Christmas Blessings
Falling Leaf Press
Come to Me Joyful Copyright © 2015 by Leah Atwood
When You Believe Copyright © 2014 by Belle Calhoune
Perchance to Dream Copyright © 2015 by JoAnn Durgin
Nowhere for Christmas Copyright © 2016 by Heather Gray, Second Edition
First Edition Copyright © 2013 by Heather Gray, published by Astraea Press
Christmas Lost and Found Copyright ©2016 by Angel Moore
One Enchanted Christmas Copyright ©2015 by Melissa Tagg
Season of Miracles Copyright ©2016 by Olga Grun writing as Alexa Verde
This limited edition Christmas Blessings anthology boxed set is published by Falling Leaf Press with permission from the respective authors. This book is an anthology work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Cover Design: MaxCovers @ five.rr.com
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this eBook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the individual and/or collective authors.
eBook Edition: October 2016
ASIN: B01LBSPQ12
Christmas Blessings
Seven Inspirational Romances of
Love, Hope & Faith
Leah Atwood
Belle Calhoune
JoAnn Durgin
Heather Gray
Angel Moore
Melissa Tagg
Alexa Verde
Falling Leaf Press
The authors of the Christmas Blessings Christmas set would like to sincerely thank you for all of your support. We feel very blessed to have such wonderful readers. We hope this collection brings a smile to your face and plenty of holiday cheer."
Come to Me Joyful
Leah Atwood
USA Today Bestselling Author Leah Atwood writes inspirational
romance to make the heart happy. From Cajun Country to
the Old West, she believes in writing faith-based
fiction where love always prevails.
Although Kate Jergens presents her life as the picture of perfection to everyone, old insecurities prevent her from letting people see who she really is. As the holidays approach, those insecurities reappear.
Luke Tatum realizes he doesn’t know Kate as well as he thought when he sees her with her guard down. As he discovers who Kate really is, his admiration and attraction to her grows.
When faced with the possibility of losing someone she loves, Kate’s faith wavers. This Christmas, will she accept support from Luke or will she push him away?
When You Believe
Belle Calhoune
Bestselling author Belle Calhoune loves writing
happily ever afters with a huge dose of faith.
When she’s not writing, she’s spending time
with her family or wrangling her toy poodle and chocolate lab.
Maggie Kilcannon lives in Breeze Point, Cape Cod after leaving her native Ireland. After tragically losing her parents, Maggie’s weary about loving and losing anyone. When she meets Alec Donahue, a soldier on Christmas leave, she falls madly in love with him. Can she live with the uncertainty of loving a soldier on active duty?
Alec Donahue always wanted to serve his country, but his life changes when he meets the beautiful, spirited Maggie. He wants forever with Maggie, who’s reluctant to give her heart to someone who might leave her. Can Alec make Maggie believe in happily ever after?
Perchance to Dream
JoAnn Durgin
USA Today bestselling author JoAnn Durgin writes books
of faith, family, and love. Through her novels, she hopes
that readers will discover the true joy to be found
in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Ellie Franklin has known Ryan Sullivan her entire life. As their Christmas wedding approaches, Ryan is expected home from his second deployment to Afghanistan. Excitement is in the air as Ellie prepares for his homecoming, and the citizens of Cade’s Corner, Ohio, anxiously await the wedding of their hometown sweethearts.
When an unforeseen event occurs, will Ellie’s plans be postponed or will they come to a screeching halt? With her faith and family to sustain her, as well as the support of an entire town, will this bride’s prayers for a holiday miracle be answered?
Nowhere for Christmas
Heather Gray
Award-winning author Heather Gray loves coffee, God,
her family, and laughter – not necessarily in that order!
She writes characters who are flawed. . .
but loved anyway.
Avery’s a journalist and mom to teenager Eli. Gavin’s an enigmatic photographer. A botched schedule lands them all in a rental car for Christmas. With everything that goes wrong, it’ll take a miracle to get them anywhere. But miracles come in surprising packages. Like a bait shop owner and a family that can’t agree on how to remove a skunk’s stink.
Join the trio as they learn reaching the destination doesn’t mean the journey’s over. God has so much more in store for them. After all—anything can happen on the road to Nowhere.
Angel Moore
Angel Moore’s love of God and reading led her to the joy of
writing stories of faith and hope. Readers connect to her
genuine characters who live out their faith in real life situations.
When Serena comes home determined to save her mother’s shop, the manager blames her for her mother’s troubles. But he’s the only person she can rely on for help.
Has Michael wasted the years he spent trying to keep All Things Christmas open? Serena’s resolve to correct things financially threatens the heart of the store. It’s about Christmas. Not just sales. Has Serena become so calculating that she doesn’t celebrate her faith anymore?
One Enchanted Christmas
Melissa Tagg
Former reporter and current nonprofit grant writer,
Melissa Tagg writes humorous and heartfelt
small-town romance including
the acclaimed Walker Family Series.
Last December, author Maren Grant went on a magical date with her book’s cover model—Colin Renwycke. Fast forward one year. With a looming deadline, Maren is desperate to recapture her creative spark. Then she remembers Colin’s invitation to visit his family’s Iowa farm…
Drew Renwycke never planned to move home and take over the farm. But he’s spent too many years watching his siblings unravel—including Colin. When Maren lands on his doorstep, he realizes she may be the key to coaxing his brother home. But what if he’s in for an unexpected holiday romance himself?
Season of Miracles
Alexa Verde
Alexa Verde writes sweet, wholesome books about faith, love
and hope. She speaks five languages and strives for every one
of her books to be a love letter to God.
Nurse Lana Smith gives herself a gift for Christmas,
a fresh start in a small town. After escaping a dead-end relationship with a celebrity, she avoids her patient's grandson, a pro football player. When Arturo gradually thaws her frozen heart, can her Christmas wish for family and affection come true?
Football is Arturo De La Vega’s life, but he returns to his hometown to help his ailing grandfather. Lana challenges Arturo to reach for stars of faith and love. Is Arturo’s quest for glory worth crushing Lana's dreams and sacrificing his heart’s true desire?
Christmas Blessings
Seven Inspirational Romances of
Love, Hope & Faith
________________________________________________
Table of Contents
Come To Me Joyful
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
When You Believe
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Perchance to Dream
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Nowhere For Christmas
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Epilogue
Christmas Lost and Found
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Epilogue
One Enchanted Christmas
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Season of Miracles
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
Come to Me Joyful
A Come to Me Novella
Leah Atwood
Copyright © 2015 by Leah Atwood
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the HCSB®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. HCSB® is a federally registered trademark of Holman Bible Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover Design © Covers by Ramona
Cover Image © Depositphotos.com
Come To Me Joyful
Leah Atwood
Chapter 1
After the clock hands hadn’t moved in five minutes, Luke decided they must be broken. At least that’s what he told himself because if time was moving that slow for real, suffice it to say, he was in trouble.
His gaze shifted to the clock again. Victory! The hand finally moved. If he hadn’t been in a meeting surrounded by his colleagues, he would have pumped a fist in the air. All right, so he didn’t have the best attitude about this conference, but who schedules a three-day conflict resolution seminar to start the Monday after Thanksgiving? An out of town one, at that.
Didn’t the powers-that-be in corporate have families or non-work related activities? Nah, they’re married to their careers. Luke tapped his company-provided tablet and attempted to find his place in the notes. He’d tuned out somewhere between “for the next fifty minutes” and “practice resolution techniques through role-playing workplace simulations”.
He really hoped he hadn’t heard the lecturer correctly. Role-play, really? He was an almost thirty-year-old professional. The men and women he supervised were accountants, not high on the chart for creating conflict within the office. But no, somebody, somewhere thought because he’d been promoted to a managerial role that he should attend the conference.
“I need two volunteers.” The lady in charge—Mrs. Houser, he remembered after a brief glimpse at the outline on his tablet—peered around the room that reminded him of a college lecture hall. “You, in the blue sweater, come to the front.”
Luke cast a look around the room to see who the unlucky person was, only to realize with horror that he was the sole individual in the room of sixty people who wore a blue sweater. Forcing a smile for the benefit of setting a good example, he marched to where Mrs. Houser stood.
“You’ll be our person in charge. Sit down here.” She pointed to the oval table that was front and center. “This will be your office.”
“I think it’s an improvement over my current one.”
The people in the room laughed and Mrs. Houser smiled. To her credit, she had a sense of humor. She scanned the room again. “Who will be our disgruntled employee? Katherine, would you mind?”
Hey, why does Katherine get a choice, and I was volun-told? His mental grumbles ceased when he saw that Katherine was Kate Jergens, one of his two bright spots of this confounded conference. Her long blonde hair hung straight to the middle of her back. Not a strand was out of place—never for Kate, who always had it completely together.
When he’d first moved to Lafayette four years ago, he’d had something of a crush on her, but what man didn’t? Kate was beautiful, inside and out, the consummate girl-next-door. He’d first met her when he’d visited a friend’s church. He and Kate had recognized each other from work and it started a conversation between them. Even though he’d ultimately chosen to attend a different place of wo
rship, that one visit to Kate’s had broken the ice between them at work.
They’d become acquaintances, and then friends. Several times he’d thought about asking her out, but the timing was never right, and lately, she seemed to keep a distance most the time. Regardless, he enjoyed being in her presence. Kate infused joy in everything around her. Even now, she smiled at him as she stood on the other side of the table.
“Katherine, you’re to be an employee approaching your supervisor regarding a problem with another employee.” Mrs. Houser tapped a finger to her chin. “Let’s say Johnny Doe turns his reports in late every Friday. In turn, this makes you late with your reports, which reflects poorly on you. You’ve already talked to Johnny, but with no change in his actions—what do you say to your boss?”
Kate looked at him with sapphire blue eyes. She lifted a fist, knocked on a pretend door.
“Come in.” He could play this game. It wasn’t so bad. “What can I help you with today, Ms. Jergens?”
“There’s a problem I’d like to discuss with you regarding Mr. Doe.” Taking a chair from the front row, Kate pulled it to the table.
He crossed his hands and put on a solemn, all-business expression. “Tell me what’s going on?”
After Kate had answered, he proceeded to ask further questions to flesh out the details of Step One-Identify the Problem. Mrs. Houser nodded with approval.
Ten minutes into the exercise, she excused them to return to their seats. “Wonderful job demonstrating the steps for conflict resolution. Thank you for your participation.”