In the midst of a Christmas blizzard: A baby on the doorstep.   It’s taken a long time and a little heartache, but Annie Sutton is finally following her dream of living on Martha’s Vineyard. She fell in love with the island’s singular beauty while using it as a setting for two of her novels. In her cozy rented cottage on Chappaquiddick, she’s settling in for her first Vineyard winter—complete with a fierce nor’easter on the way, forecast to bring high winds and deep snow. But the blizzard also brings something unexpected to Annie’s front porch: a basket, encircled by a ribbon, containing a baby girl. The note reads: “I named her Bella, after my grandmother. Please help her, because I can’t.”   Adopted as a child, Annie is grateful for wonderful parents who raised her as their own. Yet she also hopes to spare little Bella the feelings of abandonment that still haunt her. And so, rather than take the baby to the police, Annie decides to keep her and try to find the birth mother, giving her a chance to change her mind.   But it’s not easy keeping a secret in a close-knit, island community, especially amid the bustle of Christmas. Before the holiday ends, there will be revelations, rekindled hope, and proof that families—the ones we are born into and the ones we claim for ourselves—are the gifts that truly matter . . . Praise for Jean Stone's  A Vineyard Christmas : “Annie Sutton is finally realizing her dream of living on Martha’s Vineyard, when a surprise package is left outside her cottage door….a baby in a basket. The diverse characters, strong setting, and clever mystery surrounding baby Bella brims with holiday cheer readers will relish.”  – Library Journal “A successful novelist finds herself in the middle of a mystery fit for the plot of one of her books in this holiday story…. A Vineyard Christmas  is charming and sincere; Stone's fans will not be disappointed by her newest effort.” -- Booklist Jean Stone is the author of seventeen novels about contemporary women that have been published by Random House and HarperCollins. Her book  Good Little Wives (written under her pen name, Abby Drake) has been optioned for a Lifetime TV movie. From Germany to Japan, over a dozen countries around the world have purchased the subrights to her novels and translated them. In addition, all of her books are available in both print and eBook versions. Jean has taught at a number of writers' conferences and has been a guest lecturer at many colleges and conferences. A native of New England, she lived in Amherst, Massachusetts, for several years; she now resides on Martha's Vineyard. Visit her website: www.jeanstone.com or her blog: www.jeanstonemv.com. A Vineyard Christmas By Jean Stone KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP. Copyright © 2018 Jean Stone All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4967-1662-0 CHAPTER 1 The turnout was better than Annie had expected. It was, after all, a bitter, see-your-breath kind of morning, with a brisk December wind whirling around Vineyard Sound. But sunshine was vibrant against a bright blue sky, painting a perfect backdrop for the evergreens and colorful lights that decked the lampposts along Main Street, the storefronts, the town hall. Around the village, the traditional Christmas in Edgartown celebration was underway: on her walk to the elementary school gymnasium, Annie had witnessed the beloved parade of quick-stepping marching bands; mismatched, decorative pickup trucks; and a Coast Guard lifeboat perched atop a flatbed trailer that carried Santa himself, who waved and shouted "Ho ho ho!" while tossing candy canes into the cheering curbside throngs. The atmosphere inside the gym was equally festive as "Jingle Bells" and "Joy to the World" scratched through the ancient PA system. Browsers and shoppers yakked in high-pitched voices and jostled around one another — many were armed with reusable bags silk-screened with the names of island markets, banks, insurance agents. By day's end, the bags would no doubt bulge with knitted scarves, island jewelry, specialty chocolates, and, hopefully, one or two of Annie's handcrafted soaps. From her station behind a table under a basketball hoop, Annie wore a hesitant smile. The Holiday Crafts Fair had been open less than an hour, but she'd already sold seven bath-sized bars and a three-pack of hand-shaped balls she called "scoops" because each was the size of a scoop of sweet ice cream. Her cash pouch now held fifty-two dollars — not bad for her first endeavor in making boutique soaps by using wildflowers and herbs that grew right there on Martha's Vineyard. But as happy as the earnings made her, Annie mused that fifty-two dollars was hardly a sign she should quit her day job. Then a middle-aged woman in jeans, an old peacoat, and a felt hat with a yellow bird crocheted on the brim approached the table. An islander, Annie knew. A year-rounder, like Annie was now. She'd seen her somewhere in town — the post office, the movies, the li