Mail-Order Brides For Christmas
Page 1
Mail-Order Brides For Christmas
Frankie Love
Hope Ford
Fiona Davenport
S.E. Law
Kelli Callahan
Tracy Lorraine
Contents
About
Prologue
Christopher by Fiona Davenport
Chapter 1
Christopher
Chapter 2
Winter
Chapter 3
Christopher
Chapter 4
Winter
Chapter 5
Christopher
Chapter 6
Winter
Chapter 7
Christopher
About the Author
Hartley by Frankie Love
Chapter 1
Hartley
Chapter 2
Hattie
Chapter 3
Hartley
Chapter 4
Hattie
Chapter 5
Hartley
Chapter 6
Hattie
Chapter 7
Hartley
Chapter 8
Hattie
Chapter 9
Hartley
About the Author
Mason by Hope Ford
Chapter 1
Mia
Mason
Chapter 2
Mia
Mason
Chapter 3
Mia
Chapter 4
Mason
Chapter 5
Mia
Chapter 6
Mason
Mia
Chapter 7
Mason
Mia
Chapter 8
Mason
Mia
Chapter 9
Mason
Mia
Nate by Kelli Callahan
Chapter 1
Nate
Chapter 2
Catriona
Chapter 3
Nate
Chapter 4
Catriona
Chapter 5
Nate
Chapter 6
Catriona
Chapter 7
Nate
Chapter 8
Catriona
Chapter 9
Nate
Chapter 10
Catriona
Chapter 11
Nate
Chapter 12
Catriona
About the Author
Matt by S.E. Law
Chapter 1
Jenna
Chapter 2
Jenna
Chapter 3
Matt
Chapter 4
Jenna
Chapter 5
Jenna
Chapter 6
Jenna
Chapter 7
Matt
Chapter 8
Jenna
Chapter 9
Matt
Epilogue
About the Author
Spencer by Tracy Lorraine
Chapter 1
Gabriella
Chapter 2
Spencer
Chapter 3
Gabriella
Chapter 4
Spencer
Chapter 5
Gabriella
Chapter 6
Spencer
Chapter 7
Gabriella
Chapter 8
Gabriella
Chapter 9
Spencer
About the Author
Epilogue
Copyright © 2020 by Frankie Love, Hope Ford, Fiona Davenport, S.E. Law, Tracy Lorraine, Kelli Callahan
All rights reserved.
Cover Photography by Regina Wamba
Cover Design by Cormar Cover Creations
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
About
MAIL-ORDER BRIDES FOR CHRISTMAS
The Mistletoe Brothers are ready to save Snow Valley… even if it means marrying complete strangers.
The six women who arrive in this mountainside town all have very different reasons for agreeing to an arranged marriage. And none of them quite know what to make of the six ruggedly handsome brothers who greet them.
But they do know this: there’s no turning back.
It’s Christmas, the season for miracles… but is it also the season for falling in love?
Join six of your favorite romance authors this holiday as they show you around the most romantic town you’ve ever visited. It has an ice-skating rink where you can hold hands, hot cocoa to sip by the fire, and plenty of mistletoe that you can kiss under. This collection of all-new stories are filled with high heat... because with six brothers, there are plenty of packages to unwrap.
Prologue
Joy Mistletoe
Snow Valley, November 1st
I’m in the garage rooting through bins of Christmas decorations when my husband Hank comes up behind me and wraps an arm around my waist. He kisses my cheek and I smile. “What was that for?”
“What? We may have been married for thirty-five years, but it doesn’t mean I ever get tired of being close to you.”
I turn around, handing a large tub of twinkly lights to my man. “So when you were in town, did you hear any gossip?” Since Hank handed over the reins of his hardware store to our younger son earlier this year, we haven’t heard as much news on the daily.
Hank shakes his head as he carries the bin to the open garage door before coming back for a second box. I always want the Christmas lights up the first week of November and my husband knows that is non-negotiable. I love Christmas like I love all my boys. With all my heart.
“Well, Jasper is retiring and putting our little mountainside town up for sale. Crazy, considering it’s been in his family the last hundred and fifty years.”
“What do you mean, Jasper is retiring?” Jasper is a local widow who is as much a staple to this town as we are.
“He’s nearing seventy-five. Wants to sell this town and move out to Arizona to be close to his grandkids. Can’t fault the man that.”
Grandkids. I try not to let the word ruffle my feathers too much. I have six grown sons and yet not one of them is married, let alone a father.
“Who will own Snow Valley if he sells?” I ask, worry knitting its way inside of my heart. I’ve heard of big corporations buying out small towns in the middle of America and turning them into tourist traps, forcing them to lose the soul that made the towns special in the first place.
“Word is Titan Corporation is looking to buy.”
I press a hand to my cheek. “That can’t happen.”
“Well, darling, it just might. Who else can drum up the money needed in a few months?”
“Months?”
“Apparently January first is the deadline to put in an offer.”
“Maybe our boys can buy it?” I say, pacing the garage. “Matt has a lot of investments, and Mason has that settlement from the government. Not to mention the rest of the boys have my grandfather’s trust. That alone could buy it…”
“Joy,” Hank says, resting a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t get any crazy ideas. The boys can use that money however they want. They don’t need to buy a town!”
“But…” My mind is already racing. I know my sons love Snow Valley as much as I do. I hand Hank the last box of light
s. “While you get this sorted, I’m going to make a few calls, okay?”
I kiss him then pat his bum and head inside, calling my neighbor Louise as I enter my kitchen. She has worked as a clerk at the town hall for a decade. I make a fresh pot of coffee, pulling out my gingerbread creamer and opening the stash of Christmas cookies that I baked last night. My tradition is to bake a batch of sugar cookies covered in sparkly sprinkles every Halloween.
“Louise, have you heard?” I begin to fill her in on the news, but she cuts me off. Apparently she was down at the coffee shop this morning and heard all about it.
“Can you imagine, this town being bought by a corporation?” she says, clucking her tongue. “It’s a travesty.”
“Well, I have a plan.” I launch into my scheme to get my sons to buy Snow Valley. “So what do you think?” I ask once I’m finished explaining.
“Sounds perfect except for six tiny things.”
“What do mean?”
“There’s a stipulation in the city’s laws. According to a law written by the town’s founder in 1870, the purchaser must be married. Which means your six single sons need to be married by New Year’s Eve.”
“But that’s impossible!”
Louise laughs. “Knowing you, Joy, that word is hardly in your vocabulary.”
“But how can I manage this?” I ask, dunking a cookie in my steaming mug of coffee.
“Why don’t you start by talking with your sons?”
“But six brides in about as many weeks… are there even that many single women in Snow Valley?”
“You know,” Louise says slowly, “I have a niece who has a best friend who has a cousin who just used a service called Mail-Order Brides For Christmas. She’s set to marry a man she’s never met, across the country in a few weeks.”
“What?” I laugh, trying to register this concept. I’ve read hundreds of western romances over the years, set in the Wild West when mail-order brides were necessary… but I figured it was outdated.
Maybe not.
“Hey, Louise, do you think you could get me a contact number for that service?”
“Really?” She laughs. “Oh Joy, you really do have a bee in your bonnet today.”
I smile, thinking of six winter weddings… and realizing maybe Jasper retiring is the very thing this town has needed all along.
My boys love me. And while some may have harder exterior shells than others, they all have soft centers when it comes to me. And somehow, none of them seem opposed to the idea of purchasing Snow Valley. Maybe it’s the fact I’ve warmed them up with brown sugar bourbon and my famous fruitcake. But having all my sons come over after dinner to hear me out means so much. I know not every mother is so lucky.
“Granddad would love seeing us use his money for good,” Mason says after my pitch. Well, part of my pitch. I haven’t mentioned the “marriage” stipulation. Or the fact I had a lengthy call with Holly Huckleberry, a feisty woman in her sixties who owns the mail-order bride service. Holly agreed that me ordering all my sons brides was the perfect early Christmas gift.
“And since we’re all planning on staying in Snow Valley for the long haul, I don’t see why not,” Nate says. Hearing him say that warms my heart considering his last few years.
Matt runs a hand over his jaw. “I think the figures work. It would mean more work for all of us, but I might get a partner at the firm soon, and I’d have more time.” As the lawyer of the family, and the oldest son, I appreciate his pragmatic approach.
Spencer, my youngest, says he’s on board. “Though as a carpenter, not sure I can add much to the business end of things. But I can help spruce up the town. Have you seen how old all the signage is around this place? I don’t think Jasper has put a nickel of his money into Snow Valley in years.”
Christopher, the quietest one of my boys, leans back in his chair, extending his long legs out in front of him. His expression is pensive “You won’t get an argument from me. I don’t need some corporation coming in and trying to tell me how to run my brewery and pub.”
“We sure we don’t want the Titan Corp coming in?” Hartley asks. “Tourist towns attract visitors. And this place could use some more women.”
Mason laughs. “Says the guy who has dated every available one already.”
Hartley shrugs. “Not like there are many options.”
I look over at Hank, who smirks as he adds more bourbon to his glass. He knows the part I’ve left out and thinks I’m crazy for taking this idea as far as I have.
“Speaking of women…” I grab the bottle of bourbon from Hank’s hands, and then tell the boys to top off their glasses. I’m not trying to get them tipsy, but I do want them to be open-minded when I mention this next part. “There is one thing I need to mention.” I explain the archaic law about the town owners being married — I even went to City Hall this afternoon to see the law with my own two eyes.
“Well then why are we having this conversation?” Mason asks. “None us are even dating.”
“Yet,” I say, lifting a finger.
“What do you mean, yet?” Nate asks, sitting back in his chair.
“I might have done something… something… a bit rash.” I press a hand to my heart, suddenly realizing the enormous weight of what I’ve done.
“Rash?” Matt groans. “Mom, what did you do?”
I look at Hank, biting my lip.
“Go on, Joy,” he says with a shake of his head. “Tell your sons what you’ve done.”
I give them an exaggerated smile. “I ordered you each a bride.”
“A bride?” Spencer laughs. “Mom, I’m twenty-two.”
“Your father was twenty-one when he married me,” I push back.
“Absolutely not,” Christopher growls. “I don’t need a woman interfering in my business either.”
“When you say ordered… what does that mean, exactly?” Matt asks. All of the boys pause and stare at me, waiting for my answer.
I smile brightly. “You’re each getting a mail-order bride in a few weeks.” My sons look at me with a mix of horror, confusion, and amusement. They know me well enough to understand this is no joke. “Merry Christmas,” I tell them. “I have a feeling it’s going to be a very interesting holiday this year.”
Christopher by Fiona Davenport
Chapter One
Christopher
I tossed back a shot of whiskey and slammed the glass down onto the shiny wood bar that my youngest brother, Spencer, had built for me. He’d done most of the restoration work when I renovated The Holly Jolly Pub a few years ago. I’d poured my own sweat and blood into it every day since I bought the place seven years ago.
My brothers and I loved Snow Valley, the small town where we grew up, as much as our mother did. We’d long ago made the decision to stay and build our lives here. I looked around the bar, pictured the brewery behind it, and knew I’d do whatever it took to keep my town from a big corporation that would take away all its charm and the small-town feel.
As pissed off as I was about my mother’s meddling and her harebrained scheme, I could admit it was a quick way to resolve our predicament, which only made me angrier. Not at my mother, but at the situation in general.
I had given little thought to a family over the years. I suppose I assumed it would happen naturally. Although, I’d ruled out anyone from town, and no matter how many women I met when traveling, I’d never given any of them a second thought.
After living with the example of my parents' marriage, I was a one and done kind of guy. I hated the idea of being divorced; it felt like a four-letter word that left a foul taste in my mouth. But I would not stay in a loveless marriage, even if it disappointed my mom.
And there was no way I’d make my future wife sleep in the same bed as my ex, so I’d need to get some temporary furniture.
With a sigh, I poured myself another shot and tossed it back. This Christmas season had gone downhill extremely fast. I lifted my chin to the bartender on duty, receiving a
nod of acknowledgment and meandered back to my office.
I sat down in my desk chair and booted up my computer to order a bed and whatever else I might need. As I perused mattresses, a thought suddenly hit me over the head. What the fuck was I doing? Just because I married the woman didn’t mean I had to sleep with her. I only needed her to wear a ring until the purchase of the town was complete.
If we didn’t consummate the marriage, that opened up the door for an annulment.
Buoyed by my revelation, I closed the tab for the furniture depot and opened a new one. I wanted to start things off on the right foot with my “bride,” which meant letting her know this was a marriage “in name only.” The fair thing to do was to let this woman know about it up front. This way, there would be no misunderstandings or expectations of forever.