A Christmas to Remember (26 page)
Read A Christmas to Remember Online
Authors: Hope Ramsay,Molly Cannon,Marilyn Pappano,Kristen Ashley,Jill Shalvis
Tags: #Fiction / Contemporary Women, #Fiction / Romance - Contemporary, #Fiction / Romance - Erotica, #Fiction / Romance / Collections & Anthologies
After a moment’s stare, Therese looked at the bra. Catherine hadn’t bothered with Victoria’s Secret, judging from the padded cups, red lace edging black satin, and breakaway front clasp. She’d gone straight to Frederick’s of Hollywood. For her thirteen-year-old daughter! She dropped it into the suitcase, closed the flap, and zipped it before reaching for the smaller bag.
Quivering with anger, Abby went to the closet. “You have to let me wear them.” She threw open both bi-fold doors, then clenched her fists. “I have nothing else. I left all my other clothes there because I knew you would do this. I told Mom so.”
She wasn’t exaggerating by much. Except for her school uniforms and the dresses she wore to church, her closet was practically empty. A few pairs of jeans, a couple of old T-shirts that had sentimental value but no fashion sense, two hoodies. There were gym shorts and underwear in her dresser, but she’d taken practically everything else with her.
“You’d better call your mom and ask her to ship them back, then, or you’re going to get awfully tired of wearing the same things all the time.” Therese sorted through the second bag, confiscating three more pairs of ridiculous heels, two more bags of cosmetics, and—she gulped silently—two of the skimpiest swimsuits she’d ever seen. She was surprised thunder didn’t roll across the plains from Paul’s roar of disapproval.
“I can’t do that because we threw them away.”
Therese hoped she was lying, but it sounded like exactly what she and Catherine would do. Catherine might be Abby’s mother, but she didn’t want to be. Occasional friendship without real responsibility better suited her nature, and conspiring with Abby to thwart Therese would be an easy way to cement that friendship.
“If that’s the case, you’ll have to buy new clothes from your allowance.”
She expected another roar, but the girl just stared at her. In that moment, there was nothing of Paul’s baby in her, just quiet fury. Malevolence. Sheer hatred. Her eyes were like chocolate ice, her rage unflinching, but when she spoke, her voice was far calmer than the shriek Therese was used to.
“You know, I don’t pray very much because I don’t think God really listens, but I do pray for one thing every night. I pray for you to die.”
New York Times
bestselling author Jill Shalvis
lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s bestselling, award-winning books wherever romances are sold and visit her website for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.
You can learn more at:
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Kristen Ashley
grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana, and has lived in Denver, Colorado, and the West Country of England. Thus she has been blessed to have friends and family around the globe. Her posse is loopy (to say the least) but loopy is good when you want to write.
Kristen was raised in a house with a large and multigenerational family. They lived on a very small farm in a small town in the heartland, and Kristen grew up listening to the strains of Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon, and Whitesnake.
Needless to say, growing up in a house full of music and love was a good way to grow up.
And as she keeps growing up, it keeps getting better.
You can learn more at:
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Hope Ramsay
grew up on the North Shore of Long Island, but every summer Momma would pack her off under the care of Aunt Annie to go visiting with relatives in the midlands of South Carolina. Her extended family includes its share of colorful aunts and uncles, as well as cousins by the dozens, who provide the fodder for the characters you’ll find in Last Chance, South Carolina. She’s a two-time finalist in the Golden Heart and is married to a good ol’ Georgia boy who resembles every single one of her heroes. She lives in Fairfax, Virginia, where you can often find her on the back deck, picking on her thirty-five-year-old Martin guitar.
You can learn more at:
Facebook,
www.facebook.com/Hope.Ramsay
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Molly Cannon
lives a charmed life in Texas with her nearly perfect husband and extremely large cat Nelson. When she’s not writing, she spends her days reading, taking dance classes with the hubby and watching all kinds of sports.
You can learn more at:
Facebook.com/pages/Molly-Cannon
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Known for her intensely emotional stories,
Marilyn Pappano
is the
USA Today
bestselling author of nearly eighty books. She has made regular appearances on bestseller lists and has received recognition for her work in the form of numerous awards. Although her husband’s Navy career took them across the United States, he and Ms. Pappano now live in Oklahoma high on a hill that overlooks her hometown. They have one son and daughter-in-law, an adorable grandson, and a pack of mischievous dogs.
You can learn more at:
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