“No, I want you to talk to a man who’s just rediscovered the meaning of Christmas. He’s the one in the Santa suit.”
“But I thought—”
She grinned. “I know. He wasn’t too wild about the idea, either, but then Howard decided to take Mary Vaughn, Rory Sue and Sonny to Aspen to celebrate the fact that Sonny and Mary Vaughn are on their way to a reconciliation. Somebody had to fill in.”
“And you convinced your dad to do it?”
She shook her head. “I called in some help.”
“Oh?”
“Maddie, Dana Sue and Helen. They ganged up on him the second he came in the door. They told him how disappointed the kids would be if there was no Santa to hand out presents.”
She shrugged as her gaze went to her dad, who was surrounded by a couple dozen kids, many of them belonging to her best friends. Two college-age youngsters—most likely Maddie’s son Ty and Dana Sue’s daughter Annie, whom Tom had heard so much about—were trying to organize the little ones into a line, while not even glancing at each other.
Tom pointed out the pair. “Ty and Annie, right?”
Jeanette followed the direction of his gaze. “Yes.”
“Looks as if they have some issues to work out, too,” he said.
“I know,” Jeanette said. “Neither Maddie nor Dana Sue knows what’s going on between them these days, just that they’re not speaking.”
“Maybe the holidays will work their magic on them, too,” Tom said.
Jeanette regarded him with surprise. “You actually mean that?”
He nodded. “By the way, your dad really seems to be in his element.”
“He always had a soft spot for kids and for Christmas. He just lost sight of that for a while.” She grinned. “You should be very grateful to him, by the way. You were their next choice to fill in as Santa.”
“I’ll be sure and thank him for saving me from that,” Tom said, though somehow the prospect wasn’t nearly as disturbing as it once would have been.
He brushed a stray wisp of hair back from Jeanette’s cheek. “Sounds to me as if we have a lot to celebrate,” he said.
She stood on tiptoe and kissed him. “Are you feeling that holiday spirit yet?”
Tom laughed. “Well, I’m feeling something, all right.”
“Hey, watch it. It’s Christmas and this is a PG-rated, family celebration. To say nothing of the fact that I will not have your parents walking in here and finding us in a lip-lock.”
“Later, then,” he said dutifully.
“Definitely later. Merry Christmas, Tom.”
“The very merriest, darlin’.”
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from WILLOW BROOK ROAD by Sherryl Woods.
“Woods employs her signature elements—the Southern small-town atmosphere, the supportive network of friends and family, and the heartwarming romance—to great effect.”
—Booklist
Extend your trip to Serenity, South Carolina, where the Sweet Magnolias are always in season and heartwarming romance is only ever just a stone’s throw away:
Stealing Home
A Slice of Heaven
Feels Like Family
Welcome to Serenity
Home in Carolina
Sweet Tea at Sunrise
Honeysuckle Summer
Midnight Promises
Catching Fireflies
Where Azaleas Bloom
Swan Point
Complete your collection!
“Sherryl Woods writes emotionally satisfying novels about family, friendship and home. Truly feel-great reads!”
—#1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber
Looking for more incredible stories from #1 New York Times bestselling author Sherryl Woods? Catch up with the O’Brien family in Chesapeake Shores, where tales of friendship, family and love await—you may never want to leave. Collect the complete series today!
The Inn at Eagle Point
Flowers on Main
Harbor Lights
A Chesapeake Shores Christmas
Driftwood Cottage
Moonlight Cove
Beach Lane
An O’Brien Family Christmas
The Summer Garden
A Seaside Christmas
The Christmas Bouquet
Dogwood Hill
Willow Brook Road
“Woods’s amazing grasp of human nature and the emotions that lie deep within us make this story universal.”
—RT Book Reviews on Driftwood Cottage
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Willow Brook Road
by Sherryl Woods
CHAPTER ONE
The original Mick O’Brien–designed cottage on Willow Brook Road had been built with weathered gray shingles, white trim and a tiny back porch barely big enough for two rockers side by side. They faced Willow Brook, which fed into the Chesapeake Bay. The backyard sloped gently to the brook, with the graceful branches of a trademark weeping willow touching the lawn at the water’s edge. The peaceful setting was just right for quiet conversation or relaxing with a good book.
In front the cottage featured a small yard with an actual white picket fence and a climbing yellow rosebush that tumbled over it with a profusion of fragrant blooms. Bright red and hot-pink geraniums filled pots on the stoop in a vibrant display of clashing colors. The property oozed picturesque charm.
With three cozy bedrooms and a fireplace in the living room and a surprisingly large eat-in kitchen, it was the perfect Chesapeake Shores vacation getaway or a starter home for a small family, but Carrie Winters had been living there alone and at loose ends for almost six months now. The only personal touch she’d added beyond the mismatched furniture she’d acquired from various family attics was the portrait of the whole O’Brien family taken at the Christmas wedding of her twin, Caitlyn.
These days, sitting in one of those rockers for more than a minute or two made her antsy. After two years in a pressure-cooker public relations job at which she’d excelled, being idle was a new experience, and one she didn’t particularly like. She was too distracted for reading anything deeper than the local weekly newspaper. And though she loved to cook, making fancy meals for one person just left her feeling lonely.
Worst of all, she seemed incapable of motivating herself to get out of this funk she’d been in ever since coming home. Chesapeake Shores might be where she wanted—or even needed—to be as she tried to piece her life back together and reevaluate her priorities, but it had created its own sort of
