The Clause in Christmas (A Poppy Creek Novel Book 1) Paperback

Paperbacks are printed and shipped via BookVault. Each book is printed-to-order with great love and care by a staff of friendly bibliophiles.

Due to the bespoke quality, please allow 2-3 weeks from the time of purchase.

We appreciate your patience and hope you love your beautifully printed paperback.

As the car crunched down the narrow gravel lane and approached the clearing at the end, Cassie gasped in spite of herself. The quaint Victorian-style cottage looked like the prettiest girl at the party with her pristine white siding and inviting front porch complete with twin rocking chairs. 


“Don’t get any ideas,” Cassie told the house as she hip-checked the driver’s door shut. “I don’t care how cute you are. I’m still going to sell you to the highest bidder.” 


Cassie popped open the trunk of her blueberry-colored Prius and hauled out her enormous suitcase. As promised, she’d returned to Poppy Creek the morning of December 1, prepared to fulfill her contractual obligations. With any luck, the next twenty-four days would fly by quickly. If the Christmas Calendar didn’t drive her completely crazy first. Already, visions of unsavory sugar plums danced in her head.


Lugging her suitcase up the drive, Cassie tried to ignore the whimsical and endearing details of the house, like the exquisite corbels, intricate gingerbread trim, and stunning bay window with a perfect view of the walnut tree. 


“It’s not going to work,” she insisted. “As soon as I sign the deed, you’re going on the market. Maybe some yuppie couple with two point five kids and a Goldendoodle will buy you.” 


The porch steps creaked in protest as Cassie trudged to the front door where she was greeted by the cheerful, cherry-red paint. And if that wasn’t bad enough, a welcome mat announced There’s No Place Like Home.


“You’re really laying it on thick, aren’t you?” Cassie dug the key out of the small envelope Luke had given her and jammed it into the brass lock. As the front door swung open, her heart plummeted to her stomach. 


The inside of the cottage was even more enticing than the outside. A discovery Cassie found unsettling. Her mother never shared details of her childhood or the home where she grew up. But based on impressions Cassie gleaned—mainly from the haunted expression her mother wore whenever Cassie asked about it—she always pictured the house from Hitchcock’s Psycho. Nothing like what lay before her. 


Stepping into the foyer felt like stepping back in time. Ornate molding, a winding staircase, and a striking open-hearth fireplace taunted Cassie with their perfection. And to make matters worse, everything about the decor invoked a feeling of warmth, coziness, and welcome—from the lush vintage furniture to the homey touches of antique collectibles and bric-a-brac. 


At first glance, Cassie marveled at how her mother could have left a place so charming and idyllic. But, if her track record had taught her anything, Cassie knew things that looked too good to be true usually were. 


As Cassie’s heels clattered across the worn parquet floor, she wondered how many times her mother had traveled the same path, enveloped by similar scents of lemon wood polish and dried lavender. 


Directly off the living room, she found a kitchen so lovely, Betty Crocker herself would have been jealous. And although Cassie barely knew how to boil water, she could almost picture herself baking an apple pie in the 1930s mint-green oven. 


Setting her oversize handbag on the butcher block island, Cassie retrieved her most prized possession: a polished silver French press, lovingly wrapped in a swath of crushed velvet for safe traveling. She placed a portable hand grinder next to it, followed by a bag of Colombian Supremo—a splurge courtesy of her favorite artisan roaster. 


Considering she still had to settle in and start day one of the Christmas Calendar, which had her decorating the entire cottage, inside and out, Cassie would need all the caffeine she could reasonably consume without triggering a heart attack.


Given her experience with the town lawyer, she could only imagine the eccentricity she’d encounter in the doctor’s office. 


At least Cassie could think of one perk of being stuck in Poppy Creek. 


Derek Price would never find her here.

1. The Clause in Christmas
2. The Truth in Tiramisu
3. The Secret in Sandcastles
4. The Meaning in Mistletoe
5. The Faith in Flowers
6. The Whisper in Wind
7. The Hope in Hot Chocolate
8. The Promise in Poppies