Books

A Christmas Time Travel Romance

Isabel Graham, the social media queen of St. Louis, and soon-to-be CEO of her clothing company, Plaid and Plaits, has just been proposed to by her elf-costume wearing boyfriend, Cole, at the company Christmas Party. He’s the major investor in the company that she started with her childhood best friend, Brock. But there’s a problem. If she refuses Cole, she may no longer be voted in as the new CEO.
She’s torn between the two men. Cole represents the part of her that is driven to reach for the stars no matter the cost, while Brock reminds her that there’s more to life than financial success. Unfortunately, even though she had feelings for Brock, he made it clear a long time ago that they were just friends. To top it off, she just fired her friend Mara for sharing company secrets.
When Brock comes over after the party to brainstorm new ideas for Plaid and Plaits, Isabel picks the book The Long Winter off the shelf by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She wants to make the old new again by creating a new pioneer fashion line. While looking at the book with Brock, a photograph falls out that she’s never seen before. It’s a picture of a couple at a barn dance. The woman looks like her and the man seems familiar too; but the photo is too worn to tell for sure. Brock leaves for their hometown in Mansfield for Christmas break, but can’t convince Isabel to come with him.
Later that night, to her utter dismay she sees herself on the news in her ugly Christmas sweater being proposed to by Cole on the news and realizes he’s leaked a video. After speaking with her mother, and praying for a sign to decide what she should do about Cole, she falls asleep reading The Long Winter, wondering what it would have been like to live as a pioneer woman.
The next morning, she finds her bags packed and a stagecoach waiting to take her home to Mansfield. But who sent the stagecoach? And why does the driver seem to know everything about her? She suddenly finds herself back in 1905, being wooed by two suitors, Cole and Brock. And this time, they’re both in competition for her, literally, and neither one of them is willing to take no for an answer.
With the help of her driver, Laura, she makes several trips on the magical stagecoach to pivotal moments of her past to give her some clarity, about herself and the men. And after she makes her decision, the old photograph she found in the book transforms, revealing the man of her dreams.