Falling For You At Christmas: Shellwater Key Tale Read online

  By the time she entered the main terminal, exhaustion hung on her limbs like a heavy wool coat. Isabella had arranged for a rental car, but as Emma stumbled down the long corridor, she wondered how she’d find the strength for the drive north.

  “Emma!”

  How strange. She couldn’t imagine anyone in Miami International Airport knowing her. Fearing she was hallucinating, Emma spun toward the voice, and then blinked in disbelief as she spotted the familiar figure waiting for her.

  “Mom?” she breathed in disbelief.

  Mary Bertram had to dodge a hundred other travelers, but she reached Emma’s side in moments, enfolding her in a strong hug. “Oh, honey.”

  Emma could only stare in stupefaction. “Mom, what are you doing here?”

  Mary Bertram sent her a look. “Emma, your father just died. I’m not about to let you go through this alone. Besides, you shouldn’t be driving now. You must be exhausted, and you’re dealing with a trauma. You’re liable to get yourself killed, too.”

  Now Emma knew she’d landed in an alternate universe. Her mouth dropped open. “You’re coming with me to Shellwater Key?”

  “Of course.”

  “But you haven’t been back in fifteen years.”

  “I know how long it’s been since your father and I divorced,” her mother said with asperity.

  Of course she would know. Mary Bertram’s life had been ripped apart as well. She’d lost her husband and then left Shellwater Key rather than watch Thomas Bertram set up house with his new wife. The fact that her mother was willing to face the curious masses of their former hometown for her sake, made Emma’s heart swell with love and a fierce sense of protectiveness.

  “Mom, I can’t put you through that,” Emma said, determined not to make her mom suffer. “I’ll be fine.”

  She’d forgotten how stubborn her mother could be. Mary Bertram’s expression hardened with firm resolve. “Honey, we’re not arguing about this.” She rested a hand against Emma’s cheek. “I know you’re fully capable of looking out for herself, but please let me help you. Besides, I’m going for your father, too.”

  Annoyance pushed aside sleep depravity. “What could you possibly owe dad after what he did to you?”

  “I owe him because of you. No matter what happened in our marriage, he gave me a wonderful daughter,” Mary said, in her usual matter-of-fact manner. “Now, let’s go or we’ll miss the funeral.”

  Having run out of arguments, Emma allowed herself to be led out to her mother’s car. She settled in the passenger seat and closed her eyes. Now, she had two and a half hours to figure out how to say goodbye to the father she’d vowed to hate at fifteen.

  * * *

  Pre-order Now: Straight On Toward Paradise

  Dear Reader

  I hope you enjoyed Cassie and Jared’s story. I had a lot of fun writing it. When I was trying to come up with an idea for a new Christmas tale, I really had to think about it for a while. Then I hit upon the idea of pregnant woman staying at an inn, surrounded by characters with names that harkened back to another miraculous birth over 2,000 years ago. The Shepherds, Amelia Lamb, Henry “King”, Gabrielle and Jesus. They were a lot of fun to create. Jared Latham actually made his first appearance in another Shellwater Key Tale that isn’t out yet, the upcoming STRAIGHT ON TOWARD PARADISE (Book 2 in the Shellwater Key). That book will let you know if Cassie’s hunch about the connection between Jared and Emma Bertram was correct. If you have read the other Shellwater Key books, you should recognize some of the minor characters that pop up in this story. Layla McCarthy and her clan are from LEFT TURN AT PARADISE (Book 1). Right now I’m working on the last Shellwater Key Tale (Book 3), Callie and Noah’s story. I’ve had many readers express their desire for Noah to finally get a shot at the girl…and now he will.

  * * *

  You might also check out my earlier, best-selling series, the Covington Falls Chronicles, inspirational romances set in a fictional Southern town with a character all its own.

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  Marry Me (Book 1)

  Acting Up (Book 2)

  Imagine That (Book 3)

  By Christmas (Book 4)

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  Read on for more about this series

  Marry Me

  Covington Falls Chronicles (Book 1)

  * * *

  Julia Richardson is no fan of weddings. A lifetime of watching her parents treat relationships like the flavor of the month has taught her that love is for fools and faith is for naïve. Then she learns her former stepsister is having a pregnancy crisis. The crisis has Julia returning to the small Southern town – and the family – she’s been avoiding for years. Before she knows it, Julia’s been pressed into service running her stepsister’s wedding planning business.

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  Julia doesn’t know a garter from a garden hose, but now she must navigate couples along the bumpy path down the aisle - despite wardrobe malfunctions, killer bees, and plenty of near disasters. In the midst of it all, Julia makes the most unexpected discovery of all…Love, with Seth Graham, the widowed local minister! Julia’s been running from love and everything spiritual for most of her life. It’s not until she finds the courage to stop running and learns to believe in the power of love, faith and family that she finds her own “I Do” moment.

  * * *

  Buy now: Marry Me

  Acting Up

  Covington Falls Chronicles (Book 2)

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  Addison Covington is the reigning Ice Queen of television. Until her producer husband falls in love with her on-screen daughter and a well-placed punch on national television casts her as the wicked ex-wife. Fired and disgraced, she escapes to Covington Falls, the idyllic Southern town where she found comfort in a time of turmoil as a teenager.

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  Life is constantly on the brink of chaos for widower and single father, Ethan Thomas. As the high school principal he also has to deal with hundreds of students and their interfering parents. Now, he’s short one drama teacher and if he doesn’t find a replacement to direct the spring musical he’s going to have a riot on his hands. Addison Covington could be an answer to prayer. Or one more complication he can’t afford.

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  Before Addison can say “Casting Call” she's drafted to direct the high school musical. Soon she’d dealing with some off-key caterwauling, a bitter stepson showing up on her doorstep, and the boy-next-door turned sexiest high school principal she's ever met. One thing Addison and Ethan agree on is that there’s no room in their lives for romance. He’s got too much at stake, and she needs to reclaim her former glory in Hollywood. In the end, these two lost souls will choreograph a happy ending with the help of Grace, Love and a Curtain Call.

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  Buy now: Acting Up

  Imagine That

  Covington Falls Chronicles (Book 3)

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  Children’s author Emily Sinclair was supposed to be the next J.K. Rowling… Until her second book flopped and her imagination went on the fritz. So Emily sets out on an epic adventure to find inspiration again. Till a dead car lands her in Covington Falls, Georgia. Soon Emily is taking up her quest, looking for inspiration driving a mobile library van, as a companion to a crotchety old woman and her insomniac dog, and as a very ungraceful baker’s assistant. Of course, what really sparks her romantic fantasies is a valiant hero, though he yields a paint roller instead of a sword.

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  Rugged, blue-collar Nate Cooper has spent most of his life avoiding the printed page. These days he doesn’t have much use for fancy words and certainly not for a slightly off-center writer on the lam. Not when his mother is battling cancer, his little brother has morphed into a teenaged ogre, and God seems to have taken a vacation.

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  On paper, these two would seem the least likely pairing, and a happily ever after nothing but fantasy. But with faith and imagination Emily and Nate are about to write a new chapter that will lead to unexp
ected love.

  * * *

  Buy now: Imagine That

  By Christmas

  Covington Falls Chronicles (Book 4)

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  Noelle Joy Robinson should have been spending Christmas with her husband. Instead, she’s become the face of jilted brides in Covington Falls after her fiancé runs off with one her bridesmaids on her wedding day. To escape the constant sympathy, she decides to leave town and start over in a new city. But when her father has a health crisis, it falls to Noelle to save the family business and Christmas for the entire town. Soon she’s knee-deep in parades, dealing with a cantankerous ass (the animal kind) and negotiating disputes with Santa’s elves. But a different kind of animal is threatening to disrupt her peace on earth. An angel named Michael, the brother of the man who broke her heart.

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  Michael Campbell steps in to help Noelle with the holiday festivities, mainly out of guilt. He can’t help feeling he had a hand in ruining Noelle’s wedding and helping her save Christmas is his way of making amends. But soon an obligation turns into so much more, leaving him to wonder if Noelle could ever see past his last name and give him a chance. In the end Noelle and Michael will have to move beyond past heartbreak to find their holiday happy ending…By Christmas.

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  Buy it now: By Christmas

  About the Author

  Kristin is a USA TODAY Bestselling author of inspirational romance, sweet romance, and women’s fiction filled with “love, laughter and a leap of faith”. Growing up she devoured books like bags of Dove Dark Chocolate. Her first Golden Book led to Laura Ingalls Wilder, Nancy Drew, C.S. Lewis and the Sweet Valley High series. Later, she discovered romance novels and fell in love all over again. It’s no surprise then that Kristin would one day try her hand at writing them.

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  @KWallaceAuthor

  KristinWallaceAuthor

  kristinwallaceauthor.com

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