Butternut Lake : The Night Before Christmas

Mary McNear takes readers home for the holidays in this Butternut Lake novella. The lake is at its most beautiful at Christmas, from the decorated shops to the cozy houses strung with lights, and this year a great deal is happening at once.

There is a wedding: Caroline is meticulously planning her perfect Christmastime wedding to Jack, remarrying him after many years apart. There is a baby: Allie and Walker are expecting their first child together. And there is a reunion: Daisy, Caroline and Jack's daughter, is coming home after a long semester away at college.

But Christmas is never uncomplicated. Walker smothers Allie with worry, Daisy pines for Will, away in the army, and then the unthinkable happens and Caroline's wedding plans are ruined. Just when all seems lost, the people of Butternut Lake come together to give their friends the greatest gifts of all.