Showing results by author "Bonnie Engstrom" in All Categories

Megan’s BF Scoosy discovers love in her fifties. But it comes with personal baggage. Can Scoosy overcome her fears about her age and can Megan help her? Megan tries to relate how she might feel in twenty years in her fifties. She sympathizes with Scoosy, even takes her shopping for sexy lingerie. But Scoosy has a secret she is embarrassed to share. Brett is a Ph.D. psychologist who engages with patients online and loves to cook. Megan is a mommy who nurses three babies. When fifty-plus Scoosy asks for help planning a wedding to Brett’s father, Bob, they are out of their element. Their ...

Need to be in control Kate meets take charge Lance during a National Cook Off in California, and sparks almost fly. How could the sponsors have scheduled the only two meatloaf contestants to share the kitchen at the same time? After Kate boldly credits Christ for her cooking success on national television, the CEO of Family Foods professes his faith. Kate’s promotion to Global Outreach Minister at church threatens her relationship with Lance, and she still doesn’t know what he does for a living. But, his personal assistant, Felicity, does. “I know everything.” Lance impulsively buys...

Love is in the air, but sometimes there are glitches. Megan was excited about her pregnancy until . . . Brett starts barfing and her sister, Pamela, interferes. She dreams of making a baby quilt and takes up a needle. But how many quilts should she make? Would a gender reveal tell the tale?

The phone call to Doreen’s fiancé Bill is frightening. The woman swears he has a child. Bill vows he never had a romantic relationship with the Italian shoe heiress. Is he lying? Could the woman have seduced him during his modeling stint for the famous motorcycle company? Maybe Doreen should put off their wedding plans until the truth comes out. Doreen’s friendship group, the Candy Canes, gather around her to pray. She’s a nervous wreck until she adopts Happy Arthur. Will the little fluffy canine help her take her mind off her troubles? Bill’s dad does some sleuthing on social ...

Megan was logical. She didn’t like surprises and she knew Mom only kept treasures, not junk. So why was the strange thing shoved up under Mom’s bed? She ripped off the brittle plastic and gasped. Hopefully her new friend Brett could help her solve the mystery of “it”. He was cute and kind, much more real than fake Sir William. At least he wasn’t annoying like her sister Pamela with her problems. But Megan wasn’t in the mood for romance right before Christmas, especially with a funeral director studying to be a counselor. Why had Mom kept that old thing? There must be an answer ...

Megan and Brett are in a conundrum. Brett is chopping and grinning and Megan is scared. How can they afford another baby less than two months from the twins’ birth? Why did this happen on Valentine Day, the day of love? Can she avoid slapping him, her beloved husband who can’t stop grinning? Will a money tree gift help? Can she afford it? Will prayer help? Brett believes a new baby is God’s plan, but Megan’s faith is sketchy. She prays like her mother and grandma taught her. Maybe the angel in her childhood Bible will help. Bossy Sister Pam always has a solution. Is a cookbook the ...

Connie's life is about to change. Is it possible she may be falling in love with the handsome, dark skinned banker? What will her Bible quoting mother say, and how will his family react? What part does Jake the little dog play in their romance? When she takes off a shoe and rubs her leg against his ankle, will that make a difference in his feelings for her? Can they really have a future together?

The Candy Canes are a tight knit group; the six girls are like sisters. They share everything from successes to secrets. Even marriage doesn’t keep them apart. Then … Cindy caught the bridal bouquet, and Rob caught the blue garter. Neither of them believed in fate or tradition. But, something happened when she stepped on his toes dancing. When Rob agreed to help his brother by working in the Love In Bloom Floral Shop while Braydon was on his honeymoon, he asked Cindy to join him. He didn’t know what to expect, especially over Christmas break. Would she take over with her promotional ...

Ghosts One is laughing down from heaven. One wears rags. One is falling in love with her. Melanie’s faith is shaken. Her husband Larry is dead. They had only been married a few hours before he was arrested. Will her best friend Natalie be enough? Who will understand about Larry’s crime, his deception and how he died? Surely not her new friend Robert who lost his wife to cancer; no deception there. Just sadness. Should she believe the homeless old woman who claims to be Larry’s estranged mother, calling herself Melanie’s mother-in-law? Especially when the raggedy old lady stalks her ...

Patti never expected to portray a legendary character, nor fall in love. She just wanted a part-time job over the holidays. But between the Simon Cowell look-a-like guy who played Santa and her granddaughter Tabitha, and maybe God, she pulled on the green vinyl boots, powdered her eyebrows and “sucked it up”, as Tabby would say until . . . the Santa who came to give out gifts at church was different. And she kissed him. Did she kiss the wrong Santa?

Lies, guilt, stalking. Natalie is injured and left lying on the ground. Melanie is terrified of her step-father. Bryce is drowning in guilt. Billy is frustrated, mad at himself. Emily is despondent. Claire has something up her sleeve. Two handsome men vie for Natalie’s attention, traveling from Newport Beach to Scottsdale, Arizona to woo her. But one caused her back injury, and one strands her on the top of a Ferris Wheel knowing how terrified she is of heights, even though she took sky-diving lessons with him. Depressed Emily confides in Natalie, and Emily’s life takes a turn thanks to...

Two lonely women. Natalie and Melanie are the only ones of the seven Candy Cane friends who are unattached. Even physically disabled Doreen has a lover. The others are all married. All loved and protected. What is wrong with Mel? And Nat who collapses in motherly Claire’s arms sobbing, “I am lost, a lost cause.” Melanie tries to fill the emptiness with Lola the scruffy rescue dog who is so cuddly. Can lovable Lola with the big ears, long snout and dark eyebrows overcome Melanie’s loneliness? Natalie at least has a budding romance with Larry. But, his dark skin and numerous tattoos ...

Marci had learned to cope with her deformed leg. As the curator of The Bridal Museum, she felt almost fulfilled … until the new chef arrived to oversee the Café Wedd. But, Conrad Thorstrom was beneath her educationally. His minor accomplishments and associate degree didn’t match up to her MBA. Besides, she was disabled, and he was a tall, handsome Swede who dubbed her his Wild Irish Rose. An unlikely coupling. And, what about the curly-haired Tracy, the adorable hostess of the café, who worships Connie? Furthermore, why does he insist on being called Connie? Will Marci learn the ...

Seven women. Two decades of friendship and prayer. Noelle Day finally has the courage to break off her ill-fated engagement with her volatile fiancé and cancel their Christmas wedding. It’s embarrassing, and she has to share the humiliating reason with her friends The Candy Canes. The other girls were to be her attendants in red taffeta gowns. When she faints and falls into the arms of Braydon Lovejoy, the now former wedding florist, Braydon is confused by her abrupt manner. Who is this beautiful woman with the sepia hair and the huge brown eyes? Is she a damsel in distress as he ...

Will Natalie, the one whose friends call “the tough girl,” overcome her fear with the help of her best friend, Melanie? Maybe Alan’s impromptu proposal will boost her morale when nosy neighbor, Gladys, accuses her of being a loose woman. Natalie’s group of friends, the Candy Canes, gather to pray for her at their favorite Starbucks and even have a silly, unconventional pizza party with crazy ingredients to cheer her up. But stubborn Natalie doesn’t cheer up easily. Hoping a change of attire from everyday gym clothes to something fancy will calm her fears she goes on a rare ...

Why was Jenni taking this journey back in time during the Christmas holidays? Surely, Jenni didn’t expect to see Jake the stable boy. She had moved on from sneaking kisses in the barn after trail rides. He must have, too. Who on earth would stay in the tiny town of Cambridge Springs? She planned for a respite from teaching, time to read, take quiet walks and indulge in delicious hotel meals. At least no one knew where to find her, none of her friends, and not even her family. The internet site for Pleasant Springs Hotel highlighted an annual holiday production of A Christmas Carol that ...

What’s a wedding coordinator to do with a crazy bride? Jill Spooner is the ultimate wedding planner, a role she loves . . . until the Trumble wedding. She’s been in her wedding coordinating business, Divine Weddings, for over twenty years, but she’s never encountered a situation like this one. Nor, a bride like this one. She had privately nicknamed Jessica the bride a “spoiled brat” for insisting on having an auction to fulfill her bridesmaid spots. With the bids starting in the hundreds, she wonders if anyone will show up. When her niece Lizzie and her friend Carolyn drive from ...

The cooking class was to be a respite for Jillian from her stressful job as a high school guidance counselor. Was meeting co-student Erik who carried a baggage of guilt for his parents’ murder and his unique way of witnessing an invitation to emotional disaster? Caught between “friendship” with Erik and her politically incorrect support of Josh, a Muslim student turned Christian, Jillie almost lost her faith in love.

CANDY IS ON A WILD RIDE Too many Bills? Candy and Natalie have trouble separating them. Handsome Bill Senior is old enough to be their father, and his son Bill Junior is drop dead gorgeous. Candy’s brother Billy complicates things with his concern for Candy and his former association with Will, Candy’s ex. Can the girls sort out all the names and personalities? Who is in love with whom? Fortunately, they have their Candy Cane sisters to pray with them, even though one of them, Cindy, is thousands of miles away needing prayer, too. Which would help her more, corn chips or prayer vigils? ...

Cassie Wainwright is alone, except for Poofy her Maine Coon cat. Can he warn her or even protect her from intruders? Why does her doorbell ring at 5 a.m.? Why is there a footprint on her stairs? Who is the good-looking policeman ringing the bell? Who gained access to her house when she recently had the locks changed? Is Patrick the policeman trustworthy, or is he another ploy to romance her and set her off guard from her abuser? Why is he so handsome? Surely, those deep blue eyes glittered with love. Cassie moderates a prayer chain so she has lot of support, prayer-wise. Will prayer be ...