A Pine Island Christmas

By Caroline Mickelson

On the spur of the moment, single mother Jenni Marshall packs up her car and teenage son, and trades the cold winter of Maine for a warm weather Christmas on Pine Island. Her hope is that spending the holidays in Florida will help cheer up her only child who has once again been disappointed by his almost-always absentee father. It's smooth sailing until they reach the island and get a flat, with no spare tire, no cell phone reception, and no help in sight.

Micah Braxton is a wealthy man who would gladly trade his millions for happiness. Just what a happy life entails, however, he's not entirely certain. When he comes across a stranded pair of tourists and helps them out, he realizes that maybe, just maybe, this Christmas he's going to receive the gift of a lifetime.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bon Accord Press
• Release date: Jul 22, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386085836

Book preview

1

Christmas sucks.

Jacob! Jenni Marshall glanced up into the rear-view mirror and caught her thirteen-year-old son's eye. Seriously?

Sorry, but it does. He shrugged. You know it, and I know it. Without waiting for a response, he jammed his ear buds into place, effectively ending the conversation.

Jenni returned her gaze to the road in front of her. She objected to her son's language, but far more to his assessment of what should be a joyous holiday. A holiday filled with family, friends, tradition, celebrations...none of which they would partake in this year. They were so far from their home in Maine that they didn't even have a chance in heck of a white Christmas. Not unless it snowed in Florida by some miracle.

But miracles, like happy moments, had been hard to come by lately.

While she couldn't bring herself to say that Christmas sucked, Jenni had to agree it really did stink this year. Which was precisely the reason they were heading to Florida for a quiet, low-key holiday. No snow, no family, no expectations, and no bad memories awaited them on Pine Island.

Tears pricked at the back of her eyes as she remembered the last time her son had been happy at Christmas. Jacob had been eight-years-old, all arms and legs in that gangly, flat out adorable way boys that age often were. He'd still believed in Santa Claus, which hadn't surprised her at the time. He'd always been a trusting soul by nature, quick to believe the best in anybody or any situation. She glanced into the rear-view mirror again. Jacob's eyes were closed as he moved his head in time to the music. She could still hear his shouts of joy when he'd discovered a set of drums wrapped with a big red bow next to the Christmas tree.

That had been the last time their little family of three had been happy. By the time the next December rolled around, their divorce had been finalized and her ex-husband had started to fade from their life. In the ensuing five years, Jenni had more than made her peace with the swift and unexpected ending of her marriage. Watching her ex-husband move on with his life, which now included a new wife and two small children, wouldn't have bothered her except that he'd left no room for Jacob. Invitations to visit were few and far between, plans were cancelled more often than not, and weekly phone calls had dwindled down to a couple of texts a month.

So, when they'd received a semi-apologetic email a week ago saying that there'd been a last-minute change of plans and her ex couldn't come up with the cash to pay for Jacob's share of his soccer team's trip to Argentina, Jenni had flipped. She'd shoved aside her pride, called her ex, and demanded to know just what was so important that he'd been willing to disappoint his oldest son. The answer was heartbreaking - a great last-minute deal on a cruise to Bermuda. 'But we've only booked one cabin and you know how small those are, right, Jenni? I'm sure Jacob will understand'.

Understand? Understand what? That a luxury vacation with his new family was more important than keeping his word to his own flesh and blood? Her blood had come to a near boiling point and she'd ranted and raved like a madwoman over a bottle of wine with her best friend for far longer than she should have. But well before Jacob had come home from soccer practice, she'd gotten herself in check, opened her laptop, and scrambled to