A Wild Goose Chase Christmas: Quilts of Love Series
Read A Wild Goose Chase Christmas: Quilts of Love Series Online
Authors: Jennifer AlLee
“A story for all seasons! Don’t be misled by the title and think that this is a book you’ll only enjoy at Christmas time.
A Wild Goose Chase Christmas
is a story to be savored, no matter what the calendar says. Jennifer AlLee hooked me on the first page and never let go. With an endearing cast of characters, a hint of mystery, and more than a hint of romance, this is a book I’m adding to my keeper shelf.
A Wild Goose Chase Christmas
comes with my highest recommendation.”
—Amanda Cabot, author of
Summer of Promise
and
Christmas Roses
“Jennifer AlLee hit a home run with
The Mother Road
, but she hit a grand slam in
A Wild Goose Chase Christmas
. These characters became family with all their quirks and dysfunction as they search for mysterious fortune alluded to in Gran’s quilt. I’m a huge fan of AlLee.
Novel Rocket
and I give
A Wild Goose Chase Christmas
5 stars. It’s a must have for this Christmas!”
—Ane Mulligan, Senior Editor,
Novel Rocket
“Jennifer AlLee has done it once again—created memorable characters that seem so real you expect to meet them on your next trip to the grocery store, characters so enchanting that you root for good things to happen to them.
A Wild Goose Chase Christmas
will capture your heart, bring laughter to your lips, and tears to your eyes as Izzy and Max discover the importance of famiy and love during one memorable Christmas season. Don’t miss this one!”
—Anne Mateer, author of
Wings of a Dream
and
At Every Turn
“
A Wild Goose Chase Christmas
by Jennifer AlLee is a heartwarming story about searching for the secret behind a mysterious family quilt, with a heroine who goes on her own wild goose chase. Like many of us, Izzy Fontaine is searching for happiness in all the wrong places.”
—Julie L. Cannon, best-selling author of
Twang
“A
Wild Goose Chase Christmas
encapsulates unique family dynamics, quilts, and romance—my favorite subjects! A priceless quilt, and a trove of clues and mysteries, lead to family reconciliation and uncover the real treasure: Love.”
—Kate Lloy, best-selling author of
Leaving Lancaster
“Jennifer AlLee never fails to deliver a witty and engaging story with characters that feel like family—warts and all!
A Wild Goose Chase Christmas
is a wonderful story full of poignancy as well as joy. It has just the right blend of Christmas cheer without relying too heavily of the holiday theme to keep the plot moving. A delightful, well-paced story to warm the heart.”
—Lisa Richardson, Inspired Adventures
“Jennifer AlLee takes the pieces of her characters lives and arranges them into a beautiful quilt of family love and forgiveness. The characters, from Bogie the Jack Russell terrier to Gramps Virgil, will grow on you with each turn of the page. This is a heartwarming Christmas story to get your season started on merry note.”
—Martha Rogers, author of the Winds Across the Prairie series
“I love Jennifer AlLee’s writing and stories about Christmas, family relationships, and old quilts, so what’s not to love?
A Wild Goose Chase Christmas
has all of these attributes and more. Join her sometimes quirky, always endearing characters on a treasure hunt for a true treasure and discover things about yourself and your family that will help you find your own real-life treasure.”
—Rose Allen McCauley, author of the novella, “Nick’s Christmas Carol” in
Christmas Belles of Georgia
Other Books by Jennifer AlLee
The Pastor’s Wife
The Mother Road
Other books in the Quilts of Love Series
Beyond the Storm
Carolyn Zane
Path of Freedom
Jennifer Hudson Taylor
For Love of Eli
Loree Lough
Threads of Hope
Christa Allan
A Healing Heart
Angela Breidenbach
A Heartbeat Away
S. Dionne Moore
Pieces of the Heart
Bonnie S. Calhoun
Pattern for Romance
Carla Olson Gade
Raw Edges
Sandra D. Bricker
The Christmas Quilt
Vannetta Chapman
Aloha Rose
Lisa Carter
Tempest’s Course
Lynette Sowell
Scraps of Evidence
Barbara Cameron
A Sky without Stars
Linda S. Clare
Maybelle in Stitches
Joyce Magnin
A W
ILD
G
OOSE
C
HASE
C
HRISTMAS
Quilts of Love Series
Jennifer AlLee
A Wild Goose Chase Christmas
Copyright © 2012 by Jennifer AlLee
ISBN-13: 978-1-4267-5249-0
Published by Abingdon Press, P.O. Box 801, Nashville, TN 37202
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, posted on any website, or transmitted in any form or by any means—digital, electronic, scanning, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations in printed reviews and articles.
The persons and events portrayed in this work of fiction are the creations of the author, and any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
AlLee, Jennifer.
A Wild goose chase Christmas / Jennifer AlLee.
p. cm.—(Quilts of love series ; v. 2)
ISBN 978-1-4267-5249-0 (book -- pbk. / trade pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Quiltmakers—Fiction. 2. Older men—Fiction. 3. Christmas stories. 4. Heirlooms—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3601. I39W55 2012
813'.6—dc23
2012032059
Printed in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 / 17 16 15 14 13 12
To my grandmother, Marie Staats, who is dancing and laughing in heaven
A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS
Each book presents its own unique challenges and blessings, and this one was no different. Big thanks are due to so many:
• To my family, who never questioned why I couldn’t be separated from my laptop for two solid months. You guys rock!
• To my awesome agent, Sandra Bishop, for never letting me lose hope. Ever!
• To Lisa Richardson and Susie Dietze, for making themselves available for quick critiques and feedback as I worked my way through Izzy’s story.
• To Abingdon acquisitions editor Ramona Richards, for her encouraging words and support.
• To Teri, for her loving care in editing the final manuscript.
• To the Abingdon sales and marketing teams, for everything they’ve done to make the Quilts of Love series a success.
• And, of course, thanks to God in heaven, the giver of all good things. He’s given me more good things than one gal deserves. I am blessed.
CONTENTS
1
I
zzy Fontaine was up to her elbows in family photos when the doorbell rang. The sound echoed, joined by two sharp barks and the clicking of nails on the hardwood floor as Bogie rounded the corner, bounded across the room, and slid to a stop in front of the door. The Jack Russell terrier did the same thing anytime someone rang the bell. And every time the door opened and he saw it wasn’t his owner, he slunk out of the room with his head down.
Izzy looked down at the dog. “I miss her, too, Boy.”
Letting out a sigh, she dropped the eight-by-tens from her hands, pushed her chair away from the table, and trudged across the room. Who would stop by unannounced? A list of the usual suspects flitted through her mind: Students selling magazine subscriptions? Local proselytizers unnecessarily worried about her soul? Or the man with the pickup truck full of gardening tools who kept offering to rake the leaves from her yard? What she didn’t expect to see through the fisheye lens of the peephole was a senior citizen standing on the porch.
She opened the door wide enough to stick her head through but blocked the bottom of the opening with her body to keep Bogie from running outside. “Can I help you?”
The man smiled. “Are you Isabella Fontaine?”
The rational part of her brain, the part that took copious mental notes whenever she watched TV crime dramas, warned her against divulging personal information to a stranger. But the other part, the part that usually found the best in everyone, couldn’t believe this sweet old man held any danger.
“Yes, I’m Isabella. But no one calls me that.”
“What do they call you?”
“Izzy.”
The sides of his wiry white mustache rose in a smile. “Well then, Izzy it is. I’m Virgil, and I believe I’m the one who can help you.” With a bit of difficulty he produced a huge ribbontied box from behind his back and held it up in front of him.
“What is that?”
“A present for you. From your grandmother.”
Izzy pulled back as if the box had grown teeth and snapped at her. Two days ago, alone at the assisted living facility, Grandma Isabella had passed from this world to the next. Guilt still gnawed at Izzy for not being there when her grandmother needed her. This unexpected gift only made things worse.
“Can I bring it in?”
Virgil’s hopeful question reclaimed Izzy’s attention. She hesitated, but the crack of thunder, followed several seconds later by a flash of lighting across the cloud-filled sky, made up her mind. “Oh. Of course.” She stepped back and opened the door wider. “Come in.”
With slow but steady steps, Virgil entered the house. His eyes took in the dark wood and built-in cabinetry so typical of a craftsman house. “It’s just as beautiful as Isabella described it.”
“Gran loved her house.” Only it wasn’t Gran’s house anymore; it was Izzy’s. Six months ago, when Gran fractured her hip and decided to move into the assisted living facility, Izzy convinced herself she was just taking care of Gran’s house, Gran’s dog. Just temporarily. But she couldn’t keep telling herself that. Not anymore.
Virgil pointed to the heavy oak table in the dining area, strewn with photographs. “Are any of those of Isabella?”
“They all are.” Izzy shut the door and followed Virgil, passing him and going to the table. “I’m making a photo display for Gran’s funeral and I can’t decide which picture to use. I narrowed it down to these.” She grabbed two photos from the table and held them up for Virgil to see.
One was a black and white of a young Isabella in a classic dance pose. She balanced on one leg, satin-clad toes stretched into perfect pointe, her other knee drawn up, arms held out in front of her. The rapturous expression on her smooth, unblemished face and the extension of her fingertips gave the impression that she was reaching for her one true love.
The other picture was much different. It was a headshot, probably taken the last time her church updated the picture directory. She wore a burgundy sweater with a silk flower pinned to it, her silver hair pulled back into a tidy bun. This was an Isabella mellowed by time, her skin etched with lines, her smile content.
Two pictures representing two very different sides of the same woman. Izzy looked from one to the other and shook her head. “I’m just not sure how she’d rather be remembered.”
