Christmas at Angel Lake
A
Rescued Hearts Novel
By: Edie Ramer
*PLEASE NOTE: 25ȼ
from every CHRISTMAS AT ANGEL LAKE book sold will go to the Washington County
Humane Society in Wisconsin. It has a 5-star rating and, like most rescue
associations, badly needs the money.
Blurb
A kitten
saved her…
Broke, pregnant and deserted by her boyfriend, Maddie Barrymore swerves to avoid a kitten while driving in a Wisconsin blizzard—and her life takes another turn. Like Puss in Boots, she stays in an empty house. She has the baby, the kitten, gets a job and a degree…yet every day she’s ready to flee if the real owner shows up.
Five years later, he does…
Dumped by the woman he loves, film producer Logan MacLeesh’s heart is as dark as one of his movies. He plans to hole up in his grandmother’s old mansion and throw himself into his work…until he discovers the sexy squatter and her four-year-old son. Before he can call the sheriff, Maddie’s tale of how she ended up there entertains him. They make a deal that as long as she tells him a story every night, she and her son can stay. Even the cat, though Logan’s always been a dog person.
A dog in need of saving…
Far away in another state, a homeless dog lifts his head, sniffs…and smells him. The human who’s meant for him. As he heads through the snow toward the scent, his journey seems impossible, even though it’s Christmas, a time when miracles happen.
Broke, pregnant and deserted by her boyfriend, Maddie Barrymore swerves to avoid a kitten while driving in a Wisconsin blizzard—and her life takes another turn. Like Puss in Boots, she stays in an empty house. She has the baby, the kitten, gets a job and a degree…yet every day she’s ready to flee if the real owner shows up.
Five years later, he does…
Dumped by the woman he loves, film producer Logan MacLeesh’s heart is as dark as one of his movies. He plans to hole up in his grandmother’s old mansion and throw himself into his work…until he discovers the sexy squatter and her four-year-old son. Before he can call the sheriff, Maddie’s tale of how she ended up there entertains him. They make a deal that as long as she tells him a story every night, she and her son can stay. Even the cat, though Logan’s always been a dog person.
A dog in need of saving…
Far away in another state, a homeless dog lifts his head, sniffs…and smells him. The human who’s meant for him. As he heads through the snow toward the scent, his journey seems impossible, even though it’s Christmas, a time when miracles happen.
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Buy Links
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Author Info
In my
stories, miracles are interrupted…but sometimes a few sneak through. I like to
think miracles happen in life, too. Part of the reason I feel this way is
because I was weaned on fairy tales. But when my mother unleashed me into the
aisles of my local library, I gravitated to Nancy Drew. I also devoured comic
books about Wonder Woman and Super Girl. My penchant for strong heroines who
don’t wait for men to save them is reflected in my books.
I started
my writing career selling short stories for mystery magazines and anthologies.
I’ve published quite a few paranormal romances and I’ve even tiptoed into the
sci fi romance genre. Now I write contemporary romance with heart and attitude
and magic. I love writing a magical realism series set in the small village of
Miracle, Wisconsin. These are stand-alone books, and anything can and does
happen. Everyone gets a chance to tell their story, from a cat to a young
blogger to a young woman to young seniors.
I don’t
think I’ll ever get bored with this series. I hope my readers feel the same
way. My goal is to make readers laugh a little, cry a little, and feel happy a
lot.
I live in
southeastern Wisconsin with my husband, dog and a very special cat. You can
follow me on my personal blog, my group blog, Magical
Musings, Facebook and
Twitter.
Excerpt
Ginger’s
plaintive meow warned Maddie that something was wrong. She stopped her frantic
packing and heard the door open then close.
Every
muscle in her body tensed.
It wasn’t
Alma or Dexter. They would call before they came. And even then, they’d ring
the doorbell. They wouldn’t just walk right in. After five years, they
considered it her house, though Maddie always remembered she was a liar and a
lawbreaker.
She was
almost glad it was at an end. She’d been ready to leave so often—and then
someone else would need a temporary home. Her way to pay it forward for her
lucky break.
And now her
luck had run out. Her last guests, Cindy and her baby, had left two months ago
to stay with Cindy’s mother-in-law in Atlanta. The only other person staying
with her was Zach—also known as the best boy in the world.
Most of the
time.
And the
smartest boy in the world.
Most of the
time.
And the boy
she loved more than any other in the world.
All of the
time.
Zach was in
his kindergarten classroom with the other four-year-olds, so it couldn’t be
him.
Her heart
pounded. It had to be him. The mysterious owner. Alma had called her less than
an hour ago to tell her the owner was on his way. That’s all the lawyers had
told her; they hadn’t given her any specific time or even a general time.
For all
Maddie knew, “on the way” might have meant a day away.
Or ten
minutes away.
So she’d
left work and sped to the place she’d claimed as her own for the last five
years.
She
straightened her shoulders now. Maybe whoever it was wouldn’t charge her with
anything. The neighbors thought the late owner’s professor son had inherited
it. Maybe he would be a kindly older man—a philanthropist—who would find her
story humorous. Or touching. Who would admire her for the help she’d given to
other people. Who would appreciate the way she’d fixed up the place.
Or would
consider her a thief, a cheat, and a squatter.
Her head
held high, she strode out of her bedroom then down the hall to the living room.
A man was
taking off a leather jacket, exposing a tallish, slender frame except for his
wide shoulders, his back to her, hanging the jacket on the coat rack by the
front door. About five eleven, he wasn’t bad to look at from the backside. Then
he turned, and her breath sucked in, and it felt as if someone had kicked her
in the stomach.
Maybe
because this mattered so much, a pivotal moment in her life and her son’s life,
time slowed, and the seconds dragged out to moments, the details imprinting in
her brain. His eyes, flame-blue and deep-set. Her gaze clung to his, yet she
noted the shadows under his cheekbones, his full mouth, and the clean lines of
his jaw. His black hair shot with premature gray belied his skin, firm and
unlined. An anomaly.
She
suspected this man had many anomalies.
Her second
suspicion was that a man that good-looking wouldn’t be as sympathetic to her
plight as an ugly one.
Why oh why
couldn’t he have been deformed and ugly?
Squaring
her shoulders, she took a deep breath and headed toward him with a wide smile
and her hand out, as if she were sent here as the town’s official greeter. “Hi!
It’s nice to meet you. I’m Maddie Barrymore.” She may as well tell him her real
name. He could easily find out what it was.
His
eyebrows rose, but he shook her hand. “Related to the acting Barrymores?”
“Not that I
know, though my stepmother claims we connect somewhere.”
“As in the
wicked stepmother?”
“Not
really. I wish she and my dad lived nearby, but my dad is stationed in Alaska.
You’re Mr. MacLeesh, aren’t you?”
“Logan
MacLeesh. Are you going to ask me for identification?”
“Yes.” She
was taking a chance here, but she’d taken a chance every day she’d lived in his
house. She’d never thought of herself as a risk taker, but she’d lived as one
for five years already, so perhaps she was fooling herself.
The look he
gave her now was amused. No question about it. He slid his wallet out of his
back pocket and took out something, stepping closer to hand it to her.
She grasped
the plastic card and saw it was a California driver’s license. Even his
driver’s license picture looked good. Nothing like hers, which could be used as
a “don’t” image for photographers. From his birth date, she saw he was
thirty-three, only six years older than her.
Not that the
age difference mattered.
Or that
there was no ring on his left hand.
She handed
the license back to him. “Would you like me to take you on a tour of the
place?”
“My place?”
She kept
the polite smile on her face. “Yes.”
“My lawyer
told me the caretakers were an older couple. Did they ask you to show it to
me?”
Her smile
dipped. He wasn’t falling for her show of confidence. He knew. Damn it, he
knew.
“No, they
have nothing to do with my presence here.”
He nodded,
not taking his eyes off her, pursing his lips—especially the full lower lip—as
if considering what to do with her.
She knew
what she needed to do. Bluff him into letting her go without punishing anyone
else. Already she held her head higher, a gesture of poise instead of worry,
her smile fixed in place. The one that said
I-like-you-and-I-know-you-like-me-too.
“So, you
realize I’ve been living here?” she asked.
“You mean
squatting.” His striking blue eyes roamed down her body, very slowly, then up
again. Like she was a piece of meat.
She hated
it. Yet her body didn’t hate it, her skin prickling, hormones waking up after a
long sleep.
My Review:
I love Christmas stories. Especially ones with animals. I loved that the characters in this book were down on their luck, but still paid it forward to others. I really liked the dog. He had an issue that a lot of animals, and some people, could easily relate to. A lot of times a forever home is all that is wanted. I also really liked the Arabian Nights plot in this story. Maddie was also a great character to read about. My favorite part was when the dog got to tell the story and be the narrator. I am also glad that a healthy boy was born. I am giving this book a 5/5. I was given a copy to ,e however all opinions are my own.
My favorite place to spend the holidays is at home with my little girls and husband.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite place is at home with the hubby and kids!
ReplyDeletepittsy82@hotmail.com
My favourite place is at my parents home!
ReplyDeleteMy parents home.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chance to win!