Hot Cocoa & Heartstrings

?? A winter carnival. A quiet musician. A Bennet who never meant to be in charge.

Kitty Bennet has spent her life quietly filling in the gaps. The overlooked middle sister. The one who smiles and says yes while everyone else shines. When Maple Ridge’s winter festivities spiral into chaos, Kitty suddenly finds herself organizing everything from the talent show, the hot cocoa crawl, the cookie exchange, to a full-blown Winter Carnival she never volunteered to run.
Caleb is steady and reserved with a music shop full of instruments and a past he never talks about. He offers Kitty guitar lessons, practical help, and quiet support from behind the scenes. Kitty is determined not to ask for more, especially when she learns he once lived a very different life, one that involved bright lights, big crowds, and walking away on his own terms.
As winter events pile up, great-aunt opinions grow louder, and the town’s expectations press in, Kitty and Caleb keep finding themselves side by side. Some moments are logistical. Some are accidental. Some feel dangerously close to something more.

But when old pressures resurface and difficult choices loom, Kitty must decide whether she’s found her place in the world and whether Caleb is ready to choose a rooted life over the road he left behind.