Debbie Macomber: Home for the Holidays: The Forgetful Bride / When Christmas Comes

“Debbie Macomber’s gift for understanding the souls of women—their relationships, their values, their lives—is at its peak here.”

—BookPage on Between Friends

“Macomber is known for her honest portrayals of ordinary women in small-town America, and this tale cements her position as an icon of the genre.”

—Publishers Weekly on 16 Lighthouse Road

“As always, Macomber draws rich, engaging characters.”

—Publishers Weekly on Thursdays at Eight

“Macomber is an adept storyteller…many will be entertained by this well-paced story about four women finding happiness and fulfillment through their growing friendship.”

—Publishers Weekly on The Shop on Blossom Street

“Macomber offers a very human look at three women who uproot their lives to follow their true destiny.”

—Booklist on Changing Habits

“An insightful look at relationships through the interaction of four women.”

—Midwest Book Review on Thursdays at Eight

“Ms. Macomber provides the top in entertaining relationship dramas.”

—Reader to Reader

“Macomber's storytelling sometimes yields a tear, at other times a smile.”

—Newport News, VA, Daily Press

“Well-developed emotions and appealing characters.”

—Publishers Weekly on Montana

Christmas 2005

Dear Friends,

I genuinely love Christmas. I love everything about it—the decorations, the baking, the shopping and goodwill toward mankind. My love of the holidays is one reason I’ve written a book centered on Christmas almost every year of my writing career. Home for the Holidays includes two of my favorites: The Forgetful Bride and When Christmas Comes.

The Forgetful Bride is one of my early Christmas stories, written back in 1991. It’s about a woman who meets an old flame over the holidays. Okay, at the time of their “romance” she was only eight and she’d refused to kiss him unless they were married. Now her childhood husband is back—right in the middle of the Christmas season—and insists they’re actually married.

When Christmas Comes tells the story of what happens when two people decide to trade homes over the holidays. Throw a Christmas curmudgeon into a town obsessed with Christmas, add a few neighborhood kids, Santa and his elves—and there’s Christmas fun to be had.

Two stories for the price of one. That’s the kind of deal Christmas shoppers are looking for! My wish is that you’ll be able to relax during the holiday craziness, laugh away the stress and fall in love with life.

P.S. If you enjoyed these stories, please visit my Web site at www.debbiemacomber.com and leave me a message on the Guest Book page. If you aren’t online, I can be reached at P.O. Box 1458, Port Orchard, WA 98366.

THE FORGETFUL BRIDE

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Epilogue

WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES

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

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Epilogue

For Patti Knoll

My witty, charming and talented friend

“N ot unless we’re married.”

Ten-year-old Martin Marshall slapped his hands against his thighs in disgust. “I told you she was going to be unreasonable about this.”

Caitlin watched as her brother’s best friend withdrew a second baseball card from his shirt pocket. If Joseph Rockwell wanted to kiss her, then he was going to have to do it the right way. She might be only eight, but Caitlin knew about these things. Glancing down at the doll held tightly in her arms, she realized instinctively that Barbie wouldn’t approve of kissing a boy unless he married you first.

Martin approached her again. “Joe says he’ll throw in his Don Drysdale baseball card.”

“Not unless we’re married,” she repeated, smoothing the front of her sundress with a haughty air.

“All right, all right, I’ll marry her,” Joe muttered as he stalked across the backyard.

“How you gonna do that?” Martin demanded.

“Get your Bible.”

For someone who wanted to kiss her so badly, Joseph didn’t look very pleased. Caitlin decided to press her luck. “In the fort.”

“The fort?” Joe exploded. “No girls are allowed in there!”

“I refuse to marry a boy who won’t even let me into his fort.”

“Call it off,” Martin demanded. “She’s asking too much.”

“You don’t have to give me the second baseball card,” she said. The idea of being the first girl ever to view their precious fort had a certain appeal. And it meant she’d probably get invited to Betsy McDonald’s birthday party.

The boys exchanged glances and started whispering to each other, but Caitlin heard only snatches of their conversation. Martin clearly wasn’t thrilled with Joseph’s concessions, and he kept shaking his head as though he couldn’t believe his friend might actually go through with this. For her part, Caitlin didn’t know whether to trust Joseph. He liked playing practical jokes and everyone in the neighborhood knew it.

“It’s time to feed my baby,” she announced, preparing to leave.

“All right, all right,” Joseph said with obvious reluctance. “I’ll marry you in the fort. Martin’ll say the words, only you can’t tell anyone about going inside, understand?”

“If you do,” Martin threatened, glaring at his sister, “you’ll be sorry.”

“I won’t tell,” Caitlin promised. It would have to be a secret, but that was fine because she liked keeping secrets.

“You ready?” Joseph demanded. Now that the terms were set, he seemed to be in a rush, which rather annoyed Caitlin. The frown on his face didn’t please her, either. A bridegroom should at least look happy. She was about to say so, but decided not to.

“You’ll have to change clothes, of course. Maybe the suit you wore on Easter Sunday…”

“What?” Joseph shrieked. “I’m not wearing any suit. Listen, Caitlin, you’ve gone about as far as you can with this. I get married exactly the way I am or we call it off.”

She sighed, rolling her eyes expressively. “Oh, all right, but I’ll need to get a few things first.”

“Just hurry up, would you?”

Martin followed her into the house, letting the screen door slam behind him. He took his Bible off the hallway table and rushed back outside.

Caitlin hurried up to her room, where she grabbed a brush to run through her hair and straightened the two pink ribbons tied around her pigtails. She always wore pink ribbons because pink was a color for girls. Boys were supposed to wear blue and brown and boring colors like that. Boys were okay sometimes, but mostly they did disgusting things.