just want to throw her in the mix, as well?”

Darcy of the smoking-hot body and razor-sharp wit? Hell yes, he did.

“I bet she likes snowboarding as much as surfing,” he pointed out.

“The kids might like it for a change,” said China. “I can’t remember the last time they had a white Christmas.”

“I can definitely promise you that,” Logan said, sending his sister a nod of gratitude. “It’s going to be awesome. A perfect Christmas.”

Part Five

Part Five

Two unbreakable rules:

1. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and should never be skipped.

2. There is nothing—repeat, nothing—that cannot be improved by the addition of bacon.

Maple Bacon Bread Pudding

Maple Bacon Bread Pudding

Nonstick baking spray

1 pound bacon

Maple sugar or brown sugar, to coat bacon slices

1 1⁄2 cups cream

1⁄2 cup pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Pinch of salt

6 eggs

8 slices brioche or challah bread

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Coat a 9-inch round or oval pan with baking spray.

Dredge bacon slices in maple or brown sugar. Bake the bacon on a sheet tray between two pieces of parchment paper until crispy, 15 to 20 minutes. Then crumble the bacon.