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WELCOME TO TYLER-EVERYONE’S HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
Christmas is coming to Tyler. Share a cup of eggnog and the warm holiday cheer of America’s favorite hometown.
THE CARPENTER AND THE CELEBRITY
Joe Santori, Tyler’s resident contractor, is loud, cocky and filled with a zest for living. So what on earth is he doing pursuing Susannah Atkins, the workaholic Milwaukee TV personality who’s home for the holidays?
THE ODDS ARE AGAINST IT—OR ARE THEY?
Susannah’s certainly convinced they have nothing in common. But her Granny Rose has other ideas. She wants Susannah back in Tyler permanently—with Joe. And what Granny Rose wants, she usually gets.
Previously Published.
“I’m not sure that’s true.”
“How can you deny it?” Joe asked, incredulous. “She’s over eighty years old. She’s not going to live forever.”
“Of course not,” Susannah snapped. ”But I can’t step in and take over her life. I have no right to march in here and boss her around!”
“To save her life, you have the right to do a lot of things.”
“I don’t feel that way,” Susannah said staunchly, wondering how she could have imagined Joe Santori was an attractive man. “My grandmother’s life is hers to live, not mine.”
“I suppose we should be grateful for small favors,” Joe muttered. “Your grandmother is obviously living a full and happy life, while you’re only worried about catching your flight to the Caribbean. It beats me how you ended up in the same family!”
“It beats me how you ended up in the human race. You’re obviously a superior being—in your own mind at least!” She stormed up the stairs.
Dear Reader,
Welcome to Mills & Boon’s Tyler, a small Wisconsin town whose citizens we hope you’ll soon come to know and love. Like many of the innovative publishing concepts Mills & Boon has launched over the years, the idea for the Tyler series originated in response to our readers’ preferences. Your enthusiasm for sequels and continuing characters within many of the Mills & Boon lines has prompted us to create a twelve-book series of individual romances whose characters’ lives inevitably intertwine.
Tyler faces many challenges typical of small towns, but the fabric of this fictional community will be torn by the revelation of a long-ago murder, the details of which will evolve right through the series.
Big changes are afoot at the old Timberlake resort lodge, which has attracted the attention of a prominent Chicago hotelier, a man with a personal interest in showing Tyler folks his financial clout and a private objective in reclaiming the love of a town resident he romanced long ago.
Marge is waiting with some home-baked pie at her diner, and policeman Brick Bauer might direct you down Elm Street if it’s patriarch Judson Ingalls you’re after. Even television personality Susannah Atkins knows she can find everything she needs at Gates Department Store. She’ll probably stop in when she makes an unscheduled stop in Tyler to check up on her Granny Rose. So join us in Tyler, once a month, for the next nine months, for a slice of small-town life that’s not as innocent or as quiet as you might expect, and for a sense of community that will capture your mind and your heart.
Marsha Zinberg
Editorial Coordinator, Tyler
Monkey Wrench
Nancy Martin
www.millsandboon.co.uk
Special thanks and acknowledgment to Nancy Martin for her contribution to the Tyler series.
Special thanks and acknowledgment to Joanna Kosloff for her contribution to the concept for the Tyler series.
CONTENTS
Cover
Back Cover Text
Dear Reader
Title Page
Acknowledgments
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Copyright
CHAPTER ONE
“THAT’S A WRAP!” the director called. “Have a merry Christmas, everybody!”
Susannah Atkins blew a sigh of relief and stepped out of the spotlight that brilliantly illuminated the kitchen set of “Oh, Susannah!,” the daytime household-hints program that was her claim to fame. Untying the strings of her apron, she draped it around the neck of her favorite cameraman, Rafael, and playfully tugged him close.
“Thanks for rescuing me when I missed my cue. And happy holidays, Rafe.”
“Same to you, superstar.”
Susannah laughed and gave the young man a kiss on his bearded cheek. Around them, the rest of the crew and production staff of “Oh, Susannah!” were calling cheery farewells and “see you next years” to each other. It was a pleasant sight. After six exciting years of working together, the team had become a close-knit family, not one of those squabbling gangs Susannah heard horror stories about when she visited other stations. Everyone connected with “Oh, Susannah!” was genuinely fond of the others, and Susannah felt a swell of pride at the thought. A relaxed and professional attitude of the star sometimes made all the difference.
The show’s burly director, Pete Willard, made a detour around a camera to say goodbye to Susannah personally. “That was a good show, Suz,” he said, pushing his glasses onto the top of his slightly balding head—a sure sign he was finished working for the day. He pinched the bridge of his nose to alleviate his chronic headache. “You headed someplace exciting for the holidays?” It was almost two weeks before Christmas. Somehow the taping schedule had worked out so that Susannah had nearly three full weeks of glorious free time before she had to be back at work.
Susannah grinned and began to rub the director’s tense shoulders—the best way she knew to ease Pete’s stress. “The Caribbean. I can hardly wait. We’ve got a condo right on the ocean.”
The director groaned as she rubbed. “Sounds wonderful. I’d give my right arm to get out of Wisconsin this winter, but the kids...well, they think it’s not Christmas without snow.”
“I hear Santa visits beach houses, too.”
“Yeah, well, tell that to my two-year-old! You don’t know how lucky you are not having any kids, Susannah.”
She kept her smile in place and released his neck. “I’ll think of you on Christmas Eve when I’m dancing to steel drums—”
“And I’ll be putting together that damned dollhouse I bought for my Jennifer. Ah, that feels great. You’re the best masseuse I know, Susannah. Must be that Swedish ancestry of yours.” Pete looked far from dismayed at the prospect of spending his holiday piecing together a toy for his child. He patted Susannah’s arm and said, “Have a great time. Just don’t get sunburned! We’ll need that pretty face of yours back in front of the camera on January second!”
“I’ll be here,” Susannah called over her shoulder, half wishing she could be worrying about something other than her face this Christmas.
But she banished the thought quickly and waded into the studio audience—her faithful fans.
The audience always waited patiently for their favorite local star after the show taping. And Susannah had been careful from the beginning not to play the prima donna. Even in a city the size of Milwaukee, it never hurt to hang on to those small-town values that her public seemed to appreciate most. Susannah signed autographs and allowed her picture to be taken a dozen times.
“Miss? Susannah?” An elderly man tugged at her sleeve. “I really got a kick out of your pumpkin pie recipe. Who else but you would have thought of adding summer squash and pecans? You ought to write a book!”
“Oh, it’s just an old family recipe of mine. I enjoyed the chance to share it.”
“Would you mind signing my program?” he asked flirtatiously. “I want to prove to the guys at the bowling alley that I really talked to you.”
“For a pumpkin pie lover, anything! How shall I write the inscription?”
“To Hank,” coached the old man, leaning close. “What a hunk. With love, Susannah.”
Susannah cheerfully obeyed. She liked the relaxed and genuine affection of her fans. It made up for a lot of things—things Susannah tried not to think about. After half an hour, she finally tore herself away and headed for her office, a small, unpretentious cubicle tucked at the end of a narrow corridor near the studio.
In the office, which was jammed with so many books and gadgets it looked like the lair of a mad wizard, stood Susannah’s young secretary, Josie. Nearly six feet tall in her flat shoes and always dressed to the nines, glamorous Josie looked more like an up-and-coming television star than Susannah, who left her clothing choices to the studio wardrobe department and wore jeans in her off hours. Josie always looked elegant despite her youth. Susannah, on the other hand, looked elegant only when somebody else dressed her. Otherwise, she preferred to use her energy on more creative endeavors.
Despite their differences in personal style, Josie and Susannah were a perfect team. With a schedule as hectic as Susannah’s was, she needed a good secretary more than she needed anything else. And Josie was worth her weight in gold. Her limitless energy had often saved Susannah when her own resources got low. With the telephone receiver pinned to her ear as Susannah pushed through the door, Josie was saying sweetly, “I’m sorry, sir, Miss Atkins is still taping a show in the studio. I can’t interrupt.”
Susannah mouthed, “Who is it?”
Josie shrugged elaborately and said into the phone, “I’m sorry, sir, but unless it’s an emergency, I can’t...yes, yes. All right, I’ll double-check. I’ll put you on hold for a minute, all right?”
Susannah was also thankful that Josie was unbelievably organized—a quality Susannah herself lacked almost entirely. And Josie took inordinate pride in her ability to fend off the hundreds of hopeful male viewers who called the station every week on the chance of getting in touch with “Oh, Susannah!” herself. The young black woman had turned the gentle letdown into an art form.
“Who is it this time?” Susannah asked, sliding into the comfortable swivel chair behind her antique desk. “Another senator who wants to meet me for lunch, like yesterday? Or someone trying to sell his mother’s recipe for goulash?”
“Neither,” Josie said, lighting a cigarette one-handed, obviously in no rush to get back to the caller waiting on the other end of the line. “He’s a nobody. But he’s got a voice that makes my blood tingle.” She blew smoke and waggled her dark eyebrows lasciviously. “You know, the low and rumbly kind, a cross between Darth Vader and...oh, somebody sexy. Kevin Kline, maybe. Trouble is, the ones with great voices always turn out to be four feet tall with overbearing mothers.”
“Josie!” Susannah laughed and kicked off her shoes. She put her stocking feet on the desk, noting lackadaisically that she had a run in her panty hose already, and leaned back in her chair to relax. “Do you mean to say you actually meet some of the men who call for me?”
Josie sniffed aloofly. “In the interest of science, that’s all. Somebody ought to do a study on guys who call television stations. It might as well be me. One of the perks of my job is getting your castoffs. It’s in my contract.”
“Yeah, right. I think my contract says I can’t date men who call here.”
“You don’t date anybody, honey,” Josie remarked. “’Cept old Roger, and he hardly counts.”
“What’s wrong with Roger?”
Josie shrugged. “Too nice.”
“Too nice?”
With a grin, Josie tapped cigarette ash into a seashell sitting on the desk. “You deserve more excitement. Want me to line up an appointment with this guy?” She wiggled the receiver. “Maybe his face matches his voice.”
“I doubt it. Better get rid of him.”
“Chicken. But you’re the boss.” Josie punched the hold button with one of her long, enameled fingernails. “Hello? Still there, sir? Good. Look, I’m sorry, but I can’t seem to locate Miss Atkins at the moment. I could...yes, I can take your name.”
Susannah closed her eyes and listened with only half an ear while Josie reached for a pad and pencil from her desk and began scribbling. “Will you spell that for me, please? S-A-N-T-O-R-I. Yes, I got it. Now, can I ask what this is in reference to, Mr. Santori? Who? From Tyler?”
Susannah sat up straight. “Tyler?”
Josie’s gaze met Susannah’s, communicating a new message altogether, and she said into the telephone, “Yes, I know Tyler is Miss Atkins’s hometown. Who? Oh, you mean Miss Atkins’s grandmother? Is something wrong?”
Susannah didn’t waste another instant. She reached for the receiver and took it from Josie’s hand. “Hello?” she said briskly as soon as she clamped it to her ear. “This is Susannah Atkins. Is my grandmother all right?”
A wonderfully melodic male voice said, “I thought you couldn’t come to the phone.”
“I’m here now. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” he said soothingly. “I’m butting in, that’s all. I think you ought to come home for Christmas.”
“Home? Why? Is my grandmother ill? Or—”
“Take it easy. She’s not sick. At least, not yet.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Susannah found she could hardly breathe. Her grandmother was the most important person in her life, and the thought of Rose sick or in trouble was horrifying. Susannah’s hand clutched the receiver with a clammy grip. “Please tell me what’s wrong.”
“Look, I don’t want you to get all upset, Miss Atkins, okay? Your grandmother’s not sick—at least she claims she isn’t. But...well, in my opinion, she hasn’t been up to snuff lately.”
“Oh, dear heaven.”
“It’s not bad,” the man assured her. “But she’s disappointed that you’re not coming home for the holidays, and I...well, I don’t believe she’s feeling as good as she pretends. I got to thinking—if it was me, I’d want somebody to call before I went away on a trip. And I’d want to check for myself. You’re going to a beach, I hear.”
Susannah frowned and tried to control her emotions. “My plane leaves tomorrow. I was going to see her when I got back, but—”
“Do you have time to drive out here this afternoon? You could take a look at her yourself before you go.”
“Let me check my book.”
“Your book?”
Most people did not understand Susannah’s total reliance on the small, leather-bound datebook she kept within reach at every waking moment. With her many appointments and her busy work schedule, Susannah’s life was very complicated. She had many obligations and responsibilities. What made things worse was her mental weakness concerning dates and times. Though talented in a hundred different ways, she absolutely could not keep her life on track without writing down every detail. Fortunately, Josie kept a duplicate book so that, between the two of them, Susannah ran on schedule.
But the man said peevishly, “You can’t squeeze in a couple of hours for your own grandmother?”
“Of course I can,” she retorted. But there were things to juggle, no doubt—like a public appearance at a department store that Susannah had promised to make that very afternoon. As she flipped open her datebook, her eye fell on the appointment at once.
Josie was checking her version of Susannah’s schedule, too. In an undertone, she said, “I’ll cancel the department store, if you want.”
“They’ll understand a family emergency.”
“But listen,” Josie said. “The store’s on your way to Tyler. Why not drop in, make the appearance a short one and buy yourself that bathing suit you need for your trip?”
“I’m not sure,” Susannah murmured uneasily.
“You could be in and out of the store in twenty minutes. I’ll go along and make sure it goes smoothly.”
“I really must get a bathing suit.”
“May I suggest a bikini?” said the dry male voice in her ear. “In pink, maybe.”
Susannah had forgotten that her voice was audible to her caller, but he probably hadn’t heard Josie’s side of the conversation. “Oh, sorry—”
“You look good in pink,” he continued sarcastically. “A pink bikini sounds like the perfect choice. It’ll make you forget all about your grandmother, I’m sure. Sorry to have bothered you, Miss—”
“Wait! That’s not it at all. I’m just checking my schedule. Of course I’ll come. I just have to make a quick stop along the way, that’s all.”
“For the bikini. All right, go ahead.” Tartly, he added, “The right bathing suit might do you a world of good, in fact.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“A lady as straitlaced as you seem on television—a lady who has to check her book before she goes home for a visit—well, that’s a lady who needs loosening up, I’d say. Get a hotpink bikini, Miss Atkins.”
He was probably right, Susannah thought. Maybe her life was pretty strict, and she had allowed herself to forget the things that were truly important—like grandmothers and bathing suits. She found herself nodding in agreement.
Besides, it was hard not to be seduced by that marvelous voice. Glad he couldn’t see her smile, Susannah said, “I’m hardly the bikini type.”
“Who says so?”
“I say so.”
“That’s too bad.” There was a slight pause, during which he must have decided he’d flown off the handle. His voice dropped another half octave and on that new note he said, “Maybe you ought to try something out of character for once.”
“I like my character the way it is.”
“An occasional change can be healthy. Buy a bikini and see what happens.”
Susannah couldn’t hold back her laugh. “Are you always so free with your advice?”
He laughed, too, and the tension eased. “When it’s needed. And I think it’s definitely needed in this case. I’ll tell your grandmother that you’re coming today, all right?”
“Fine.” Susannah hesitated, then impulsively asked, “Who are you, anyway? A friend of my grandmother?”
“Yep,” said the voice. “I’m Joe Santori.”
“Well, I’m warning you, Joe Santori. My grandmother is going to be mad at you. She doesn’t like people interfering.”
“I can take it,” he replied with a laugh.
He hung up without another word, leaving Susannah to stare, smiling, at the humming receiver. For a friend of her grandmother, he sounded very young indeed. Maybe he was one of those little old fellows who hung around Tyler’s retirement home. She frowned again, trying to place his name. Was Joe Santori one of the old coots who played gin rummy every day at the hardware store? Or one of the gentlemen who sang in the church choir?
He didn’t sound like an old man. Far from it. With that low, sexy voice, he could be—
“Well?” asked Josie, interrupting Susannah’s runaway thoughts. “Who was he?”
“I haven’t the faintest idea,” Susannah replied, cradling the phone. “But I’m going to find out.”
* * *
THE DEPARTMENT STORE was mobbed with Christmas shoppers, but Susannah and Josie managed to slip into the resort-wear section for a swimsuit before making Susannah’s quick appearance in the kitchen appliances, where she had promised to demonstrate a new brand of food processor. She apologized to the store manager for cutting her stay short, but the woman was completely understanding.
“I look after my grandparents, too,” she said sympathetically. “Sometimes I have to drop everything to take them to the doctor’s office or to the grocery store. It’s exasperating, but I wouldn’t trade them for any promotion in the world.”
“Thanks,” Susannah said, relieved that she’d found a human being to deal with. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
The manager smiled. “I’ll hold you to that! Our customers love ‘Oh, Susannah!”’
Josie took the manager aside to schedule another appearance, and Susannah began her presentation. It was fun and lighthearted, and she even managed to sell a few food processors to people who had gathered around the demonstration table to watch her chop, grind and puree.
Then Josie stepped in and broke up the event, making apologies on Susannah’s behalf and hurrying her out of the store.
“You know how to get home to Tyler, right?” Josie asked, bundling her into her car in the parking lot. “You want me to follow you as far as the interstate?”
“I may be an organizational cripple,” Susannah shot back cheerfully, “but I can find my way home.”
“Okay. Then you’ll come back early tomorrow, right? You need time to finish packing for your trip. I’ll phone Roger to tell him what’s happening.”
“Thanks. What would I do without you, Josie?”
“You’d be a dismal failure, I’m sure,” Josie said with a grin, kissing Susannah’s cheek as they hugged. “Either that, or you’d be a network star making millions. Maybe I’m just holding you back.”
“You’re holding me together. Someday it will be your turn, you know.”
“I can’t wait. One more thing. You’ll need this.” Josie handed over the small suitcase she insisted Susannah always keep ready in her office, packed with a few essentials and a change of clothes. “Don’t go off to Tyler unprepared.”
“Oh, Josie, you’re a lifesaver. And I appreciate it more than you can imagine. Give Marlon a smooch for me.”
Marlon was Josie’s temperamental cat. Josie laughed. They parted then, with Josie turning her car back to the city and Susannah heading west.
The drive to Tyler normally took more than an hour, but Susannah lost track of time and was surprised to find the sunlight slanting over the horizon when she finally pulled her station wagon into the town limits of Tyler, Wisconsin.
Tyler looked as pretty as a Christmas card, covered with snow that sparkled in the last flicker of afternoon light. Picturesque trails of smoke wisped from the chimneys of the neatly kept houses on Elm Street. The steeple of the Methodist Church pointed heavenward from a thatch of spruce trees, with snowflakes settling gently on the fluffy green branches.
Susannah’s chest felt tight as she drew up to the curb in front of the tall Victorian house on the corner of Elm and Third streets. No matter how many years had passed since she’d left her hometown for college, she always got a pang of pleasure when she returned.
Pleasure mixed with regret. Susannah often thought of Tyler as the life she’d left behind. The lovely town was quiet, yet full of good people who lived rich, full lives. Tyler had a lot to offer. But, even though she visited occasionally, Susannah had turned her back on it somewhere along the line. She had never meant to abandon her roots so completely. Sometimes a hot career in the big city paled by comparison.
Her grandmother’s house, with its gracefully curving front porch, its scalloped trim and its twin turrets, looked as welcoming as ever. Susannah knew every nook and cranny in the house, having lived with her grandmother after the deaths of her parents. Nothing had changed, as far as Susannah could see. It was comforting to know that life stayed the same in Tyler.
When she opened the car door, she could hear the soft croon of Bing Crosby singing Christmas carols from the loudspeakers in front of Gates Department Store, just a few blocks away. Across the street, Mr. Connelly was stringing colored lights in his shrubbery while his two small children watched, bundled in identical yellow snowsuits with pompoms on their hats. The children looked away from their father long enough to give Susannah happy waves of greeting.