CHRISTMAS COMES WRAPPED IN DANGER… Holiday Hero by Shirlee McCoy Emma Fairchild never expected to find trouble in sleepy Sagebrush, Texas. But when she’s attacked and left for dead in her own diner, her childhood friend turned K-9 cop Lucas Harwood offers a chance at justice and love. Rescuing Christmas by Terri Reed She escaped a kidnapper, but now a killer has set his sights on K-9 dog trainer Lily Anderson. When fellow officer Jarrod Evans appoints himself her bodyguard, Lily knows more than her life is at risk so is her heart. Texas K-9 Unit: These lawmen solve the toughest cases with the help of their brave canine partners Aside from her faith and her family, there’s not much Shirlee McCoy enjoys more than a good book! When she’s not hanging out with the people she loves most, she can be found plotting her next Love Inspired Suspense story or trekking through the wilderness, training with a local search-and-rescue team. Shirlee loves to hear from readers. If you have time, drop her a line at shirleermccoy@hotmail.com. Terri Reed writes heart-warming romance and heart-pounding suspense. Her books have appeared on The New York Times Bestseller list, Publisher's Weekly Bestseller List, Nielsen's Bookscan top fifty, Amazon Bestseller List and have been featured in USA Today. When not writing, she can be found doing agility with her dog or digging in her garden. You can visit her online at www.terrireed.com, sign up for her newsletter for exclusive content, or email her at terrireedauthor@terrireed.com "Deck the halls with boughs of holly. Fa-la-la-la. La-la-la-la-laaaaaa," Emma Fairchild sang as she dipped a roller into a paint pan and swiped it over the walls of her newest project. Arianna's Diner. Soon to be Mrs. Daphne's Diner. Named for Emma's great-aunt, Bea Daphne. "'Tis the season to be jolly," she continued even though she wasn't at all jolly. For Bea's sake, she'd been faking happiness for the past two months. She thought she'd been doing a pretty good job of it. But with Christmas approaching and work on the diner intensifying, she was exhausted, grumpy and desperate to be back in Boston and away from the city she'd always hated. Sagebrush, Texas. Home of every bad dream she'd ever had, birthplace of every bad memory. Well, not exactly every one. Boston hadn't exactly been good to her in the week before she'd left to care for Bea. She scowled, refusing to think of her breakup as anything other than fortunate. She might not be happy to be in Sagebrush, but she was thrilled to be done with her no good ex-boyfriend, Camden Maxwell. Sure, you are, her heart whispered. She ignored it, rolling more paint on the wall and stepping back to view her progress. Not bad. She should have been pleased. Opening a restaurant had always been part of her life plan. The problem was, she'd never ever planned to do it in Sagebrush. That made it a little difficult to be happy about all the sweat equity she was pouring into the place. Not to mention the money. "Get over yourself, Em," she hissed, as irritated with herself as she was with the situation. It was no one's fault that Bea's health was declining or that her memory was going. She had no kids. No family aside from Emma. She needed someone, and Emma was going to be there for her. Even if that meant living in Sagebrush permanently. Or until Bea didn't need her any longer. The doctor had said Emma's great-aunt would probably be around for five or ten more years. Emma was hoping for twenty. She loved Bea more than she'd ever hated Sagebrush. Loved her so much that she was going to open the diner and commit to running it for as long as Bea was around. When she was gone, Emma would sell the place and move on to a new town and a new project. She sighed and swiped paint on a spot that she'd missed. God was in control. He had a perfect plan. Unfortunately, it wasn't anything close to what Emma's perfect plan had been. Another couple of years working as sous-chef at one of Boston's premier restaurants, marriage, a house and, finally, a restaurant of her own. She'd made a list. She'd checked it twice. She'd gone over details and facts and figures. She'd shown all of it to Camden because he was the one she was supposed to do everything with. "I'm such an idiot," she muttered as she carried the paint pan and roller into the kitchen. She dropped the pan into the deep stainless-steel sink and wrapped the roller in plastic. Tomorrow she'd paint a second coat in the dining area and roll fresh paint onto the kitchen walls. Right now she really needed to get home. She glanced at her watch. Nearly eleven. She hadn't realized it was so late. Bea would be worried and probably hungry. She'd been having trouble remembering to eat. Emma turned off the light in the dining room, plunging the diner into darkness. Wide windows looked out onto a sidewalk and street that bustled with life during the day. Both were silent and empty. A few business owners