Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Breath of Christmas

Welcome back, Elizabeth!

Blurb:

When Esther Beauchamp agrees to drive a snowmobile during the Santa Snow Challenge, she expects a problem-free weekend of transporting snowboarders. What she gets is the task of transporting a single snowboarder and babysitting his service dog while he’s on the slope.

Robbie Kendrick is instantly attracted to the pretty staffer who volunteered to help him during the competition. While she’s clueless about asthma, he appreciates her efforts to understand how it affects him and his snowboarding. Best of all, she treats him like a man who isn’t disabled and gets along great with his medical alert dog.

But when Robbie’s ability to compete is called into question, is it in God’s plan for him to give up the career he loves, or will his competitive spirit cause him to lose his chance at a future with Esther?

Excerpt:

“Hey, Esther!”

Her boss and neighbor, Leonard Morris, approached from the left. The clipboard in his hand had seen better days, and it looked as if he’d tried to cram every paper from his overcrowded desk onto the thing. However, his cheerful personality more than made up for his lack of organizational skills.

“Hey, Leonard,” Esther said as he joined her. “What’s up?”

“You get light duty for the competition.” He cocked his head to the side, one bushy gray eyebrow lifted in question. “By the way, do you like dogs?”

“Yeah, they’re great. Why?”

“Because you’re going to be spending a lot of time with one this weekend.” He shuffled through his papers and unearthed a photo. “This is Molly.”

Esther accepted the picture and studied the large black Lab seated beside a handsome blond man in his mid-twenties with hazel eyes and an athletic build. Try as she might, she couldn’t figure out what a dog had to do with shuttling competitors to the top of the course. She handed the photo back and studied her boss. “Cute dog, but why are you telling me about her?”

“The man in the picture is Robbie Kendrick.” Leonard tucked the photo into the pile on his clipboard. “He’s one of the snowboarders, and you’ll need to keep an eye on his dog while he’s doing his runs.”

What was so special about this guy that his dog warranted a babysitter? “What about the other competitors? I thought I was going to be busy running people up to the top of the slope.”

“That was the original plan, but it changed.” Leonard led her away from the growing crowd. “Look, Esther, Molly is Robbie’s service dog. When he’s not on the course, he’ll need her by his side. That’s where you come in. You’ll take them both up to the top, and then you’ll come back down here with Molly and meet Robbie when he finishes his run. I’ve been assured his coach will be at the top to help him out if necessary between the time you drop him off and the time he joins you at the bottom.”

“Wait, one of the snowboarders needs a service dog? Should he even be competing?”

“Molly is a medical alert dog, and Robbie and his coach are the ones who came up with this plan, so I assume they know what they’re talking about.” Leonard shuffled through the papers again, but came up empty handed. “I have a doctor’s note for him somewhere clearing him to compete, but I must have left it in my office. Oh, well, you don’t need to see that, anyway. The important thing is Robbie’s the only competitor you’re transporting.”

“OK, let me get this straight.” Esther rubbed her forehead. “I’m responsible for one snowboarder and his dog. While he’s doing his runs, I’ll be dog-sitting at the bottom of the course. Is that right?”

Leonard gave her a huge grin. “You’ve got it.”

“So, what happens if he doesn’t make it through to the finals Sunday? Does that mean I’m out of a job?” Although this gig was for one weekend only, the extra cash would help pay off the student loans that lingered from earning her computer science degree.

“No, I’ll find something else for you to do if that happens.” Leonard winked, a teasing twinkle in his eyes. “I doubt you need to worry, though. Robbie’s been competing for years, and he’s been in the finals of every competition he’s entered in the last two years.”

Suddenly, she wished she knew more about winter sports. Ever since she moved to Cedar Valley a month ago, she’d been listening to people talk about the Santa Snow Challenge and the competitors they expected to see. Esther had never heard of any of them, but it quickly became clear she was a minority in this small ski resort town.

The radio at Leonard’s hip crackled to life, and he responded to the call from one of the security personnel. As soon as he finished answering the man’s question, he focused on Esther. “You need to be at the registration desk in the lodge in about half an hour. Robbie and his coach are supposed to meet you there.”


Review:

I just love stories that include animals, and I would just love to meet Robbie's medical dog. She sounds sweet! It's just amazing what service dogs can be trained to do!

This is one super read as Robbie refuses to buckle under to his physical weakness. It's an amazing story of how far willpower can carry us...or not.

Another wonderful story in the Christmas Extravaganza bundle!


Buy Links: http://pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/breath-of-christmas
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Breath-Christmas-Holiday-Extravaganza-ebook/dp/B00A106LFC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1353767179&sr=1-1&keywords=breath+of+christmas

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