I’m so pleased to have Beth Rhodes here today to share her newest book! And it is just perfect for the holiday season.
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If you’re like me, 2020 has been both confusing and invigorating. You can’t believe what life looks like right now. You’re shocked you never left the house for months at a time, except to perhaps make a trip to the store. For certain, you’re wondering why you don’t have five books written!!
Maybe, your priorities have changed…and finding joy and love is more your pace. Maybe the almighty dollar doesn’t seem that big a deal. Maybe writing for the joy of writing—a revelation in years past,—has now been cemented into your soul. And you might never go back to the daily grind of routine tasks and making a buck.
My Christmas story, Christmas in Bethlehem, is like that.
And when I think back on all the books I’ve written, it’s always the ones I’ve done without inhibition that end up being everyone’s favorite.
This story was demanded by a friend, inspired by the Spirit, and given in the name of romance to all of you who are in desperate need of a book that will make you laugh and sigh and smile. Joy.
I hope you find love, peace, and joy this Holiday Season: from Christmas straight through to the New Year.
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Christmas in Bethlehem
by Beth Rhodes
Blurb:
A soldier in the U.S. Army, Roxie St. John is about to end her time in the service. And she expects a Christmas trip to her grandmother’s Christmas Tree Farm is just what she needs to test the waters of living back home. If she can convince Nana to sell and move to town, maybe the feelings of discontent won’t return.
Ben Niklaus grew up as a stowaway on Bethlehem’s tree farm. So when an opportunity arises to buy it outright, he doesn’t waste any time. Having Roxie around only cements his suspicion: he never should have let her go. But love isn’t any easier to decipher now than it was six years ago.
An unexpected visit from two stranded travelers and a new baby make this a Christmas Roxie and Ben will never forget.
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P439ZSJ
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Excerpt:
Prologue
With the whiteout conditions obscuring the windshield view of the road in front of him, Joe Carpenter gently pressed on the brakes as they rolled through one more small town on their way north toward the Canadian border.
His wife slept soundly for the first time in weeks.
Nerves hit his stomach. They had met while he was undercover investigating a human trafficking ring. She worked in the main house close to the boss. Her access to the workings of the organization was access that would eventually place her in danger. He hadn’t trusted her at first, and then he’d dropped his guard and fallen for her because he’d seen she was different.
Her determination to get to know him had made him suspicious. What did she want? How could he help her? Was she looking to expose him?
There were dozens of women being brought into the organization. Some moved to legit jobs. Others were chosen to go dark—Joe’s definition of what happened. The women would just…disappear. One day there’d be twenty women training as if to go on to a secretarial job, and the next day half of them would be gone.
Except for Marie Jude. In his first month there, she was never placed. A red flag.
But then, one day, she came to him in that moment before dawn and tapped on his door.
She’d taken a huge risk and asked him to help two of the women escape.
And his undercover had gone undercover.
“Hey,” Marie whispered from her side of the car. “Everything okay?”
“The roads are treacherous.” He gripped the wheel.
“Should we stop?”
“I don’t think we should. We really need to get miles between us and King.”
She wasn’t a stranger to the tension running through him, though. “We can find a place to hole up. A cheap motel, something. We need to be safe.”
“Safe is getting home,” he gripped the wheel when the car swerved on the ice.
He loved her now. It hadn’t taken long, a few months. He wanted her to be safe. And safe meant getting her back to her family in Canada until the agency could close the case. Then he’d have to go back to fill out reports and testify in court again.
He pulled into a gas station. “Let me get some gas, and we’ll see how far we can go.”
She let out a sigh. “Joe,” she warned.
Joe got out without a word. He had to think. Stopping could put them in danger.
As he pumped the gas, the wind blew at his face, and the snow made visibility close to nil. Even the little shop front of the gas station was hard to see. She was right. Their little Pinto wasn’t going to hold up well in this weather.
When he got in, he turned to her, his love. “We’ll start looking for somewhere to stop. But we need to be careful. You know—”
“I know,” she said. “We’ll stay safe with you guarding us.”
Joe touched her face. “You and me and little Bean. Okay?”
Her trust smothered the doubt, and he nodded, put the car in gear, and headed out to find a place for them to find refuge.
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Author Info:
…she unfollowed the world and found her heart.
Country music Love Junkie. Boxing and low-carb Health Addict. Birdwatcher. Garden Grower. Adorer of God and His son, Jesus. Married to my own soldier Hero. T1D Warrior. Add six children.
www.instagram.com/bethrhodes_99
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Giveaway:
Gift Bag: Books and More!
https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9b7405bf3/
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