A Bramble House Christmas (Carrigans of the Circle C Book 6) by CJ Carmichael Page B

sleepy.” Scout handed her his newest Everyday Sam. There were twelve books in the series, and he owned all but the last one. After Christmas, however, he would have the entire set.
    “Sure.” Willa cleared her throat, made room for Scout to sit next to her, and then turned to the first page.
    “Sam!” His mother called. “It’s time to go to bed.”
    Every book in the series started the same way, with Sam’s parents making him brush his teeth, wash his face and hands and put his clothes in the laundry before they tucked him into bed. They treated him like he was a little boy who needed lots of help.
    Then Sam would fall asleep and in his dreams, he would turn into a superhero and solve a very big problem. In this volume, Sam figured out who had been kidnapping dogs from the various families in his neighborhood. By midnight he had turned the guilty man over to the police and helped them return all the dogs to their proper owners.
    The books always ended the same way, too. Sam woke in the morning and tried to tell his parents about his amazing adventure, but they would insist it had all been a dream. After all, he was just Everyday Sam.
    Scout seemed to enjoy each story just as much, no matter how often she read it to him.
    Only this time, when he closed the cover with satisfaction, he frowned. Then he pointed to the small print on the bottom of the cover. “Isn’t this the guy who’s staying at the B&B with us?”
    Willa did a double take. “Illustrated by Finn Knightly.” The name was in much smaller print than the author’s. She couldn’t help feeling impressed...and intrigued.
    “I guess it is.”
    “Wow! I didn’t know he drew the pictures for Everyday Sam! Do you think he drewed the pictures for the whole series?”
    “You can ask him yourself at breakfast.”
    “Let’s go now!”
    “Maybe we should change out of our pajamas first?”
    Scout looked down at his Spiderman top, then laughed. “Oh, I forgot.”
    It was nice to see her son happy, but this new development had Willa thinking. Maybe the reason Finn had been so nice to her and Scout wasn’t because he was attracted to her—but because he needed photos of a little boy, like Scout, for his illustrations.

    “Y ay! I smell bacon!”
    Scout raced for the breakfast table ahead of Willa, then careened to a stop when he spotted Finn standing by the window with a cup in his hands. Suddenly shy, he stared at the man with hero worship in his eyes.
    They were the only three in the room so far, though fresh muffins and fruit had been placed on the table.
    “Good morning.” Finn finally broke the silence, looking perplexed. He patted his head. “Did I just grow horns or something?”
    Slowly a smile broke out on Scout’s face. “You drew the pictures for Everyday Sam and The Dog Kidnapper !”
    Understanding illuminated Finn’s features. “Yes. I did. Do you like that book, Scout?”
    “Everyday Sam is my favorite . I have all the books except the last one.” He glanced back at his mom who gave him a reassuring smile.
    She knew he was checking to make sure she hadn’t forgotten to buy it for him.
    As if. Scout asked for so little, she wouldn’t dream of disappointing him. She only wished she knew exactly what she could do to make that promise of Santa’s come true. If she could do that, then maybe she could help her son believe in Santa again, if only for a little while.
    “The pictures you were taking yesterday,” Scout asked. “Are they for an Everyday Sam book, too?”
    “They are. But that book won’t be available for almost a year.”
    “What’s it about?”
    “I’m sorry, I can’t say. But it does involve snow. And a small town at Christmas.”
    There was certainly lots of snow in Colorado. Willa wondered why Finn hadn’t gone to a closer small town than Marietta for his pictures.
    “I can also tell you there’s a scene where Sam goes sledding,” Finn continued. “I hear there’s a good toboggan hill behind the rodeo