Comfort and Joy

Overview

Curl up by the Yuletide with these heartwarming stories that add a touch of wonder to your holidays.
"Comfort and Joy"- by Fern Michaels
Ever since Angie Bradford took over her mother's gift wrap business in the Eagle Department Store, she and handsome store chief Josh Eagle have been at odds. When Josh threatens to give up on the business and move to London, and a devastating storm may destroy their Christmas season, Angie never expects help to come in the form of a holiday miracle.
"A High-Kicking Christmas"- by Marie Bostwick
After ten years as a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall, Kendra Erickson needs a break from Christmas. But when an injury lands her in small-town Vermont where she finds herself directing the local holiday pageant alongside the charming new pastor, Kendra reconsiders her views on life, love and the most romantic season of all.
"Suzanna's Stockings"- by Cathy Lamb
When an accident lands Suzanna Everts in the hospital for Christmas this year, she need a little magic to save the holiday season. Enter sexy, but Scrooge-like, land developer Jack Benson to the rescue, proving to Suzanna that the best gifts are those that take you completely by surprise.
"Family Blessings"- by Deborah J. Wolf
Tired of dealing with her squabbling family, Kacey would rather not be home for the holidays. But Christmas memories hold a special power that is enough to remind a family of the blessings they share and awaken Kacey to the promise of new love.

Editorial Reviews

Chapter One
Angel Mary Clare Bradford, Angie to her friends, looked over at her assistant, who was stacking rolls of colored ribbon onto spindles. Satisfied that the rolls of ribbon were aligned to match the spindles of wrapping paper, she turned away to survey her domain.
The thirty-foot-by-thirty-foot room with its own lavatory was neat as a pin because Angie Bradford was a tidy person. The room she and her assistant, Bess Kelly, were standing in was known as the Eagle Department Store gift wrap department.
Eva Bradford, Angie's mother, had a lifetime lease on this very room, thanks to retired owner Angus Eagle, something that rankled the current young department store head, Josh Eagle, Angus's heir.
Angie and Josh had gone to the mat via the legal system on several occasions. Josh wanted the lease canceled so he could open a safari clothing department. He claimed the paltry, three-hundred-dollar-a-month rent Angie paid for the gift wrap space was depriving the Eagle Department Store of serious revenue. Another set of legal papers claimed his father had not been of sound mind when he signed the ridiculous lifetime lease.
Angie countered with a startling video of Angus playing tennis and being interviewed by the New York Times talking about politics and his philanthropic endeavors on the very day he signed the lifetime lease. In a separate filing, Angie charged Josh Eagle was a bully, and presented sworn testimony that he repeatedly turned off the electricity in the gift shop as well as the water in the lavatory just to harass her. On occasion the heat and air conditioning were also turned off. Usually on the coldest and hottest days of the year.
Josh retaliated by saying Angie should pay for the electricity, water, heat, and air-conditioning. He said there were no free lunches in the Eagle Department Store in Woodbridge, New Jersey.
Judge Atkins had glared at the two adversaries and barked his decision: Josh Eagle was not to step within 150 feet of the gift wrap department. Angie was to pay an additional thirty-dollars-a-month rent for the utilities, and a new heating unit was to be installed at Eagle's expense.
At that point the Eagle-Bradford war escalated to an all- time high, with both sides doing double-time to outwit the other. The present score was zip-zip.
"So, are you going to the store meeting or not?" Bess asked as she gathered up her purse and jacket.
"Nope. I don't work for Josh Eagle or this store. I work for my mother. I'm just renting space from Eagle's. It was toasty in here today, wasn't it?" Angie asked. It had been unseasonably cool for September.
Bess eyed her young employer and laughed. She'd worked for Eva Bradford for twelve years before Eva turned the business over to her daughter, 110 pounds of energy who was full of spit and vinegar, five years ago. Angie had jumped right into the business, played David to Josh's Goliath, and come out a winner. At least in Bess's eyes. With the Christmas season fast approaching, Bess knew in her gut that Josh Eagle would pull out all his big guns to try to get under Angie's skin and make her life so miserable she would give up and move out. She laughed silently. Josh Eagle didn't know the Angie Bradford she knew.
"Come on, boss, I'll walk you out to the parking lot. How's Eva today?"
Angie slipped into her jacket and hung her purse on her shoulder before she turned off the lights. She pressed a switch, and a colorful corrugated blind came down, totally covering the entrance to the gift wrap department. She waited a moment until she heard the sound of the lock slipping into place. She'd installed the sliding panel at her own expense, much to Josh Eagle's chagrin. She then locked the walkthrough door to the gift wrap department. Not just any old lock, this was a special lock that Josh Eagle couldn't open with the store's master keys. She'd also installed her own security system with the ADT firm. Josh had taken her to court on that one, too, and lost, with the judge saying Angie was protecting her investment and as long as she wasn't asking him to pay for her security, there was no problem. Back then the score had been one-zip.
"Uh-oh, look who's standing by that big red X you painted on the floor!"
Angie looked ahead of her to see Josh Eagle glaring at her. "You're late".
He was good-looking, she had to give him that. And he had dimples. Right now his dark brown eyes were spewing sparks. He was dressed in a power suit and tie, his shirt so blinding white, it had to be new. It was all about image with Josh Eagle.
-- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.

Author Information

Bio of Fern Michaels

Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines a biography this way: A biography is the written history of a person's life. Fern Michaels isn't a person. Fern Michaels is what I DO. Me, Mary Ruth Kuczkir. Growing up in Hastings, Pennsylvania, I was called Ruth. I became Mary when I entered the business world where first names were the order of the day. To this day, family and friends call me Dink, a name my father gave me when I was born because according to him I was `a dinky little thing' weighing in at four and a half pounds. However, I answer to Fern since people are more comfortable with a name they can pronounce. I've been telling stories and scribbling for twenty-five years. I hope I can continue for another twenty-five years. It wasn't easy during some of those years. As I said, I had to persevere. My old Polish grandmother said something to me when I was little that I never forgot. She said when God is good to you, you have to give back. For a while I didn't know how to do that. When I finally figured it out I set up The Fern Michaels Foundation. The foundation allows me to grant four year scholarships to needy, deserving students. I then went a step further and opened pre-school and day care centers with affordable rates for single moms who are having a hard time of it. Doing Fern Michaels allows me to do this and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't thank God for being so good to me. I don't know what I'm the most proud of, the books I write, the scholarships, the pre-schools or the fact that I put my kids through college on my own with no help from anyone. Probably the latter because when all else is said and done, the only thing that matters is family. Is Fern Michaels a great writer. No. She is however, one hell of a story teller. When people ask me what I do, I say, "I scribble and tell stories." It's a great way to make a living. The Dutch have a saying, `If you can't whistle on your way to work, you don't belong in that job.' I whistle all day long.

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Additional Info

Imprint

Kensington

Filesize

1.50 MB

Number of Pages

352

eBook ISBN

1420104063