Good Morning!
We're in the Most Wonderful Time of the Year and we're starting off this Holiday Season by featuring Christmas books! Today's guest has visited many times so please welcome Carol James back with her new release, Covert Cowboy Christmas. Take it away Carol....
A December ice storm destroys Rebekah Kingston’s Christmas plans. With the power out and the West Texas roads closed indefinitely, she’s forced to spend Christmas at her brother Braden’s ranch instead of at home with her parents.
But Rebekah and Braden are not alone. Also stranded is an annoyingly chatty ranch hand, Dirk Sims. While Rebekah is certain she’s met him before, Dirk insists she’s mistaken.
However, when Rebekah inadvertently eavesdrops on one of Dirk’s phone conversations, she discovers his lie. Dirk is not who he seems. This Christmas just got interesting.
Excerpt:
Rebekah stepped into her fuzzy slippers and then hung the black-sequined bridesmaid’s gown on a padded hanger.
Never wear all white or all black to a wedding.
Granny’s twenty-five-year-old admonition still resounded in her memory.
In white, you might look like you’re trying to upstage the bride, and in black, people will think you’re mourning her decision.
"Yeah, well, what if black’s the bride’s choice?” she muttered. “What if she wanted black for her bridesmaids? Solid black.” She grabbed the pink Cinderella’s Formals garment bag and jammed the dress into it. Granny and her generation might have thought red a better choice for a December wedding, but black showed off the red roses in the bridesmaids’ bouquets…exactly as Lizzie had wanted.
The zipper buzzed, its pitch rising as Rebekah jerked it upward, hiding the evidence. After all, Granny might be looking down and shaking her head. Black, white, red. People didn’t really pay attention to those outdated social conventions nowadays, anyway.
Jackson had sweetly, yet firmly, insisted she spend tonight in his house rather than having to make the long drive home after the wedding. Between Braden and him, he’d always been the more thoughtful brother. But Jen and the kids had certainly sweetened up Braden.
She stepped into the living room and draped the garment bag over the back of one of the four leather recliners. Stacked boxes of Lizzie’s stuff lined the dining room walls. A smile tugged at Rebekah’s lips. Once the happy couple returned from their honeymoon, Lizzie would spend the first few months of their marriage redecorating this man cave.
Rebekah walked back to the hall and headed toward the guest room. Marilyn jumped off one of the chairs and padded along behind her. The cream-colored golden retriever whined. Rebekah sat on the guest bed, and the dog jumped up beside her, whined again, and snuggled close.
“I know.” Rebekah scratched behind the dog’s ears and spoke in the singsong voice she reserved for babies and dogs. “You miss Jackson already. Don’t you, sweet girl?”
Marilyn placed a paw of confirmation on Rebekah’s thigh.
“Well, don’t you worry. I’ll take good care of you while your daddy’s on his honeymoon.”
The Texas December wind howled outside. Rebekah drew back the covers and slipped between the sheets. Marilyn snuggled at her feet. The temperature had already started dropping from the unseasonable warmth they’d been having the last couple of weeks. Maybe having a furry foot-warmer wouldn’t be so bad tonight.
She rolled over to turn off the lamp on the nightstand, but instead, grabbed her phone. She scrolled through her photos until she found the picture of the six of them standing under the lilac arbor at church camp the summer after their senior year. The memory of the flowers’ smothering, sweet perfume transported her back twenty years, awakening the past within her as if the picture had been taken yesterday. The summer they’d formed the Happily-Never-After Club.
The six of them had always been known as the brainy girls—the ones who took advanced calculus and had more time for schoolwork and each other than boys. They’d hugged and cried and vowed to the sisterhood that they’d never get married. They had too much to do. Too much to achieve. They’d be best friends for life, traveling the world together seeking fun and adventure. And for about ten years that had been the case.
But then, time passed and circumstances changed. Special men came into their lives, and one by one, they withdrew their vows to their friends and transferred them to their husbands. Jackson and Lizzie’s wedding tonight left Rebekah alone. The sole surviving member of the sisterhood, the death-knell being sounded by her own brother.
The photo blurred as Rebekah fought unbidden tears. For years, she’d been happy, content. She’d earned every degree, achieved every goal, reached every milestone she’d set out to attain. But those achievements no longer filled the hole in her heart. She wanted something more. Something she never thought she’d want. She placed her phone on the nightstand and turned off the lamp. Snuggling into the pillow, she closed her eyes as the tears escaped. In six months, she would celebrate her thirty-ninth birthday.
Loving intriguing stories with happy endings, she writes Redemptive Romance. Her debut novel, Rescuing Faith, was a number one Amazon best-seller. Visit her website to sign up for her newsletter and learn about new releases: www.carol-james.com
Recently, Carol allowed Zoe to establish Instagram and Facebook pages with two of her dog friends, Sandy, and Brody. Follow them at 3 Dogs and Their Authors to discover the behind the scenes info about being a writer’s dog.
When she’s not walking Zoe, Carol enjoys spending time with her husband, children, and grandchildren, as well as traveling. On Sundays, she loves serving in the production department at her church. And most days, in the late hours of the night, you’ll find her bringing her newest novel to life.
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Get your copy of Covert Cowboy Christmas at Pelican: A Covert Cowboy Christmas Pelican Amazon: A Covert Cowboy Christmas Amazon Barnes & Noble: A Covert Cowboy Christmas B&N & KOBO: A Covert Cowboy Chcristmas KOBO
Check out Carol's previous visits HERE.
Sounds like another great book, Carol. Wishing you the best of luck and God's blessings with it, and a Blessed & Merry Christmas!
Hope you'll stay tuned all month friends, for more Christmas books and stories on Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.
Until next time, take care and God bless.
PamT
