out in holiday garb to watch with utter glee.
Usually, I’ll even share my reviews on Instagram as I watch.
How was it possible, then, that I’ve only ever written ONE book set at Christmas? I knew that had to change. And, even better, I knew I needed a writing project that was purely for fun.
Naturally, I thought of Nantucket, where a few of my other books are set. It’s an island full of charm, and I knew that charm hung around long after the summer season ended. The Christmas traditions on Nantucket are a small-town romance author’s dream, so it was absolute joy to immerse myself in that world as I revisited a beloved member of my cast, Hayes McGuire.
Charming, adorable, younger brother Hayes was one of my favorite characters to write in If For Any Reason, so I knew he needed a very special heroine. And I was so very happy when Pru burst onto the page.
Thank you so much for spending a bit of the holiday season with Pru and Hayes (and, I suppose, with me.) You can’t possibly understand what a gift it is for me to know that you’ve made time for one of my stories. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope it swept you away for a while, and that it instantly put you in the Christmas spirit.
As always, I LOVE to connect with my readers, so I invite you to find and follow me through my newsletter, on social media or in my Facebook Reader Room. I would absolutely love to see you there!
Drop me a line anytime—I love making new friends.
Courtney Walsh
About the Author
Courtney Walsh is the Carol award-winning author of Just Look Up, Just Let Go, Just One Kiss, Just Like Home, If For Any Reason, Things Left Unsaid, Hometown Girl, Paper Hearts, Change of Heart, and the Sweethaven series. Her debut novel, A Sweethaven Summer, was a New York Times and USA Today e-book best-seller and a Carol Award finalist in the debut author category. In addition, she has written two craft books and several full-length musicals. Courtney lives with her husband and three children in Illinois, where she co-owns a performing arts studio and youth theatre with the best business partner she could imagine—her husband.
Visit her online at www.courtneywalshwrites.com
Prologue
Dear Emily,
As I write this, you are approximately six days, three hours, and thirty-two minutes old. We’ve been home from the hospital for four days, and I haven’t been able to stop looking at you the entire time. You sleep in a bassinet next to my bed, and I lie awake at night, listening to you breathe.
To be honest, listening to you breathe is all I do. I feel like it’s my sole responsibility to make sure that continues. It’s a little scary, if I’m honest. And I’m always honest. You see, you came as a bit of a surprise to me, and I guess that’s why I’ve been so nervous lately, in the days leading up to your birth. Because I don’t want to mess anything up.
I don’t want to mess you up.
People always talk about how wonderful it is to have a baby, but no one ever talks about how terrifying it is too. You see, I’m a little bit terrified, and I’m not sure who else to tell. I’m pretty sure my mother would use that fear against me somehow, so I’ll only share it with you, my little girl.
I’ll share it because I want you to know that sometimes we have to do things that are scary in order to get to something good. Sometimes the hardest things we’re faced with bring us the best results. It’s strange how that works, but it’s true.
You’re probably wondering why I’m writing you a letter when I could just pick you up and tell you this in person.
Well, I’ve always wondered about my own childhood. I remember once sitting on the floor of my friend Samantha’s bedroom, looking at her baby book. It was a scrapbook, I guess, and her mom had written all kinds of funny stories about Samantha from the time she was a baby and stuck them down next to photos of her at every stage of life. My mom isn’t the sentimental type, so I never had a book of stories. I don’t know what she was thinking about anything, and I wish I did. Maybe then I wouldn’t feel so alone.
I’m not the crafty type, so I decided letters were more the way to go. Lessons