Betwixt Two Hearts (Crossroads Collection)
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Copyright Notice
Betwixt Two Hearts, a Crossroads Collection, Copyright © 2019 by the authors. All rights reserved. This book is an anthology of collected works of fiction. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or recording—without express written permission by the authors and publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed or broadcasted articles and reviews.
Betwixt Two Hearts, original copyright © 2019 by Amanda Tru
The Swedehearts Glory Quilt, original copyright © 2019 by Cathe Swanson
Whole Latte Love, original copyright © 2019 by Kari Trumbo
Seoul Refuge, original copyright © 2019 by Alana Terry
Guardian of Her Heart, original copyright © 2019 by Carol Moncado
Random Acts of Shyness, original copyright © 2019 by Chautona Havig
Each book in this collection is the intellectual property and the copyrighted material of the respective author and/or publisher and is reprinted as a part of this collection (anthology) only once and only by permission of the owners. The publisher makes no claim on, or to, the property of the owners which exceeds that permission. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the authors’ imagination or intended to be used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, organizations, places, or persons living or dead is purely coincidental and beyond the intention of either the authors or the publisher. The characters are products of the authors’ imaginations and used fictitiously.
PUBLISHED BY: Olivia Kimbrell Press™*, P.O. Box 470, Fort Knox, KY 40121-0470. The Olivia Kimbrell Press™ colophon and open book logo are trademarks of Olivia Kimbrell Press™. *Olivia Kimbrell Press™ is a publisher offering true to life, meaningful fiction from a Christian worldview intended to uplift the heart and engage the mind.
Scripture quotations from the Holy Bible are excerpts from many versions and are reproduced in strict accordance with the copyright of the owners.
Cover Design and Title Graphics by Chautona Havig
Fonts: Eras Medium and Austina
Library Cataloging Data
Names: Tru, Amanda; Swanson, Cathe; Trumbo, Kari; Terry, Alana; Moncado, Carol; Havig, Chautona (Amanda Tru, Cathe Swanson, Kari Trumbo, Alana Terry, Carol Moncado, Chautona Havig)
Title: Betwixt Two Hearts; a Crossroads Collection
p. 750 6 in. × 9 in. (15.24 cm × 22.86 cm)
Description: digital eBook edition | Print on Demand edition | Trade paperback edition | Hardcover Case Laminate edition | Kentucky: Olivia Kimbrell Press™, 2019.
Summary: Five of today’s Best-selling Christian Authors weave five unique, connected stories where handmade Christmas ornaments lead to miraculous answers to prayer.
Identifiers: ePCN: 2019930245 | ISBN-13: 978-1-68190-143-5 (ebk.) | 978-1-68190-144-2 (trade) | 978-1-68190-145-9 (hardcover)
1. clean romance love story 2. male female relationship 3. holy matrimony marriage 4. women’s inspirational 5. happily ever after ending 6. Christian fiction mystery 7. Saint Valentine's holiday
Betwixt Two Hearts
a Crossroads Collection
Introduction
Betwixt Two Hearts, by Amanda Tru
The Swedehearts Glory Quilt, by Cathe Swanson
Whole Latte Love, by Kari Trumbo
Seoul Refuge, by Alana Terry
Guardian of Her Heart, by Carol Moncado
Random Acts of Shyness, by Chautona Havig
Full Table of COntents
Hopefully, this isn’t your first visit to Crossroads, but if it is, let me welcome you and introduce how things work around here! If you’ve been here before, stay tuned to find out how we’ve switched things up a bit this time just for fun!
This collection of books is different from others you may have read. First of all, each book is a brand-new, stand-alone novel that, while it may be connected to the author’s other series, is also a complete book. Each “Crossroads Collection” is stand-alone as well, and it doesn’t matter which one you start with or if you read them in order or not. However, the individual set is intended for you to read the books in order. Though they are written by different authors with unique settings and plots, one book in the series ties them together as a whole. Part of the fun and surprise is seeing how the seemingly unrelated stories are linked together!
Usually, we design a Crossroads collection so that the last book in the set, my own, ties all of the stories together. From accidental deliveries, lost mail, and Christmas ornaments, we’ve enjoyed your visits to Crossroads and the unique stories we’ve shared.
This set is a little different from the previous collections. We thought it would be fun to reverse the order! Instead of the last book in the collection, my book tying everything together comes first and is the set-up for the rest of the books. Designed around the idea of a matchmaking website, called Betwixt Two Hearts, my story involves characters who set up the dates that occur in the other five books. Fun idea, right?
In all honesty, this was not a collection on my radar to organize. The “Crossroads Collections” originated with me, and while each author’s book is her sole responsibility for content and editing, I’m the person in charge of everything from the idea, to the organization, to the publication. After organizing and writing for three other Crossroads sets, in addition to writing individual titles, I imagined taking a break and actually getting some sleep. However, with the popularity of the other sets, I was encouraged to release another one before Valentine’s Day. In such situations, my prayer is always the same. If God wants me to write a book, I ask Him to give me a fantastic idea, and He never disappoints. In this case, I imagined a dating website that set up all of the other books in the set, and I knew I couldn’t say no.
The problem was that we needed a short turnaround with authors who were able to produce a quality book very quickly. Two other wonderful Crossroads authors jumped on board, along with another author whom we saw in the first set. We then recruited two new, fabulous authors, and they said yes. I was excited and terrified. It never ceases to humble me when wonderful authors trust me and consent to jump in on one of my wild ideas. It’s more than a little scary from my perspective. We now had six authors, one more than the other sets, and I had a very short time frame with which to write a page-turning book that connected five other books to mine in a seamless, captivating way while also communicating something of the truth of the Lord! Yeah, that’s not an easy task, especially in my insanely busy, sleep-deprived world!
Thankfully, all of the authors were fabulous to work with. The overall collection idea and my plot itself required an extensive amount of detail so that none of us stepped on the others’ toes. In the end, the connections from my book to theirs needed more time and effort than in any other set. With everyone using the same pretend website, we needed to be consistent on what Betwixt Two Hearts did and did not do. In essence, I designed a complete fake website, with details, procedures, and policies so that anyone who read wouldn’t know that the site wasn’t real. We even purchased the domain name for it to use as we so desire! The end result is a fantastic set of interconnected stories and a blueprint that someone could likely use to create a popular matchmaking website!
While the characters in each book connect with the same matchmaking website at some point, each author is entirely responsible for writing her own story in any way she wants. I, then, attempt to write around what they write, an
d we work together to make sure we get everything connected, down to shared characters, dates, time frames, and seemingly insignificant details. The result is a unique collection of books that share a common thread and offer beautiful stories filled with humor, tears, fun, surprises, and truth deeper than the superficial.
Now it is your turn to visit Crossroads once again. In Betwixt Two Hearts, Camden and Bailey set up a matchmaking website. When they can’t agree on anything, they decide to hold a matchmaking competition with control of the website as the prize. In the books that follow, you’ll see the results of their matches in both Cathe Swanson’s Minnesota town full of heritage and family, and in a coffee shop that brews up friendship and love courtesy of Kari Trumbo. In the fourth book, an unexpected connection comes in the form of Alana Terry’s surly detective, and in book number five, we once again get to have a royal tie in with Carol Moncado’s world. The set concludes with Chautona Havig’s book involving the ultimate bad dater, who we’re all desperate to see get a second date!
I’m going to sign off and get some much-needed sleep while wishing you happy reading. My sincere hope is that you enjoy these books and come away with something valuable from them. The variety of styles and stories is fantastic, yet the thread that ties them together is an example of the beautiful way God can use our actions in the lives of others. Likewise, may our words be used in your life. Though you’ll eventually reach the end and we go our separate ways, may you not forget that we met at a Crossroads.
Author of Betwixt Two Hearts
Introducing Amanda Tru
By Chautona Havig
As many authors do, I often run on a very tight schedule—little wiggle room for anything spontaneous. However, there are some people who, no matter what happens, I’ll jump through hoops for. Okay, maybe it’s more like crawl, and hope I don’t fall flat on my face, but you get the picture.
So, when Amanda said, “I have an idea for another collection,” I knew I was in. Period. The premise? Perfect for a book I’ve been dying to write for almost a year now.
Then came the kicker. “By December third? I want it ready for Valentine’s Day.” This was the end of September when I had one book to finish within two weeks and another to write and edit by the end of November.
I’d try. Seriously. It’s Amanda, and when it’s Amanda, you try. She said that we might have to push back to the tenth. That I knew I could do. So, I said it. “I’m in.”
I’m pretty sure she knew I’d say that. Then everything that could happen to prevent me from finishing, did. Troubles with completing other projects, my eyes giving out the last week—everything. Still, I managed to finish only two days late. And she forgave me. It’s who Amanda is. You’ll find my book, Random Acts of Shyness, at the very end of this collection and what a journey you will go on before you get there!
In the previous three Crossroads Collections, Amanda’s book has always been placed last—the book to tie up all the other storylines into a lovely bow. This time, however, our collection begins with Amanda’s novel. What a way to begin!
In her book, you meet Camden and Bailey—business partners with different approaches to the same problem. She introduces you to all of our characters and, in perfect Amanda style, lays a foundation for a fabulous collection. I cannot wait for you to see what she’s done. So, let me step aside and present to you, Amanda Tru and Betwixt Two Hearts.
Author of Random Acts of Shyness
a novella by
Published by
Walker Hammond Publishers
Copyright Notice
Betwixt Two Hearts, original copyright © 2019 by Amanda Tru
All rights reserved. This book is a work of fiction. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or recording—without express written permission by the authors and publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed or broadcasted articles and reviews.
Each book in this collection is the intellectual property and the copyrighted material of the respective author and/or publisher and is reprinted as a part of this collection (anthology) only once and only by permission of the owners. The publisher makes no claim on, or to, the property of the owners which exceeds that permission. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the authors’ imagination or intended to be used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, organizations, places, or persons living or dead is purely coincidental and beyond the intention of either the authors or the publisher. The characters are products of the authors’ imaginations and used fictitiously.
Bailey stood on her tiptoes and tried to spot Camden Hutchins. Unfortunately, height was not a quality Bailey Whitmore could claim to own. Her fellow airline passengers effectively formed a wall between her and the glass doors leading out of the secure area of the airport, forcing Bailey to content herself with following the awkward, shifting line sifting through the doors to the lobby where friends, family, or in Bailey’s case, a stranger she’d never met, waited to retrieve those safely deposited by the flight from Seattle.
What does Camden Hutchins look like? Bailey wondered, her brow furrowing in concern.
She really should have asked her friend, Elise, for a description of her cousin. She’d thought to ask about the important stuff and knew that Camden was basically a computer genius who had agreed to go into business with his cousin and Bailey. In retrospect, it seemed a little strange to have someone you’d never met as a business partner, but when Elise approached her about being a full partner in an online matchmaking site, Bailey jumped at the opportunity. It didn’t matter that they wanted a short turnaround, that Bailey would need to relocate to the middle of nowhere for a few months, or that she needed to leave the day after Christmas. Bailey was following her dream, and the sooner she located computer genius Camden Hutchins, the sooner that dream could be fulfilled.
Finally stepping through the security doors, Bailey scanned the lobby area, looking for someone wearing a smile and holding a little poster bearing her name. People whirled around her like leaves scattering in an autumn breeze, but after turning a complete circle more than once, the crowd thinned out as travelers matched up with those awaiting their arrival. After standing center stage and making one more full turn, Bailey felt certain that she was missing her somebody.
No one held a sign or stepped forward to volunteer for the job. Bailey sorted through what she knew of her business partner, but only found frustration. She didn’t even know his age. She knew he was Elise’s cousin, so maybe that put him around thirty-ish. She also knew he was a computer geek, so drawing on stereotypes, did that mean she should be looking for someone with glasses and fashion issues?
December twenty-sixth at five-thirty. I know that’s the arrival time I gave him. I guess I should have bothered him on Christmas yesterday for a reminder after all.
Her gaze played leapfrog, skipping over all the males in the vicinity and quickly dismissing each one. Too old. Too young. Too handsome. Too fancy. Too rustic. Too muscular. Too stylish.
Finally, her gaze lit on something different.
I guess he could be that kind of computer guy, she thought, studying the green Mohawk, multiple piercings, and ragged jeans that appeared so low they might meet the airport’s carpet at any second.
Yet, he just didn’t quite look like a Camden Hutchins.
Reluctantly dismissing him, Bailey’s gaze hopped away to find the next candidate.
Her breath caught. There he is!
Dark hair parted carefully and combed neatly to the side. Shirt buttoned all the way up to meet the neck at the top and tucked in and anchored by a belt at the bottom. Black dress pants creased neatly to meet lily-white tennis shoes.
His eyes met her study. She saw him swallow nervously and push his glasses back up his nose.
Bailey confidently made a beeline to where the man huddled near a pillar.
“Hi, I’m Bailey Whitmore,” s
he announced with a friendly smile. “Are you Camden Hutchins?”
The man’s eyes grew as round as two full moons. He swallowed again, but this time he had so much difficulty that he gagged. His hand came up to his neck, and his fingers worked the collar as if trying to stretch just a few more centimeters out. “I… uh… I’m not sure… um…”
His face turned hot pink, and Bailey suddenly worried she’d inadvertently caused the poor man severe damage. Was he about to stop breathing and go into anaphylactic shock?
“Come on, Jeff, answer the woman!” A young woman with dark hair cut into a cute chin-length style bustled up impatiently.
“Jeff?” Bailey echoed. “So you aren’t Camden Hutchins?”
“Hardly,” the woman scoffed. “His name is Jeff Yates. I’m his sister, Kari. He’s here to pick me up.”
“I’m sorry,” Bailey said, still looking at Jeff’s red face with concern. “I didn’t mean to upset him. I just thought he might be my ride, Camden Hutchins.”
“It’s not your fault that you’re too pretty,” Kari said easily.
“What?” Bailey asked in confusion, self-consciously raising her hand to tuck a strand of straight brunette hair behind her ear.
Kari sighed and rolled her eyes as if enduring some long-suffering trial. “Jeff becomes almost paralyzed if needing to speak to beautiful women. It’s quite harmless and very hilarious. The fact that you approached him caught him completely off guard. If I hadn’t shown up when I did, I’m sure Jeff would have forgotten his real name and agreed that he really was Camden Hutchins.”