Secrets are like sins. Eventually, someone exposes them. Audrey Seever, owner of Fairbury’s favorite sweet shop has kept one secret for twenty-five years. Given her choice, she’d take that secret to the grave. Even more, she’s convinced she has that right. After all, even the commercials say it. “What happens in Vegas…” With Christmas coming, Audrey is buried in new ice cream flavors, bon-bons, pies, breads, cakes, and other tempting treats. She hardly has time to sleep, much less do things like cook for herself, clean up after herself, or do any holiday decorating. Enter Kelly Cox. It was just supposed to be a simple trade—a little decorating and light housekeeping in exchange for a few Christmas treats. Neither of them had any idea that she’d run across that oh, so carefully guarded secret. Though she knows it’s none of her business, Kelly can’t help investigating, and before long, finds herself in the middle of more drama than she’d ever imagined possible. When Audrey learns what Kelly has done, Kelly finds herself fighting to salvage more than her friendship. Her marriage and reputation are on the line as well. Tarnished When Christmas doesn’t seem so merry anymore.
Author
**fingers skittle across the keyboard. Stop. Eyelids blink over the top** Oh, was this bio day? Oops! I forgot. I was lost in my latest manuscript. Umm... bio. Yeah. Hi! I’m Chautona Havig. (for those who care, that’s Shuh-TONE-uh HAVE-ig). Yeah. Just work with me here. I should have used a pseudonym, but when you grow up with a name like Chautona, it kind of sticks. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. ~ Hebrews 10: 23–25 Those aren’t just words on a page for me–they’re why I write. I write to encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ. The stories I create are to make people laugh, cry, question, consider. They’re for you. When the world screams for hope, I try to point you to the true Source of hope–Jesus. Sometimes life in the church no longer seems a refuge from the pain of a self-serving world around us, but through my stories, I try to point you to the only Refuge that can truly help–the Father’s Everlasting Arms. And sometimes we just need an escape from the monotony, the emptiness we see around us. We need joy, laughter–what I like to call “just the write escape.” Christian fiction without apology or pretense–lived, not preached. What does that even mean? It means I care–about you. About your walk with Jesus. I care about the words you put before your eyes, the mental pictures those words conjure. It’s difficult to express just how much I love my brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s difficult to share just how much I love you. But I do. And I write for you. I sit in my little house in California’s Mojave Desert and I write to show you why one sister believes one thing, why a brother believes another. I write to show you how some Christians handle trials or triumphs–for you. So when you’re faced with something–good or bad, it doesn’t matter–maybe it’ll spark a memory. Maybe that memory will smolder until you pull out your Bible and see what the Lord said about it–about His great love for you. For YOU! And maybe, just maybe, you’ll share that love with another hurting, confused, or blessed-with-more-than-she-knows-what-to-do-with soul. I just happen to think that’s the most blessed giving anyone could hope to receive.
