A CEDAR COVE CHRISTMAS

Author: Debbie Macomber ISBN: 9780778325918 10/2008 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: MIRA

Mother-to be Mary Jo Wyse arrives in Cedar Cove on Christmas Eve, searching for her baby's father. David Rhodes had said he'd be in town. But he isn't. Which leaves Mary Jo stranded, pregnant and alone. And there's no room at the local inn.... So Grace Harding brings Mary Jo home to her nearby ranch. She and her husband, Cliff, have a houseful of guests but offer her a room over their stable (currently sheltering the animals—a donkey and a camel—for Cedar Cove's Nativity pageant!). When Mary Jo goes into labor that night, a young man named Mark McAfee, a paramedic, comes to her rescue, just as her brothers—the three Wyse men—show up in town. The people of Cedar Cove join them in celebrating the birth of baby Noel. But no one has more to celebrate than Mack. Because this Christmas brings him faith, hope and love....

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Yeah! Another year, another Debbie Macomber holiday tale. A CEDAR COVE CHRISTMAS is mostly set in the small town where Macomber's Cedar Cove series happens, but it's not necessary to have read those stories to enjoy this one.

Mary Jo Wyse was orphaned at seventeen, and her three older brothers have lived with and cared for her ever since. She rebels against their intrusions, working at a company other than theirs and dating behind their backs. All goes awry though, when she meets the wrong man and is first pregnant and then deserted.

Two weeks before her delivery date, she decides to try to hunt down her baby's daddy one last time. He said he was spending the holidays at Cedar Cove, so there she goes, with her brothers in hot pursuit. They know something about her family's birthing history that she doesn't.

A CEDAR COVE CHRISTMAS is a fast read that can be enjoyed on a rare quiet evening during the holiday season. If you need a dose of Christmas spirit, you'll love Macomber's story!

Heather Hiestand