Chapters (50)
- Dedication
- About This Book
- 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 NINTEEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY
- CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
- CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
- CHAPTER THIRTY
- CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
- CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
- CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
- CHAPTER FORTY
- CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
- CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
- CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
- CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
- CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
It wasn’t his life that flashed before his eyes. It was Sara’s. Maybe because she’d been right. He wasn’t happy. He had no idea what fun was. And now he’d never get the chance to find out.
Something grabbed him. A strong hand, a glimpse of tattoo. It got a fistful of hood and neck, and the icy waters released him. It was the woman, the line of her jaw tense as she strained to drag his ass over the side of the boat.
“Lean!” she yelled. Stu and Mrs. Pringle leaned hard to the other side as she pulled him higher. Noah found his footing again and, with one last burst of strength, boosted himself over the edge. He landed in the bottom of the boat, the woman collapsing next to him.
“We good?” Stu grumbled from the back.
Noah was too tired to open his eyes. So, he settled for nodding. He was going to hug the hell out of Sara and add an entire pizza to that list.
“We’re good. Get us the hell out of here, Stu, before we all become fish bait,” the woman next to him called.
“Thanks,” Noah gasped.
“No problem.”
“You all want some cookies?” Mrs. Pringle asked, as they chugged away from Mistletoe Avenue.
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER SEVEN
Present
That son of bitch Noah Yates made her resort to this. She had to bring in the big guns since he couldn’t be bothered to take her calls anymore. Except that one time that he answered with a curt “Stop. Calling. Me.”
Cat drummed her fingers in time to the blaring beat of Bon Jovi as she headed north to Merry for the second time in a week. Not only did she have the blessing of the network for this special but also their throbbing hard-on for the idea. They saw schmaltz and advertising dollars, a multi-episode arc of pure profit. She saw a chance to save Christmas for an entire town. Drake was committed to co-starring. Sponsors were lining up.
The only thing she needed was a yes from an asshole.
She took the exit for Merry, steering the SUV she’d rented around piles of still-soggy trash arranged at the curb in front of nearly every home. For some, renovations had started immediately. For others, they needed more time to process. Soon, they’d have volunteers to help where they could, replacing insulation and drywall, ripping out old carpet, laying new.
Cat turned onto the main street, a road that only days ago had been underwater. Storefronts showed the water damage, but there were people, still smiling, still waving. And that was the appeal of Merry. That was why they needed camera crews here now, shooting B roll and capturing the post-flood, pre-reno. This is what people cared about seeing.