The Captain’s Holiday Homecoming - Christmas Masquerade, #3.5

Can a Christmas reunion prove the fresh start they both need? Back at his overcrowded Devonshire family home during the holidays, single father Baz Luscombe seeks the privacy of the barn on Christmas Eve for a moment's peace. And to serenade the horses with some songs of the season on his violin. Which is an entirely normal thing to do. He's not prepared for his audience to include a mysterious man taking shelter from the cold.
Even half frozen and weak from hunger, the impressive stranger would make any sane person keep their distance. He even looks a bit like a pirate captain. Or it might just be his hat. As wary introductions give way to conversation, the rambling Baz and the taciturn captain find a strange solace in each other's company. Are they even strangers? Captain Nathaniel Kendall left Salcombe Bay with boyish hopes of restoring his family's fortunes.
Misadventure at sea left him with no other option than to stay away for good. When news comes that his sister has returned to the old family home and its attendant ghosts, Nathaniel finally loses his resolve to never again set foot in Devon again. But the road home after nearly two decades away is never straightforward, and an arctic gale blows him off course. Finding shelter in a barn, his relief only lasts until the entrance of Lord Basil, his childhood neighbour.
Now how can Nathaniel protect his secrets when faced with the disarming charm and humbling generosity of a man like Baz? As the lantern light burns low, and the hours tick down until the dawn of Christmas Day, both men will need to discover why this secret holiday encounter feels like coming home.