Fortune Cookie Christmas

By Jeanne Kern

Haley can't face Christmas. Her super-critical family hate her presents and her life. It's her turn to prepare the holiday diner, but her apartment kitchen is too small for anything but toast. Which is the only think she knows how to cook.

When her cookie fortune turns out to be an ad--Madam Zelda, Fortune Teller—she makes a desperate decision.

Zach is the mastermind behind the ad. He and Zelda show Haley that a fortune cookie can be full of surprises, solutions, and love.

• Language: Unknown
• Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
• Release date: Nov 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9781509237050

Jeanne Kern

Biography Jeanne Kern is a retired high school teacher who found her second- time-around and this time HEA when she met her husband on the internet. They love traveling the world together in their retirement and especially animal encounters, including walking with lions in Tanzania, patting a gray whale in the Baja, and feeding bananas to a rhino in Java. Rich runs an award-winning volleyball website, and Jeanne enjoys acting, on stage and in indie horror movies.

Book preview

Only once did the work stop. Decorating the small tree, they picked up the same ornament, and Hayley’s hand tingled at his touch. Their eyes met when their hands did, and the ornament shattered on the floor, breaking the spell of the moment. And itself.

Hayley went for a broom and dustpan, while Zach arranged candy canes in crystal vases. Together they added streamers of ribbon in the bedroom, kitchen, and bath. They ordered pizza and ate it standing over the sink so they wouldn’t drop crumbs. They sang their favorite carols and talked and laughed. Finally, Zach surveyed the apartment and proclaimed it almost perfect.

I’ll fix the centerpiece when I bring the table and extra chairs. I’ll have everything set up so all we’ll need is the food. Now, plan on dinner with me tomorrow. I’ll cook for you. You can bring red wine. Just one more thing.

He reached above the front door and planted a hook. From his pocket he drew a sprig of mistletoe and hung it slightly askew overhead.

Then he drew Hayley to him and kissed her soundly. What a day. Never thought much of Aunt Zee’s powers until she put you in my life.

He was gone, but his presence still filled the room. Haley leaned against the door and inhaled his scent. Her skin electrified, and her heart turned to melting chocolate. One day. Only one day. Everything was different. Her family was coming, and the nerves that had been vibrating violin strings were now pulls of taffy. Fortune cookie magic. It was the only explanation.

Fortune Cookie Christmas

by

Jeanne Kern

Christmas Cookies

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

Fortune Cookie Christmas

COPYRIGHT © 2021 by Jeanne Kern

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

Contact Information: [e-mail]

Cover Art by Debbie Taylor

The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

PO Box 708

Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

Publishing History

First Edition, 2021

Digital ISBN 978-1-5092-3705-0

Christmas Cookies

Published in the United States of America

Dedication

To hope, good fortunes, and those who believe

I hate Christmas. I haaate my family. I. Am. Worthless. Hayley hammered her fist down on the page in front of her, startling people at nearby tables, rattling her silverware, and sloshing her tea onto the table she shared with her friend Gail.

Gail blotted the pummeled page with her napkin. The typed label Family Gifts headed a chart with two columns—Names and Suggestions. The names were filled in. The suggestion column was a total blank.

You’re my best friend, and you said you’d hellllp meee. Hayley’s voice was a blend of accusatory and pathetic.

I’ve been trying. I brought you an article about this year’s ten hottest gifts. I’ve been suggesting books and candy and clothes and games all through dinner. Which you’ve only picked at. Gail nodded toward Hayley’s apricot chicken and rice stirred