Strike a Chord: A single mom, musician, forced proximity, older man, Christmas romance

When a slick, stormy road sends single mom Jennifer Baldwin’s car spinning into a ditch just days before Christmas, she figures the only thing she’ll be unwrapping this year is a repair bill. But help comes in the form of Dax Van Camp—gruff, paint-splattered, and unexpectedly kind. A bass player and reclusive artist, Dax leads a simple—albeit lonely life on a small farm with his chickens. The last thing he needs is more chaos in his life—but something about Jennifer and her young son calls to him.

When the power goes out in Jennifer’s neighborhood, leaving her, her son, and her elderly landlords in the dark, Dax offers up his home—and his quiet heart. What starts as an act of kindness soon becomes something warmer. Shared meals, laughter, music, and long looks turn a simple rescue into something much more complicated.

But when the storm passes and real life comes rushing back, can two people from such different worlds hold on to the connection they’ve struck? Or was this just a brief flicker of something beautiful… meant to fade with the holiday lights?

keywords: single mom, musician, painter, forced proximity, Christmas, holiday, calm hero, patient hero, cinnamon roll hero, storm, rescued