#1 New York Times Bestselling author Susan Wiggs invites you to an unforgettable Christmas in the Catskills in her latest novel, Candlelight Christmas.
Synopsis:
A single father who yearns to be a family man, Logan O'Donnell is determined to create the perfect Christmas for his son, Charlie. The entire O'Donnell clan arrives to spend the holidays in Avalon, a postcard-pretty town on the shores of Willow Lake, a place for the family to reconnect and rediscover the special gifts of the season.
A single father who yearns to be a family man, Logan O'Donnell is determined to create the perfect Christmas for his son, Charlie. The entire O'Donnell clan arrives to spend the holidays in Avalon, a postcard-pretty town on the shores of Willow Lake, a place for the family to reconnect and rediscover the special gifts of the season.
One of the guests is a newcomer to Willow Lake— Darcy Fitzgerald.
Sharp-witted, independent and intent on guarding her heart, she's the last
person Logan can see himself falling for. And Darcy is convinced that a
relationship is the last thing she needs this Christmas.
Yet between the snowy silence of the winter woods, and
toasty moments by a crackling fire, their two lonely hearts collide. The magic
of the season brings them each a gift neither ever expected—a love to last a
lifetime.
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Excerpt:
Summer's End
Logan O'Donnell stood on a platform one hundred feet in the air, preparing to shove his ten-year-old son off the edge. A light breeze shimmered through the canopy of trees, scattering leaves on the forest floor far below. A zip line cable, slender as a thread in a spider's web, hung between the tree platforms, waiting. Below, Meerskill Falls crashed down a rocky gorge.
"There's no way I'm going off this." Logan's son, Charlie, drew his shoulders up until they practically touched the edge of his helmet.
"Come on," Logan said. "You told me you'd do it. The other kids had a ball. They're all waiting for you on the other side, and I heard a rumor about a bag of Cheetos being passed around."
"I changed my mind." Charlie set his jaw in a way that was all too familiar to Logan. "No way. No W-A-Y-F."
Logan knew the shtick, but he went along with it. "There's no F in way, dude."
"That's right. There's no effin' way I'm going off this thing."
"Aw, Charlie. It's almost like flying. You like to fly, right?" Of course he did. Charlie's stepfather was a pilot, after all. Logan crushed the thought. There were few things more depressing than thinking about the fact that your kid had a stepfather, even if the stepfather was an okay guy. Fortunately for Charlie, he'd ended up with a good one. But it was still depressing.
Charlie spent every summer with Logan. During the school year, he lived with his mom and stepfather in Oklahoma, a million miles away from Logan's home in upstate New York. It sucked, living that far from his kid. Being without Charlie was like missing a limb.
When he did have his son with him, Logan tried to make the most of their time together. He planned the entire season around Charlie, and that included working as a volunteer counselor at Camp Kioga, helping out with the summer program for local kids and inner-city kids on scholarship. The zip line over Meerskill Falls was a new installation, and had already become everyone's favorite feature. Nearly everyone.
"Hey, it's the last day of camp. Your last chance to try the zip line."
Charlie dragged in a shaky breath. He eyed the harness, made of stout webbing and metal buckles. "It looked really fun until I started thinking about actually doing it."
"Remember how you used to be scared to jump off the dock into Willow Lake? And then you did it and it was awesome."
"Hel-Zo. The landing was a lot different," Charlie pointed out.
"You're going to love it. Trust me on this." Logan patted the top of Charlie's helmet. "Look at all the safety features on this thing. The harness, the clips, the secondary ropes. There's not one thing that can go wrong."
"Yo, Charlie," shouted a kid on the opposite platform. "Go for it!"
The encouragement came from Andre, Charlie's best friend. The two had been inseparable all summer long, and if anyone could talk Charlie into something, it was Andre. He was one of the city kids in the program. He lived in a low-income project in the Bronx, and for Andre, it had been a summer of firsts—his first train trip, his first visit upstate to Ulster County, where Camp Kioga nestled on the north shore of Willow Lake. His first time to sleep in a cabin, see wildlife up close, swim and paddle in a pristine lake…and tell ghost stories around a campfire with his buddies. Logan liked the fact that at camp, all the kids were equal, no matter what their background.
"I kind of want to do it," Charlie said.
"Up to you, buddy. You saw how it's done. You just stand on the edge and take one step forward."
Charlie fell silent. He stared at the waterfall cascading down the rocky gorge. The fine spray from the rushing cataract cooled the air.
"Hey, buddy," Logan said, wondering about his son's faraway expression. "What's on your mind?"
"I miss Blake," he said, his voice barely audible over the rush of the falls. "When I go back to Mom's, Blake won't be there anymore."
Logan's heart went out to the kid. Blake had been Charlie's beloved dog, a little brown terrier who had lived to a ripe old age. At the start of summer, she'd passed away. Apparently Charlie was dreading his return to his mom's dogless house.
"I don't blame you," Logan said, "but you were lucky to have Blake as your best friend for a long time."
Charlie stared at the planks of the platform. "Yeah." He didn't sound convinced.
"It sucks, losing a dog," Logan admitted. "No way around it. That's why we're not getting one. Hurts too bad when you have to say goodbye."
"Yeah," Charlie said again. "But I still like having a dog."
"Tell me something nice about Blake," Logan said.
Logan O'Donnell stood on a platform one hundred feet in the air, preparing to shove his ten-year-old son off the edge. A light breeze shimmered through the canopy of trees, scattering leaves on the forest floor far below. A zip line cable, slender as a thread in a spider's web, hung between the tree platforms, waiting. Below, Meerskill Falls crashed down a rocky gorge.
"There's no way I'm going off this." Logan's son, Charlie, drew his shoulders up until they practically touched the edge of his helmet.
"Come on," Logan said. "You told me you'd do it. The other kids had a ball. They're all waiting for you on the other side, and I heard a rumor about a bag of Cheetos being passed around."
"I changed my mind." Charlie set his jaw in a way that was all too familiar to Logan. "No way. No W-A-Y-F."
Logan knew the shtick, but he went along with it. "There's no F in way, dude."
"That's right. There's no effin' way I'm going off this thing."
"Aw, Charlie. It's almost like flying. You like to fly, right?" Of course he did. Charlie's stepfather was a pilot, after all. Logan crushed the thought. There were few things more depressing than thinking about the fact that your kid had a stepfather, even if the stepfather was an okay guy. Fortunately for Charlie, he'd ended up with a good one. But it was still depressing.
Charlie spent every summer with Logan. During the school year, he lived with his mom and stepfather in Oklahoma, a million miles away from Logan's home in upstate New York. It sucked, living that far from his kid. Being without Charlie was like missing a limb.
When he did have his son with him, Logan tried to make the most of their time together. He planned the entire season around Charlie, and that included working as a volunteer counselor at Camp Kioga, helping out with the summer program for local kids and inner-city kids on scholarship. The zip line over Meerskill Falls was a new installation, and had already become everyone's favorite feature. Nearly everyone.
"Hey, it's the last day of camp. Your last chance to try the zip line."
Charlie dragged in a shaky breath. He eyed the harness, made of stout webbing and metal buckles. "It looked really fun until I started thinking about actually doing it."
"Remember how you used to be scared to jump off the dock into Willow Lake? And then you did it and it was awesome."
"Hel-Zo. The landing was a lot different," Charlie pointed out.
"You're going to love it. Trust me on this." Logan patted the top of Charlie's helmet. "Look at all the safety features on this thing. The harness, the clips, the secondary ropes. There's not one thing that can go wrong."
"Yo, Charlie," shouted a kid on the opposite platform. "Go for it!"
The encouragement came from Andre, Charlie's best friend. The two had been inseparable all summer long, and if anyone could talk Charlie into something, it was Andre. He was one of the city kids in the program. He lived in a low-income project in the Bronx, and for Andre, it had been a summer of firsts—his first train trip, his first visit upstate to Ulster County, where Camp Kioga nestled on the north shore of Willow Lake. His first time to sleep in a cabin, see wildlife up close, swim and paddle in a pristine lake…and tell ghost stories around a campfire with his buddies. Logan liked the fact that at camp, all the kids were equal, no matter what their background.
"I kind of want to do it," Charlie said.
"Up to you, buddy. You saw how it's done. You just stand on the edge and take one step forward."
Charlie fell silent. He stared at the waterfall cascading down the rocky gorge. The fine spray from the rushing cataract cooled the air.
"Hey, buddy," Logan said, wondering about his son's faraway expression. "What's on your mind?"
"I miss Blake," he said, his voice barely audible over the rush of the falls. "When I go back to Mom's, Blake won't be there anymore."
Logan's heart went out to the kid. Blake had been Charlie's beloved dog, a little brown terrier who had lived to a ripe old age. At the start of summer, she'd passed away. Apparently Charlie was dreading his return to his mom's dogless house.
"I don't blame you," Logan said, "but you were lucky to have Blake as your best friend for a long time."
Charlie stared at the planks of the platform. "Yeah." He didn't sound convinced.
"It sucks, losing a dog," Logan admitted. "No way around it. That's why we're not getting one. Hurts too bad when you have to say goodbye."
"Yeah," Charlie said again. "But I still like having a dog."
"Tell me something nice about Blake," Logan said.
***GIVEAWAY TIME***
Harlequin is giving away TWO paperback copies of Candlelight Christmas to two lucky commenters. Open to US and Canada residence.
To enter, please leave a comment on this post with either your email address or Twitter handle.
Contest ends Tuesday, December 10th.
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Connect with Susan Wiggs
Sounds like a great book! Looks like Charlie and his dad Logan have a special relationship. Thanks for a chance to win a copy! @CandyM037
ReplyDeleteYes. I would like to read more about Charlie and his dad. Thanks, Candy!
DeleteKids, naturally, add another whole dimension to a relationship; I wonder how the path to being a family will run for these three. Thanks for the chance to win! @jaffobsession
ReplyDeleteThey o, Monica. I find myself looking back on how different my life was before kids. My, how things change. ;)
DeleteSounds like a good book. I always enjoy Christmas stories and I like kids in books because most of the characters are adults.
ReplyDeletecatbooks72(at)gmail(dot)com