Home is where the love is. Especially at Christmas!
Commander Jonas Scott got through a tough deployment by thinking about his family home on Whidbey Island. The same home his deceased stepmother, Dottie, had promised him. His Navy homecoming turns sour when he discovers that Dottie left his house to a stranger named Serena Delgadoâ¦.
Serena, an Army widow with a young son, is fixing up her house. But as Christmas approaches and she gets to know Jonas, Dottieâs plan becomes clear. It wasnât about fixing up the house, it was about fixing up Serena and Jonas!
This was the woman Dottie had given his house to.
Serena had ruined his homecomingâand his Christmas. Jonas couldnât forget that. But he didnât like the tired lines under her eyes. He disliked even more that he cared about her exhaustion at all.
Best stick to the basics. âID?â
She handed over her military ID card and her sonâs.
Jonasâs fingers flew over the keyboard as he automatically typed in the last name, the active-duty sponsorâs social security numberâ
His hands stilled.
Delgado, Philip. Gunnery Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps. Deceased.
He knew Serena was a war widow. That she had a son. But to read it, in black and white, made him wish he could have been there and been the one to save her husband. Anything to take the sorrow from her eyes.
He glanced over at her. Her gaze was intent on her son, and Jonas waited for her to look back at him. When she did, he saw the cold edge of distrust on her face.
His mind kept going over his last conversation with Dottie.
âYouâll love Serena. Itâs as though sheâs always been here.â
Dear Reader,
I was delighted when Mills & Boon Superromance asked me to include another World War II subplot for Navy Christmas, much as I did with my very first book, A Rendezvous to Remember. In Navy Christmas, we meet Dottie Forsythâs parents and find out how her family settled on Whidbey Island over a century ago. Dottie isnât even in the contemporary storyâsheâs already passed on. But as the story between her stepson, Jonas, and niece, Serena, progresses, it becomes certain that Dottie had a hunch theyâd make a good pair. Because of reservations on both their parts, it takes them a while to acknowledge their romantic feelings for each other. Serena is a war widow and not looking for a new father for her six-year-old son. Jonas is fresh back from deployment and still smarting over Dottieâs amendment to her willâleaving Serena the family house instead of Jonas, as sheâd once promised.
Serena discovers, along with the reader, the history of Dottieâs parents, which includes her fatherâs service as a Flying Tiger in World War II.
When the opportunity arose to donate to a fundraiser for the National League of POW/MIA Families (www.pow-miafamilies.org), my editor suggested I donate a characterâs name for Navy Christmas. The successful event found Dawn Dempsey as the winner. Dawn graciously gave the name of her grandfather, Charles G. Dempsey, for a World War II sailor. Charles served in the navy during WWII and in the Pacific theater. You can find out more about him on my website (and on the following pages!). While my characterization of Charles is fictional, I used details of his life that Dawn provided to make the character authentic. I hope I did his memory, and Dawnâs family, proud.
If you like reading about Whidbey Island during Christmas, donât miss Navy Joy, a novella in the anthology Coming Home for Christmas, which also has stories by sister veterans Lindsay McKenna and Delores Fossen. Itâs out this month, too.
I love hearing from youâplease reach me via my website, www.gerikrotow.com, Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. Donât forget to sign up for my newsletter and be automatically entered into the Geri Krotow Loyal Reader program, where you have a chance at winning a signed book each month.
I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas, and may the peace of the season find you wherever you are, whatever your walk.
Peace,
Geri Krotow