Aw, Christmas in Darling VT, visions of sugar plums,
fairies, decorated homes and of course the kissing bridge.
One mention of that and all sorts of memories assault your
brain and great ones of past books featuring characters that
conquer up smiles. So its holiday time in DECK THE HALLS and
Donna Award is ready to tackle the awesome task of spreading
the seasonal joy. This time to George Reilly.
Laurel and Aiden Gallagher had befriended this lost soul.
George, a veteran of the Iraq war, battled all sorts of
mental and emotional trauma. And he needed help, deserved
help, but of course, he wasn't actively searching for any.
George was well practiced in the art of running. It's an
issue of guilt and being deserving of any kind of assistance
or friendship.
In the past six months George's life had begun to develop a
shape coarsely resembling normalcy. He had a job, a place to
live, no longer on the streets or shelters, and some limited
VA counseling to help him face the nightmares that still had
the ability to haunt him. Albeit less and less now but ever
present in his mind. Guilt and lack of resources stymied
George's access to any real help. But after picking himself
out of the gutter George was on the right track even though
he fully realized the lack of potential.
And now those floodgates are in danger of reopening by the
totally unexpected and uninvited visit by Amy Merck, Ian's
twin sister. To this day George carries around the guilt of
failing to keep his promises to Ian's wonderful family to
have their son's back and most important bring him home
safe and sound. But the war in Iraq cut short Ian's life
and broke the Merck family's heart. George never went back
to their home in Brooklyn, he couldn't face them. He had
failed miserably and there would never again be a place in
that family for him.
George Reilly was a product of the foster child system. It
didn't work out well for him and joining the service was
his best and perhaps only option. It gave him a sense of
belonging, perhaps a unique family of men, and most
important was his friendship with Ian. Ian introduced him to
the Merck family and they treated him like family. The loss
of this connection was life altering to the man who had so
very little during his life. Feeling like he didn't deserve
any better was his personal indictment and led to the
nomadic existence that plagued George once he left the service.
Somehow George wound up in Darling VT where some very
special people took note. And with the help and caring of
those people the George that Amy found in Darling had
already begun this voyage to recovery. But he needed so much
more. Amy was surprised that she still felt such a
connection to this man after all these years. Life had some
disappointments for Amy along the way. In many ways she felt
alone even with a good career, friends, busy life and of
course her parents. There was something 'real' missing. Amy
could immediately see what had kept George in Darling. The
streets practically hummed with good spirits and caring.
With only two weeks to get tidbits of Ian's life in the
service, facts surrounding his death and perhaps a measure
of closure for her family Amy knew she had to get through
the armor George had stealthily constructed around his life,
his heart. Just two weeks. Such a short amount of time and
yet Amy could see that George responded to her in much the
same way she did him. They still liked each other, cared
about each other. There just might be a pathway to
friendship and dare she hope perhaps more.
Ever read the authors notes at the back of a book, I always
do. And it came as no surprise that Donna Award and I have
very similar tastes. Like me, Donna Award cut her romance
novel teeth on authors like LaVyrle Spencer, Judith
McNaught, and Nora Roberts. Like these three authors Donna
Award concentrates on character development, more flawed the
better. DECK THE HALLS is part of the Darling
series and is about second chances. Each book in
this series has been a delight and DECK THE HALLS is just
carrying on a wondrous tradition.
With shades of It’s a Wonderful Life, one man must face his past to find his future this Christmas.
In the last year, George's life has drastically changed. The formerly homeless veteran now has a job he likes, a family in the residents of Darling, VT, and for the first time in years, a home. But while his present is good, he's still haunted by the past, a past that appears shortly before Christmas when the older sister of his brother-in-arms hunts him down and finds him in Darling, working at the Ladybug Garden Center.
Amy’s looking for closure for her family after her brother's death in the Middle East, but the serious man she finds working in Vermont doesn’t resemble the soldier she remembers from years before. This man is hardened and yet somehow fragile, too, and in her desire to find out what really happened to her brother, she learns more about George than she ever expected.
With a little Christmas magic and the whole town supporting them, can these two bruised hearts make a future together?
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