The Christmas Question: A Pismawallops PTA Novella

By Rebecca M. Douglass

Christmas is coming, and all our favorite residents of Pismawallops Island are busy. Brian wonders what gift will smooth his relationship with Kat. JJ is doing Christmas on a budget. And Ron wonders if he's made the right gift choices as well. In this sweet holiday story, Brian and Ron speak for themselves and we learn more about what goes on in their heads.

The Christmas Question is #4.5 in the Pismawallops PTA Mystery series, and is meant to follow Death By Library.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rebecca M. Douglass
• Release date: Dec 25, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463494295

Rebecca M. Douglass

After a lifetime of reading and a decade of slinging books at the library and herding cats with the PTA, Rebecca began to turn her experiences into books of her own, publishing her first (The Ninja Librarian) in 2012. That failed to quiet the voices in her head, but seemed to entertain a number of readers, so she wrote some more, which generated still more voices. Despite the unlimited distractions provided by raising sons to the point of leaving home, not to mention the mountains that keep calling (very hard to resist the urging of something the size of the Sierra Nevada), she has managed to produce many more books in the years since.For those who enjoy murder and mayhem with a sense of humor, Rebecca’s Pismawallops PTA mysteries provide insights into what PTA moms and island life are really like. If you prefer tall tales and even less of a grip on reality, visit Skunk Corners in The Ninja Librarian and its sequels. And for those who’ve always thought that fantasy was a bit too high-minded, a stumble through rescues and escapes with Halitor the Hero, possibly the most hapless hero to ever run in fear from any and all fair maidens, should set you straight.Through it all, she has continued to pen flash fiction, for a time sharing a new story on her blog nearly every week. Now those stories are getting new life in a series of novella-length ebooks, with an omnibus paperback coming soon.Why does Rebecca write so many different kinds of books (there’s even an alphabet picture book in the mix!)? It might be because she has a rich lifetime of experience that requires expression in many ways, but it’s probably just that she’s easily distracted.

Book preview

The Christmas Question

A Pismawallops PTA Novella

(Pismawallops PTA Mysteries #4.5)

by Rebecca M. Douglass

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2019 Rebecca M. Douglass

ISBN: 9781370692798

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Contents

Title Page

Dedication

Brian

Ron

JJ

Ron

JJ

About the Author

More by Rebecca M. Douglass

Dedication

With thanks to Ron and Brian for insisting on getting a chance to have their own say. With as many thanks to Ellen and Jemima for reading and commenting to help make the story what it is.

Brian

I should have known something was up when Mom’s boyfriend wanted to take me Christmas shopping.

I’ll take you to Bellingham. We can go to the mall or wherever you like to shop, and I’ll buy you lunch. He really poured on the come-ons.

Ron Karlson had been trying to get on my good side for a while. I knew it was all about him wanting to marry Mom. Everyone on Pismawallops Island knew he was chasing JJ MacGregor. He never tried to make a secret of it, even though Mom was kind of an idiot about it, wanting to pretend no one had a clue. Anyway, Ron wanted Mom, and he never got to have any kids of his own, so I guessed he had a right to try to pretend sometimes.

I didn’t mind. I liked Ron, and my own dad was kind of a jerk. Well, really a jerk, plus he lived in Texas, which was definitely not a place I planned to visit any more than I had to. I told Ron I’d be happy to have him help with my Christmas shopping. Honestly, I wanted him to help me figure out what to get Kat for Christmas. I asked my best friend, Justin Green, and he just said, Dude. You’re on your own. Not helpful, but Justin had his own girlfriend problems so I let it go.

Kat Padgett was my girlfriend, except when we were fighting and she wasn’t. All fall we’d been sort of fifty-fifty. I thought the right present might up that to seventy-thirty, so the