November 25, 2025
It's release week for Christmas in Port Chance! The full novel doesn't release until Friday but I do have the first chapter to share today.
The original plan wasn't to release during Thanksgiving week. Competing with friends and family gatherings and roast turkey isn't ideal. But priorities had to shift so here we here! I hope you enjoy it!
Also, if you make it to the end of this newsletter, you'll read about my impression of Zen stone-wrapping, the surprise class my hubby signed me up for last weekend. Who knew there was such a thing?
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CHRISTMAS IN PORT CHANCE
CHAPTER 1
When Sadie Wendell peered into her future ten years ago, she’d imagined packing school lunches for her children instead of preparing a mash for a baby squirrel at her wildlife rescue, Furever Friends.
At present, she had no children. Well, not the human kind anyway.
“One CUP coconut oil. A quarter cup NUTS.”
Sadie recited the recipe for squirrel mash loudly enough to drown out the racket behind her, but it was futile. The intermittent thuds against the side of the plastic tub were frenzied enough that Sadie stopped measuring ingredients and whirled around.
“Seriously? I’m working as fast as I can.”
The squirrel pressed its nose against one of the makeshift ventilation holes in the lid when Sadie came closer. It disappeared then resurfaced at another hole. “I’ll get you nice and comfortable in another minute.”
The tub wobbled on the countertop like it had a mind of its own—well, it kind of did—so she set it on the floor at her feet so she could finish mixing up the mash. She dumped kibble into the blender along with the mash she’d mixed and turned on the machine. The blender pulverized the contents, making the utensils resting next to it on the counter dance with the vibrations. It even drowned out the chattering of one irritated squirrel, her newest patient. The squirrel was one of eleven she cared for at the moment. It was nearing the end of the fall baby season, so most of her squirrels were under three weeks old. It wore her to the bone, the round-the-clock feedings when they were this young.
She shut the blender off.
The squirrel churred, no doubt upset about being confined in the tub.
Ahh, I know how you feel, kiddo
Sometimes, Sadie wanted the world to leave her alone, too.
The door to the shed opened behind her and in breezed her partner, Cara Ortega. She pushed the fur-lined hood from her head and ruffled the melting snowflakes from her honey-hued bangs.
“Everyone has been fed and watered. Pepper’s enclosure still needs cleaning, so I’ll do that, then head to town for the feed.” Cara approached the box and peered through one of the holes. “She looks like she’s in better spirits than she did an hour ago.”
“Feisty, that’s for sure.” Sadie lifted the blender from the base. “Is it still snowing?”
“Not too much. It’s disappearing as fast as it hits the ground.”
Popping off the blender’s lid, Sadie dumped the mixture into a small metal dish and set it inside the nearest wire cage, one of a dozen or so lining two walls of the room used for her furry patients. Sadie slipped on her gloves. Cara did the same with the pair she kept in her back pocket.
It’d be tricky, taking the lid off of this tub and easing the squirrel into the cage. She didn’t fault the woman for putting her in the oversized container with one of those lids that didn’t easily snap off. But it left too large of an opening for the squirrel to escape if she and Cara weren’t careful.
“Ready?” Sadie asked as she slowly tilted the tub, listening to the squirrel try to gain its footing, its claws scratching at the slippery surface. She hoped to ease off the lid just enough that the squirrel might slip through and run right into the cage. It sure wasn’t acting injured.
“Whenever you are,” Cara answered.
She took a deep breath. “One, two…three.”
The squirrel scrambled inside the box, not knowing what to make of the newest escape route. Even with gloves on, Sadie’s finger suffered a nibble as the frightened squirrel paused where the tub met the cage’s opening. The process took less than ten seconds, but Sadie still held her breath even after the squirrel hunkered down in one of the far corners of its cage.
“That wasn’t so bad,” Cara said, peeling off her gloves again.
“Tell that to my poor finger.”
“I can match that and more,” Cara said, slipping one arm out of her coat sleeve to push up the sleeve of her sweatshirt. An angry-looking red welt stretched wrist to elbow.
“Let me guess—Skeeter.”
“The one and only.”
That female raccoon had an ornery streak, but Sadie didn’t blame her. She’d arrived with a nasty case of road rash. Her injuries had taken longer to heal only because she’d resisted treatment.
Cara rested her hands on her hips and looked around, squinting. Sadie guessed she’d lost her glasses again. For someone who needed them to see, Cara misplaced them on a regular basis. An inconvenience, she called them.
“What’s next?” she said.
“Why don’t you head to town now. We’re desperately low on kibble. Brysons called to say the donation box is full again. Would you mind stopping by to pick up that, too?” Sadie tore a page from the small notebook she kept in the pocket of her shirt and handed it to her. “It’s a small shopping list this time.”
“On it,” Cara said. She flipped up her hood again.
That’s what she loved about Cara. Her new partner’s willingness to do anything for the shelter with a smile was such a relief. Sadie had shouldered the responsibility for everything for the last two years, so having someone like Cara to share the burden—physically, financially, and emotionally—was huge. She loved the social media part, too, which Sadie hated. Now the shelter had an online presence which helped with outreach and donations.
“Oh, there’s an opossum coming in some time today. I got a call from someone in Erie,” Cara said, shaking her head. “They captured it in their live trap and the poor thing’s foot was injured in the process.”
Sadie rolled her eyes. Humans were the biggest problem when it came to injured wildlife.
Cara left as the first flakes of the season fell outside. They’d have to double down to get the outside enclosures cold-proofed. Sadie had heard it’d be an early winter.
She pinned a few shoulder-length stray hairs into the clip on the back of her head yet again, opened the cage that held two infant red fox squirrels, and scooped them both into her cupped hands. The cage across the room was cleaned with fresh bedding. The squirming babies almost made her lose control, so she hurried past the exam table in the middle of the room to get to the cage and under the heat lamp.
But as she passed the stationary island, a loose strip of metal trim which she’d planned to glue back in place for ages, hooked the back of her sweater, pulling her to a complete stop.
She twisted and pulled, but it held her fast.
No good.
Sadie peered underneath her raised arms until she could barely see the metal strip holding her captive. She groaned.
With her hands literally full, she couldn’t release herself.
She retraced her steps, hoping it would release her, but that didn’t work.
Pulling didn’t help either. The sweater’s fleece fabric was too thick to tear.
She could stretch and maneuver her body as much as she liked but the nearest cage was still several feet away.
The wall clock taunted her, ticking away the seconds when Cara would return in at least an hour. By that time, these little furry tornadoes would nibble their way through her gloves. Her only option: let them loose, undo the snag, and catch them again. The last part of the plan would be the challenge. With a million and one places in the room to hide, it would take all of the hour and possibly more to capture the babies again.
She looked down at her cupped hands, weighing this half-baked plan, if she could call it that.
Oh, the life of a rehabber.
It was times like this when sitting at her dining room table fielding customer calls for the utility company full-time sounded pretty…uneventful. At least the mundane job might add years to her life.
If you can’t find the humor in this, just quit now before you become more vested in this harebrained mission of yours.
But didn’t she literally love the unpredictability of rehabbing? Yes, she did. She could do without the round-the-clock feedings for the babies and being regularly bitten and scratched. This getting-hooked-on-the-equipment thing, well, this was a new one. She giggled, and an involuntary snort escaped, which made her chuckle even more.
“Help!”
The pointless plea was almost as ridiculous as the situation itself. With Cara on her way to Bedden, there was little to zero chance another person would stop by before Cara returned. Furever Friends Rehab Center was tucked into a wooded five acres, ten minutes from downtown Port Chance. If someone happened to pass the driveway off the highway, they’d never see the house, rehab building, or the newly renovated cabin which was now Cara’ s home. Even when the trees lost their leaves completely, one had to purposely look to see any outline of a structure through the dense foliage.
She opened her cupped hands a smidgen, and two little faces peeked out.
“Okay, guys. This is how it’s going to go down.” This pep talk was as much for herself as it was for them. “I’m going to bend down as far as I can and release you. And when it’s time for me to catch you, you’re going to make it easy for me.”
One of them nibbled on the exposed skin on her wrist as if saying, Get on with it already!
She squatted as far as she could and opened her hands. They immediately bounded away from her to spots a few feet away and froze. It took them only a few seconds to realize they were free, and they scampered away in opposite directions.
Releasing herself from the countertop was a challenge. She couldn’t quite get a hand on the snag to release herself. A cramp seized her side. She grimaced, fighting through the discomfort to reach her fleece.
Someone knocked on the door and immediately opened it with a blast of cold air.
“Shut the door!” she shouted.
The babies appeared for a micro-second before darting underneath the steel counter. One appeared at the far end before dashing toward a supply cabinet near the opened door.
An unfamiliar man stood frozen just inside the door, taking in the scene. And the door still wasn’t closed.
“Close. The. Door,” she repeated again. A rude greeting, she knew, but she didn’t care given her current predicament. “Please.”
To his credit, the stranger kicked the door closed behind him without asking questions. The force rattled the window.
“Looks like you’re in a bit of a bind,” he said with a touch of humor in his tone.
“I’m more worried about the two furry escape artists on the loose in here. Can you not tell me what I already know and just help me, please?”
“Where do you want th—?” He started to cross the room, but jumped and let out a yelp instead. “What was that?!”
Sadie half expected him to climb onto the nearest stool. Wide-eyed, he searched the floor. It was almost comical, watching a grown man—and a large, lumberjack-y one, too—become undone by a five-ounce fur ball.
“Baby squirrel. Hence my request to close the door.” Sadie gestured to her sweater. “I’d like some help, please?”
He came closer. A flash of vulnerability at being pinned and finding herself at the mercy of a complete stranger made her heart race. It didn’t help that he paused to study her again with that maddening half-grin.
“I’m Hayes, by the way,” he offered finally as he pried the fabric from the splintered counter trim. He must have read her mind. “Hayes Kelley. Cara’s brother.”
The trim released its grasp on her sweater and she faced him, smoothing the garment around her hips. Relieved, she took a cleansing breath and finally tore her attention away from searching for the squirrels to look fully at Cara’s brother.
A flush instantly warmed her face.
Hayes had the blackest hair she’d ever seen. A hawkish nose complimented the inky slashes of his full brows. There was a half-moon scar on his upper cheek. It was like the universe decided a face shouldn’t be so symmetrical and added the tiny imperfection. In Sadie’s opinion, it just made him more handsome.
“Thanks.” She brushed herself off. Suddenly, she seemed to have too many hands and not enough poise to carry on a conversation. He looked vaguely familiar. “I’m Sadie…Wendell. You come…came at the rice…right time.” She almost palmed her face at the blunder.
He wasn’t fazed by her awkwardness. Instead, the missing squirrels preoccupied him.
“What exactly did I walk in on?” he asked as he squatted to look under the stainless counter against the wall.
“I was transferring two infant squirrels into a clean enclosure when I got caught. I had to let them loose to help myself. As you can see, that didn’t work out as planned.” She planted her hands on her hips, scanning the room.
“And then I saved the day.”
She looked at him sharply, caught off guard by his bold words.
“Sorry, that was kind of weird. Did Cara warn you about me?”
She really needed this guy to leave so she could find these squirrels. Across the room, a spindly tail disappeared behind the waste basket. On second thought, it was time for her to put him to the test.
“Nope.” She pulled out a collapsible tunnel from where she kept enrichment toys for the animals. “But that doesn’t matter. It’s time for you to save the day again.”
Preorder now so Christmas in Port Chance pops onto your Kindle the minute it's released.
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LOCKED ON LOVE'S LANDING was nominated for a spot for this year's Swoony Awards, a reader-nominated list on Goodreads! I'm so excited to be amongst some of my most favorite authors. But it could use a little more love to climb higher in the ranks (currently hanging around 50-ish), so if you wouldn't miiiind.....VOTE HERE on Goodreads, please. You can also vote for as many titles as you'd like while you're there. Voting ends this Sunday!
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Reading romances with Christmas settings go hand-in-hand, especially when they're set in small towns. That's all you'll see in this charming collection of books, over 40 in all! Check out the titles here.
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Last week, I mentioned my hubby surprised me with a trip to Decorah, Iowa. It was so much fun, thanks in part to the mandolin lesson and Zen stone-wrapping class he'd signed me up for, complete surprises which he sprang on me the day before.
Yes, Zen stone-wrapping.
I was like, what on earth? when he told me what he'd done.
Actually, the class was a blast. Four of us sat at one table with a display of stones and examples of what our finished project "should" look like. The class was taught by Susan E. Kuennen, an award-winning basket weaver who was a delightful person to listen to and learn from. It was two hours of quiet craft time interspersed with chatting and laughter.
Stone-wrapping is just what it sounds like. Reeds are soaked to make them more pliable and then wrapped around a stone, sometimes adding found objects like twigs and other natural objects. I made two; the more decorative, colorful stone I left with my oldest son.
It turns out that the surprise mandolin lesson and the Zen stone-wrapping class were exactly what I needed two weekends ago. I might not have taken the initiative myself to sign up for these classes, but the experiences left me feeling refreshed. Sometimes Hubby knows me better than I know myself.
(Click on the image to go to the sales page)
It wasn't the Christmas I planned, but was it the one I needed?
"The mistake in A Merry Mistake takes the reader on an entertainibg roller coaster ride. Funny, sweet, and very enjoyable read." ~ Amazon review
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This is a sweet, kisses only, no swearing romance, with elements of suspense, bits of humor, and plenty of swoon.
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Port Chance Series (3 books)
New, small-town romance series! It's in Kindle Unlimited too.
That Woman on Thistledown Lane
Apple Blossom Dreams
Locked on Love's Landing
Christmas in Port Chance (coming November 27th)
Hearts in Hendricks series (4 books):
Available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited! See the series page here.
Blueberry Point Romance series (7 books)
More small-town romance in Hendricks, MN with Darcy and Sean Stetman's romantic inn as the backdrop. Seven books plus a season-inspired, four-novella collection. Find the series here.
A Cafe Au Lait Kind of Love. Read this as a stand-alone romance or as part of the multi-author small-town Coffee Loft series featuring swoony romances set in charming coffee shop settings. They're in Kindle Unlimited, too!
Silver Leaf Falls series
Multi-author small-town romance series, all in Kindle Unlimited! Read my book as a stand alone or as part of the series. You can find A Forever Kiss in Silver Leaf Falls here as well as the rest of the Silver Leaf Falls books.
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