Smitten is an anthology about friends written by real life friends Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt and Denise Hunter.
Synopsis
Four
friends devise a plan to turn Smitten, Vermont, into the country's
premier romantic getaway-and each finds her own true love along the way.
With Smitten Lumber closing, residents wonder if their town can stay
afloat. Then four friends and local business owners-Natalie, Julia,
Shelby, and Reese--decide the town is worth saving. How will they do it?
They'll turn Smitten into a honeymoon destination! As Natalie, Julia,
Shelby, and Reese work to save the town, each discovers romance in her
own life. Meanwhile, the faith of a little child reminds the whole town
what it means to have real faith in the God who is the always and
forever Love.
Natalie
By
Colleen Coble
The
aroma of the freshly brewed coffee overpowered the less appetizing
smell from the drum roaster in the back room. Natalie let her employee
Zoe handle the customers at the bar and took the hot beverages to the
seating area by the window where she and her friends could see
white-topped Sugarcreek Mountain. Spring had come to their part of
Vermont, and the sight of the wildflowers on the lower slopes would give
her strength.
"So what are we going to do?" she asked, sinking onto the overstuffed leather sofa beside Reese Mackenzie.
"Do? What can
we do?" Reese asked. Her blond ponytail gleamed in the shaft of
sunlight through the window. She was the practical one in the group.
Reese was never afraid of hard work, but while Natalie saw only the end
goal, Reese saw the pitfalls right on the path. "We can't make them keep the mill open."
While
rumors about the mill had been floating for months, no one had really
believed it would fold. The ramifications would be enormous. Natalie's
business had been struggling enough without this added blow.
She
took a sip of her mocha java. A little bitter. She'd have to tweak the
roast a bit next time. "If the mill closes, the town will dry up and
blow away. We can't let that happen." If Mountain Perks closed, she
didn't know how she would provide for Mia.
And
she wasn't leaving Smitten. Not ever. After being yanked from pillar to
post with an alcoholic mother until she was ten, Natalie craved the
stability she had found here with her aunts and her friends.
Julia
Bourne tossed her long hair away from her face to reveal flawless skin
that never needed makeup. "This is one of those things outside your
control, Nat. I'd guess we'd all better be looking for jobs in Stowe."
Shelby
Evans took a sip of her tea and shivered. Her Shih-poo, Penelope,
dressed in a fashionable blue-and-white polka dotted shirt, turned
around in Shelby's lap and lay down on her navy slacks. "I don't know
about you all," Shelby said, "but I wanted my kids to grow up here."
The
women had no children of their own—and none of them was even close to
thinking about settling down—but that was a moot point for Shelby. She
had a storybook ending in mind that included a loving husband and
two-point-five children for each of them. Natalie was sure her friend
would find that life too.
Natalie
moved restlessly. "There has to be something we can do. Some new
export. Maple syrup, maybe? We have lots of trees." She glanced at
Julia. "What about your New York friends? Maybe you could ask some of
your business friends for advice?"
Julia shrugged her slim shoulders. "They know spas. I hardly think a spa is going to save us."
Reese
had those thoughtful lines on her forehead. A tiny smile hovered on her
full lips, and her hazel eyes showed a plan was forming. "We don't have
time for exports, but what about imports? Tourists would love us if
they'd come visit. We have heart." She took out her ever-present
notebook and pen and began to jot down ideas.
"They come to ski in Stowe anyway," Shelby said. "All we have to do is get them here."
Natalie rubbed her forehead where it had begun to ache. "But what do we have to offer that's different from any other town?"
Julia
crossed her shapely ankles. "Smitten is cute with its church and all,
but cute doesn't bring tourists. I can't even get a decent manicure in
this dinky town. People aren't going to pay for ambiance. We need some
kind of gimmick."
Reese
tapped her pen against her chin. "I have an idea," she said. "Everyone
jokes about the town name. Why not capitalize on it?"
"How do you capitalize on a name like Smitten?"
"What does Smitten make you think of?" Reese asked. "Love, right? What if we turn the town into a place for honeymooners?"
Julia
snickered and nodded toward the man striding past outside the window.
"I have a feeling Carson would have something to say about that. He
hated all the jokes about his name in high school."
Natalie
followed the angle of Julia's nod. Her gut clenched the way it always
did when she saw Carson Smitten. He was a man who attracted female
attention wherever he went. He looked like his lumberjack
great-grandfather, with his broad shoulders and closely- cropped dark
hair.
Natalie
dug a paper and pen from her purse, a Brighton that Julia had given her
for her last birthday. "There needs to be a cohesive plan. What would
this love town look like? Besides romantic songs playing over speakers
around town."
"The honeymooners won't spend all
their time in their rooms," Reese said, her eyes gleaming. "We offer
great outdoor activities. The skiing here is as good as anywhere in the
country. People just don't know about us." She gestured toward the
mountain. "And look at that view."
This
was not going to be an easy sell to Carson Smitten. Natalie stared out
the window again and watched the man yank on the door to his hardware
store in his usual confident way. She had no doubt she could convince
the rest of the town over his objections. After all, what did they have
to lose?
Excerpt © Colleen Coble, 2011. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Available at bookstores everywhere. You can purchase online at http://www.amazon.com/Smitten-Colleen-Coble/dp/1401684947/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323797829&sr=1-1
Or from CBD at http://www.christianbook.com/smitten-colleen-coble/9781401684945/pd/684945?item_code=WW&netp_id=898031&event=ESRCG&view=details
No comments:
Post a Comment