Ms. Holly and Mr. Ivy Save Christmas

By Karen Hall

A new sweet Christmas romance from best selling author Karen Hall. 

A museum director without an artist for the biggest show of the year and an art teacher with students and special needs clients who need a place for their show must join forces to fulfill their obligations, never expecting to find the greatest gift of all-love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Books To Go Now
• Release date: Nov 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215907375

Karen Hall

In her career as writer, producer and creative consultant, Karen Hall has worked on numerous series, including M*A*S*H, Hill Street Blues, Moonlighting, Roseanne, and Grace Under Fire. She has received seven Emmy Award nominations, as well as the Humanitas Prize, the Women in Film Luminas Award, and the Writers Guild of America Award. Her novel, Dark Debts, was a Book of the Month Club main selection when first published in 1996 and has been translated into French, German, and Japanese. She and her husband own Black Bear Books, an independent bookstore in Boone, North Carolina.

Book preview

Excerpt:

M ax! Stop! Stop NOW !

A woman’s desperate command was accompanied by a cacophony of joyful barking as a flash of white fur hit William full force, knocking him into the pond. Algae crusted water saturated his clothing while mud squished beneath his feet, entering his shoes and socks. Coughing, he rose, found his balance and made his way to the bank where Holly Walker stared in open-mouthed horror. A large, wet, white poodle sat by her side. I think my suit and shoes are ruined, he announced.

I’m sorry, she said, voice quavering. If you’ll send me the bill, I’ll pay to have your clothing replaced.

That’s not necessary, Ms. Walker. Please excuse me. William turned, but her hand on his arm stopped him. 

You’ve got algae on your face. She took a handkerchief from her pocket and began to wipe his cheeks. William held very still, as a warmth cascaded over him. Her mouth, tinted a delicate pink, was pursued in study of her task and for one insane moment, he wondered what it would be like to kiss her.

Dedication:

This story is dedicated to the artists of the Inside Out Studio in Huntsville, Alabama and their founder/director Sherry Broyles

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BOOKS AVAILABLE IN EBOOK, PAPERBACK, AUDIOBOOK, and FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDITIONS

A Christmas Proposal, One Horse Open Sleigh Race, The Great Christmas Candy Caper, A Christmas Conundrum,  The Comet that Came for Christmas, Star Carol for Celeste, You’re My Secret Santa, Baby, and Christmas Stockings.

Copyright © 2022 KAREN HALL

All rights reserved.

Chapter One

Monday after Thanksgiving

East Tennessee

Present Day...

Sorry, Bill, but I sold the promised paintings (all twenty-five!) for your exhibition to buy my Sweetie a really nice birthday present. Let’s do business next year. Headed toward the Caribbean with Sweetie on her new yacht.

Ciao, baby.

‘The World Famous’ H.L. Duggins

William, not Bill, you, lecherous old ass. William Ivy, director of The Museum at Fourth and Main, stared at his screen’s e-mail message and then at the tall woman standing before his desk. "Is this a joke?

Ramey Miller, his executive assistant, plucked the ever-present pencil from the back of her up-swept hairdo and stuck it behind her ear. I just got the same e-mail, she said. Did yours include pictures of the yacht?

It did not. William tightened his grip on the mug’s handle and looked out the window where the late November sun was spreading its last rays over the nearby river. Who gives a yacht for a birthday present?

Ramey shrugged. Most guys I know would spring for dinner out and a nice piece of jewelry. None of my girlfriends would say no to that.

H.L. Duggins isn’t ‘most guys,’ William said dryly. His mistresses are as well-known as his paintings. As soon as the old goat gets bored with this one, he’ll drop her. But that doesn’t help us now. When were his paintings due to arrive?

This weekend. Just in time for the kickoff for the museum’s fifty-year anniversary celebration, Ramey said. Haven’t we spent the last two years courting him for this project?

Yes, William said, feeling older than his thirty-seven years. I’d been here five years when we started the ‘courtship.’ Talk about being left at the altar."

Can we get him for contract violation? Worry drew Ramey’s eyebrows together. This is the museum’s biggest exhibition in years, with his work being auctioned off at our New Year’s Eve black tie affair. Backing out now will be a major headache, especially for the marketing department. They’ve already prepared his catalog. She paused and a frown creased her pretty, mocha hued face. And he was letting us keep thirty percent of his sales. The business office has hinted there may already be a bidding war among prospective buyers.

Duggins doesn’t care about giving us a headache, William noted. He’s ‘world-famous’ and giving us a headache doesn’t matter."

So, what are we going to do? Ramey asked.

Forward his e-mail to the legal department, William told her. Let’s at least try to get him for contract violation. I’ll call an emergency meeting of the board of directors tomorrow, though what I’ll tell them is anyone’s guess. What remains on today’s agenda?

Ramey’s grimace relaxed into a smile. The fifth graders from Park Hall Elementary are decorating the trees in the lobby. Their school won the drawing this year. The contest for students from local elementary schools to decorate the museum’s twin Christmas trees in the lobby had been William’s idea and proved very popular. He’d always loved tree decorating and he particularly enjoyed talking to the children when they finished their creations.

But now, thanks to H.L. Duggins’ overblown ego, Christmas at The Museum was about to become a train wreck. William had twenty-four hours or less to find another artist or come up with a solution that would satisfy the board.

Please tell me that at least everything is in order for Friday night’s Come on Over gathering, he said. The weekly event in the museum’s Great Hall offering food, drinks and jazz―another one of William’s ideas―had proved to be a moneymaker, something that always made the board happy.

Ramey nodded. And since it’s the second Friday after Thanksgiving, we can count on more people wandering in after shopping on the square. We’re staying open until eleven o’clock and Chef Fritz was worried about paying for the extra help he hired, but I told him there was no problem. This week’s entertainment is the jazz ensemble from the university’s music department. They’re playing for free to get the experience.

You missed your calling as a diplomat, Ramey, William praised her, taking a sip of his tea. Anything else?

Carla scheduled a four-thirty appointment with a Hollifield Walker, Ramey continued, referencing their receptionist-secretary. "He called just before lunch and said it was very important that he speak with you about the upcoming exhibit. I thought he might be a new contributor, so I told her to okay