That summer - more than ten years ago, while they were still in high school - Noelle McDowell and Thomas Sutton fell secretly in love. Secretly because their mothers had been locked in a bitter feud for decades. But despite the animosity between Sarah McDowell and Mary Sutton, Noelle planned to elope with Thom. Until he jilted her. This Christmas Noelle McDowell is home to celebrate the holidays with her family. (After all, December 25 is also her...

Archangel Gabriel and his three mischievous Prayer Ambassadors--Shirley, Goodness and Mercy--lend their celestial aid to three needy Christmas cases. Harry Alderwood, 86, prays that his increasingly forgetful wife, Rosalie, will agree to move into assisted living before he dies. Meanwhile, nine-year-old Carter Jackson begs God for a dog, even though his mother and father tell him that they can't afford to keep a pet, while Beth Fischer's mother prays...

Emma Collins has always believed that the world is divided into two kinds of people: those who love fruitcake and those who don't. She's firmly in the second category, so it's ironic that her first major assignment for the Puyallup, Washington, Examiner is a series of articles about...fruitcake. At least it's a step up from writing obituaries.

Her task is to interview the finalists in a fruitcake recipe contest, and that means

...

Ashley Davison, a graduate student in California, desperately wants to spend the holidays with her family in Seattle. Dashiell Tyler, a former army intelligence officer, receives a job in Seattle and must arrive by December 23. Though frantic to book a last-minute flight out of San Francisco, both are out of luck: Every flight is full, and there's only one rental car available. Ashley and Dash reluctantly decide to share the car, but neither anticipates...

Lindy Carmichael isn't feeling particularly joyful when she returns home to Wenatchee, Washington, for Christmas. The man she thought was 'the one' has cheated on her with her best friend and she feels completely devoid of creativity in her graphic-design job. Not even carollers or Christmas cookies can cheer her up - but Lindy's mother, Ellen, remembers an old tradition that might lift her daughter's spirits. Reading through a box of childhood letters...

After a comedy of errors on Christmas Eve, a five-month pregnant woman, traveling to Cedar Cove to search for her child's father--who doesn't know she's pregnant--finds herself lodging in an apartment above a barn. The residents of Cedar Grove come to her rescue as an early labor begins.

"As the holiday season begins, Laurel McCullough could use some good news. She and her husband, Zach, have been praying for a baby that seems more and more like an impossible dream, and they've had to move in with her beloved grandmother, Helen, who's having trouble taking care of herself. But when Laurel contacts a local home-care organization for help, there are no caregivers available. Then Mrs. Miracle appears at the door. No stranger to lending...

While flying around the state of Washington covering a fruitcake contest, newspaper reporter Emma Collins discovers that her pilot, Oliver Hamilton, could be the love of her life; and, on Christmas Eve, Maryanne and Nolan Adams tell their children how they met and fell in love.