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    Christmas Stray
    Christmas Stray
    Christmas Stray
    Ebook130 pages1 hour

    Christmas Stray

    By Rachelle Ayala

    5/5

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    About this ebook

    Imagine vowing to never celebrate Christmas again only to be snowed in with your hunky husband in a cabin rich in Christmas pasts.

    Juliette Martin isn’t happy when her husband, Gabe, surprises her with a Christmas tree at their winter getaway. The grief she carries for her six-year-old son overwhelms her, and all she wants is to hide from the holidays.

    When Juliette and Gabe find themselves snowed in, they discover a small boy and his puppy behind the woodpile. Who put them there, and can these two little strays and a Christmas miracle restore Juliette’s faith in the power of love?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRachelle Ayala
    Release dateAug 3, 2015
    ISBN9781310486425
    Christmas Stray
    Author

    Rachelle Ayala

    Rachelle Ayala is an award-winning USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic suspense. She writes emotionally challenging stories but believes in the power of love and hope. Her book, Knowing Vera, won the 2015 Angie Ovation Award, and A Father for Christmas garnered a 2015 Readers' Favorite Gold Award. Christmas Stray was awarded the 2016 Readers' Favorite Gold Award and A Pet for Christmas had an Honorable Mention. In 2017, Playing for the Save received the Readers' Favorite Gold Award for Realistic Fiction. Sign up for her NEWSLETTER to get a FREE surprise book and her latest book news! http://smarturl.it/RachAyala Visit her Reader's Guide at http://rachelleayala.net/books/ or contact her at http://smarturl.it/ContactRachelle Join her STREET TEAM https://www.facebook.com/groups/ClubRachelleAyala/

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      Book preview

      Christmas Stray - Rachelle Ayala

      Christmas Stray

      CHRISTMAS STRAY

      RACHELLE AYALA

      HTTP://RACHELLEAYALA.NET

      Copyright © 2015 by Rachelle Ayala

      All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

      The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real events or real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

      All trademarks belong to their respective holders and are used without permission under trademark fair use.

      The named songs belong to their rights holders and artists. No lyrics are quoted and no rights are infringed.

      Contact Rachelle at:

      https://smarturl.it/ContactRachelle

      For updates and two free books, sign up for Rachelle’s newsletter at https://smarturl.it/RachAyala

      Get Rachelle’s free start library:

      https://rachelleayala.net/free-books

      Check out her Reader’s Guide at https://rachelleayala.net/books/

      To chat and read new works in progress, join her Reader’s Club at https://www.facebook.com/groups/ClubRachelleAyala/

      Vellum flower icon Created with Vellum

      CONTENTS

      Description

      Praise for Christmas Stray

      Welcome

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Thank You!

      Excerpt from Kitty, It’s Cold Outside

      Excerpt - Christmas Lovebirds

      Reading List with Heat Levels

      Rachelle Ayala Books in Other Languages

      Meet Rachelle

      DESCRIPTION

      Imagine vowing to never celebrate Christmas again only to be snowed in with your hunky husband in a cabin rich in Christmas pasts.

      Juliette Martin isn’t happy when her husband, Gabe, surprises her with a Christmas tree at their winter getaway. The grief she carries for her six-year-old son overwhelms her, and all she wants is to hide from the holidays.

      When Juliette and Gabe find themselves snowed in, they discover a small boy and his puppy behind the woodpile. Who put them there, and can these two little strays and a Christmas miracle restore Juliette’s faith in the power of love?

      Christmas Stray is the 2016 Readers’ Favorite Gold Award Winner in Christian Romance.

      Christmas Stray is also available in French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

      PRAISE FOR CHRISTMAS STRAY

      "Christmas Stray is a deeply heart-felt and beautifully inspiring story of choosing to live again in the wake of personal tragedy." – Amber McCallister

      Touching story of love and miracles.

      – Chantel Rhondeau

      A story of hope, forgiveness and moving on when you no longer think you can. – Rebecca Austin

      This book is so true, so emotional and so magical that it makes you want to read several times.

      – Elisabete C.F. Martins

      A heartfelt, uplifting novella that draws you in and makes you hope for miracles. – Sharon Coady

      Miracles do happen in so many forms.

      – Jessica Cassidy

      This heartfelt Christmas tale will leave you wanting a stray of your very own. – Corissa Palfrey

      A heartwarming holiday tale! – Michele Shriver

      Sad, sweet, and quite realistic. – Linda Scarchuk

      I cried, I laughed, I love a book that can evoke all of my emotions. – Brandi Pletcher

      Ms. Ayala was able to surprise me, and that's a very good thing. – Tope Awofeso

      The most sweet and tender story … – Vera Neves

      WELCOME

      I invite you to explore my world of over seventy romances, from dangerous suspense to sweet family drama, featuring hot, steamy flirts, brainy, strong heroines, and hunky men with big, gigantic hearts and melty, warm hugs.

      For book descriptions, go to the Reading List with Heat Levels section or check out my Reader’s Guide at:

      http://rachelleayala.net/books/

      Don’t forget to download my Free Books:

      Find them at my website: https://rachelleayala.net/free-books

      For updates and two more free books, sign up for my newsletter at:

      http://smarturl.it/RachAyala

      To chat and read new works in progress, join my Reader’s Club at:

      http://www.facebook.com/groups/ClubRachelleAyala/

      Thanks for coming into my story world and letting me take you on an unforgettable excursion. Turn the page to begin.

      Bon voyage!

      DEDICATION

      To everyone who misses someone.

      May you see and feel your personal miracle.

      CHAPTER 1

      The little cabin was almost perfect. Remote, tucked beneath fir and pine trees, rustic, and private. Snowdrifts were piled on each side of the plowed driveway, and the snow-covered tin roof was sloped at a steep angle just like in the Alps.

      As soon as her husband, Gabe, shut off the ignition, Juliette Martin pounced out the door of their Mercedes Benz. She hadn’t spoken to him the last two hours of the drive, not since he mentioned the Christmas tree.

      Sure enough, there was a tree twinkling with lights in the window of the cabin. Juliette pulled out her cell phone to call the management company.

      Ah, it looks quite lovely, don’t you think? Her husband massaged her shoulders.

      Lovely or not, I specified no Christmas decorations. They need to remove the tree.

      She spoke to the management company while Gabe retrieved the key from the lockbox.

      Let’s go in and warm up, he said. I still don’t see why you don’t want the tree. It’s not as if it has any of our own ornaments on it.

      A pang of grief caught in her throat. Gabe really didn’t understand. Either that, or he was tired of her being an emotional wreck. This getaway was supposed to revive their marriage. From the looks of it, it was more like the last gasp of a beached whale.

      I don’t want a tree. No decorations. Nothing. She followed Gabe into the cabin. I thought you told them.

      Which was why she was so angry with him. He’d meant for them to have a tree. He knew about it when he mentioned it two hours back, and darn it all, he knew exactly how she felt.

      He feathered his fingers down the side of her neck and peered into her eyes. Hey, I thought it would cheer you up. Us coming here to create new memories.

      Juliette melted, a little. Her husband was a kind man, a tad insensitive, but his forehead was creased with concern, and face it, he was as gorgeous as they came. Except nothing, but nothing would take away Jeremiah’s death. Nothing.

      No memories will replace Miah. She lowered her face before he could see the sprinkling of tears in her eyes.

      Last Christmas Eve had been Jeremiah’s last one—spent in the children’s hospital. He’d been so weak with leukemia he couldn’t lift his head when they trimmed the spindly little tree in his room. But he’d still smiled at the ornaments she’d made for him. And she’d been stupid and thought God would grant her prayers and give them a miracle.

      She well remembered the star she’d placed on the top. One that she’d named the miracle star. It was a silly little thing, of course. One made of cardboard painted white and sprinkled with silver glitter.

      You’re thinking about the miracle star, aren’t you? Gabe caressed her cheek, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

      She tore away from him. She didn’t deserve his attention and care. Not when her heart was crushed under the weight of guilt. She hadn’t wanted Jeremiah when she first discovered she was pregnant. The time hadn’t been right. She’d actually hoped for a miscarriage. But by the time he was born, she was head over heels in love with her little Miah. Too bad God had other plans for him, plans that included striking him with leukemia when he was four and letting him linger two years before his body gave out the day before Christmas.

      Just get this crap out of here. She attacked the Christmas tree, knocking the star from the top. I will never, ever celebrate Christmas again.

      Whoa, whoa, don’t break anything. Gabe pulled her from the tree and into his arms. We won’t celebrate Christmas, but you need to get control of yourself.

      "Let me hibernate all December and wake up after the New Year when all the trees have been composted and people are thinking income taxes instead of

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