MISTLETOE PRAYERS

A BODINE FAMILY CHRISTMAS

Chapter One

Lt. Travis McCall had never had what most people would call a merry Christmas, and it was the last thing he wanted this year. The glossy door of the Southern colonial house bore a huge Christmas wreath, and the sight was nearly enough to make turn tail.

Almost, but not quite. He’d promised his buddy, and he never went back on his word.

The moment’s hesitation proved just enough. A discordant bray pierced the air of the quiet Charleston suburb. He glanced toward the driveway which swept around the house and blinked. A horse trailer had been pulled there, its ramp down. On the ramp, all four feet planted firmly, stood a small gray donkey.

A lead rope disappeared into the back of the trailer. Someone, out of Travis’s sight in the trailer, was apparently trying to pull the donkey in. Just as plainly the donkey didn’t intend to go anywhere. Travis had loaded horses and cattle enough times as a kid to know the signs.

Even as he thought it, the animal jerked back. In a minute it would be free, running into traffic as likely as not. He’d have to go give that idiot a hand.

A few quick strides took him across the lawn. Just as he reached the ramp the donkey reared, yanking the lead rope. A slight figure hurtled out of the back of the trailer, stumbled on the ramp, and barreled into Travis.

He grasped it, mind registering several things at once. This was not a teenage boy, as his first startled glimpse had made him think. And the donkey, managing to free himself, bolted.

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And there are more to come:

MISTLETOE PRAYERS: A BODINE FAMILY CHRISTMAS, novella, Love Inspired, Nov., 2010
MURDER IN PLAIN SIGHT, Amish suspense, HQN Books, Dec., 2010
SARAH’S GIFT, Pleasant Valley Amish Book 4, Berkley Books, March, 2011
VANISH IN PLAIN SIGHT, Amish suspense book 2, HQN Books, June, 2011