“They’re back again.” Charlotte Powell stopped mid-sip of her second cup of morning coffee.
Her long-time friend, former college roommate, and one-third business partner in Boxes and Boughs, Gavin Elliot, pushed aside the red panel curtain over the bay window and looked out into the snow-coated morning.
“How many mornings is this? Three? Four?” Charlotte cupped her mug between her palms and joined him. Sure enough, two children, a taller, thinner girl with frizzing brown hair peeking out from under a grey knit cap and a young, wide-eyed little boy stood at the end of the walk to the three-story Victorian fixer upper as if gazing upon Santa’s Workshop. “Poor things must be freezing.” She could almost hear their teeth rattling from inside as the snow drifted around them.
“When I was their age you couldn’t drag me out of bed before eight.” Gavin glanced back at the antique clock that had come with the house. “It’s barely seven.”
“Clearly they’re on a mission.” Charlotte had had enough of the mystery. “I think it’s time we found out what it might be.”
“You’ve got that final appointment with the Hudsons today,” Gavin reminded her. He scratched his dark, crisply trimmed hair back and then scratched the tip of his broken nose, a product of being forced to take boxing lessons as a kid. “She wanted more ornaments on her tree and she thinks the outside wreath is dying.”
“Yeah, I know.” With only five days until Christmas landed on their heads with all the weight of Santa’s sleigh, Charlotte was more than aware of their packed schedules. “That’s what partnerships are all about, right? Worst case I can call on you or Lacey as reinforcements.”
She set her coffee down on the hall table, grabbed her coat and scarf— Christmas Town, Maine’s winter was being extra surly this year— and popped open the front door. “Good morning!” She darted down the wooden steps and dug her gloves out of her pockets.
The girl’s chin went up as she grabbed hold of the little boy’s hand and tugged him closer. Protective. Determined, Charlotte thought as the early morning chill froze her cheeks. And given the way the girl’s hands were fisting in her brother’s too big coat, fighting a case of nerves.
“Welcome to Boxes and Boughs. I’m Charlotte. Is there something we can do for you?”
“I’m Addison Carver.” The girl’s brown eyes glistened as she pursed her lips. “This is my brother Wesley.” She looked beyond Charlotte to the sign promising the perfect Christmas. “We want to hire you.”
A Heartwarming Holiday Description:
15 Holiday Novellas all set in the same small town – one book and one low price! Pre-Order for just .99! Written by USA Today Bestselling Harlequin Heartwarming authors!
1. Ellie Griffith and Pat Nolan’s dreams revolve around socks and Christmas trees. It’s a magic combination.
2.Jenny Roberts sews sparkling costumes for The Nutcracker Ballet, but she can’t ignore the handsome carpenter building the sets.
3. Dog-sitting a friend’s St. Bernard complicates Gavin Elliot’s holiday assignment with Amelia Lawson.
4. Newspaperman, Connor Adams promised to pay Giselle Pascal’s salary, but his unexpected financial woes threaten town’s production of the Nutcracker.
5. A teenage matchmaker and a midnight kiss will take Ren and Chris from friendship to forever.
6. The kitchen heats up when resort manager Gabi Fortier goes toe-to-toe with chef Simon Tucker.
7. Conductor Pippa Lewis and rancher Bodie Stark discover the sweet sound of love in Christmas Town.
8. A family rivalry tore them apart, but revealing their secrets might change everything this Christmas.
9. A little girl is missing. Can a psychic who doesn’t believe in her ability and a cop with no leads bring the child home safely for Christmas?
10. A stuck-in-the-mud scientist hires a free-spirited designer to give his orphaned niece and nephew the perfect Christmas.
11. Whitney Emerson has no hopes when she enters Christmastown. Led there by a magical note, it could either help her resolve her heartache or force her to relive it.
12. A wounded Navy SEAL and a grieving widow find love in Christmas Town.
13. Horse trainer Andrea Talbot has no choice but to steal her horse from stable owner CJ Haverford, but what happens if CJ steals her heart first?
14. Michael Hume wants to make his grandparent’s last holiday in Christmas Town beautiful. Interior designer, Lacey Dickens hopes to make this family want to stay forever.
15. Can a former Navy SEAL convince a traveling nurse loving him is worth the risk to her heart?
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