Mixed Signals
Authors: Liz Curtis Higgs
“Liz Curtis Higgs … has succeeded magnificently with her first fictional effort. A great story, superb characters, realistic situations, answered prayers, and some surprising plot twists make this wholesome love story a ‘can’t wait to finish’ page-turner. Liz Curtis Higgs can add one more success to her résumé.”
K-LOVE NEWS & REVIEWS
“Christian fiction isn’t known for humorous books, so this title is a special joy. This bouncy romantic tale of a devout Christian woman looking for love should please most readers searching for a fun summer read. Recommended.”
LIBRARY JOURNAL
“With its underlying Christian theme and well-developed characters,
Mixed Signals
reinforces the messages that no woman is an island and that a woman’s spiritual and emotional well-being is as important—if not more so—than her career or financial success.”
BBW
MAGAZINE
“
Mixed Signals
was my sweet reward at the end of my demanding days. Higgs’s first foray into contemporary fiction—with her delectable description, appetizing-yet-wholesome romance, and dollop of suspense—provided me with a most satisfying treat!”
JANE JOHNSON STRUCK, SENIOR EDITOR OF
TODAY’S CHRISTIAN WOMAN
MAGAZINE
“Trust humorous author Liz Curtis Higgs to work everything out to readers’ satisfaction while surprising them at every turn.”
DIANE JOHNSON,
ROMANTIC TIMES
“
Mixed Signals
absolutely blew me away! The prose was incandescent, each character fully realized and unforgettable, and it fully captured the magic of falling in love. Bravo!”
TERESA MEDEIROS,
NEW YORK TIMES
BESTSELLING AUTHOR
“One of the most delightful surprises I’ve had all year—a first novel that moved me to both laughter and tears!”
SUSAN WIGGS,
USA TODAY
BESTSELLING AUTHOR
“I thoroughly enjoyed
Mixed Signals
. It had everything—great laughs, good solid story, surprises and twists, and great characters. I cared about all of them, even craggy, cranky Frank—all perfectly wonderful.”
FRANCINE RIVERS, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF
REDEEMING LOVE
“
Mixed Signals
is a delightful novel and ‘mixed signals’ is also the perfect description of heroine Belle O’Brien’s life. This is a book you will read with a smile on your face and a warm place in your heart. So sit back in your favorite easy chair and get ready to make friends with the engaging characters who people
Mixed Signals
. You’re in for a treat!”
ROBIN LEE HATCHER, AUTHOR OF
CATCHING KATIE
“Liz Curtis Higgs has been hiding her talents under a bushel. Though I knew her first novel would be as bright, warm, and encouraging as she is, I had no idea it would be so completely and absolutely wonderful. I fell in love with Belle and Patrick, Norah and David, even as I came to appreciate the skill and insight with which this novel was crafted. An outstanding and heartwarming debut!”
ANGELA ELWELL HUNT, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF
THE NOTE
“Reading wattage will go up wherever this book is read. Clearly a go-ahead on
Mixed Signals
. Tune in to leading lady, Belle, and other real-life characters woven with mystery, intrigue, surprise, and a story line that dares you to read on.”
PHYLLIS WALLACE, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST,
WOMAN TO WOMAN
, LUTHERAN HOUR MINISTRIES
“Liz Curtis Higgs has definitely written about radio with unmistakable familiarity. She knows what she’s talking about. Here you will find humor, healing, hope, and human concern for characters whose lives touch your heart. Over it all is draped the warm blanket of God’s loving grace to satisfy you spiritually. I love this book!”
DIANE SUMMERS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST, KFUO ST. LOUIS
“Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! This is a beautiful love story and an excellent example of how success is nothing without someone you love to share your success. This love story also shows the importance of having the right relationship with the Lord from whom all blessings flow.”
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
MIXED SIGNALS
published by Multnomah Books
A division of Random House Inc
.
© 1999 by Liz Curtis Higgs
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the
New American Standard Bible
(
NASB
) © 1969, 1977 by the Lockman Foundation.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission.
Multnomah
and its mountain colophon are trademarks of Random House Inc.
For information:
Multnomah Books
12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Higgs, Liz Curtis.
Mixed signals/by Liz Curtis Higgs.
eISBN: 978-0-307-78886-3
I. Title.
PS3558.I36235M59 1999 98–40625
813’.54—dc21
v3.1
In memory of my father
,
who told me years ago that my future would be in radio
.
Bless you, Daddy, for being right. As always
.
It may not take a village to write a book … it just looks that way!
First, love and heartfelt thanks to my dear husband, Bill Higgs, my costar in our own radio romance. Bless you for giving me a reason to cele-brate every broadcast day.
And double hugs to my children, Matthew and Lillian, who tiptoed around me while I was writing. I love you with every inch of my abundant body, kids.
A tip of the headphones to my far-flung radio peers from years past, at WQXA-FM, WKTK-FM, WFBQ-FM, WWWW-FM, WQMF-FM, WAKY-AM, and my last and best broadcasting home, 84WHAS-AM Louisville. Thanks for sharing the air with me, dear friends. (I promise,
none
of you was the inspiration for Frank the Crank!) A special nod to Joe Fedele at WVEZ-FM, Tommy McCarthy at WOGL-FM, and Randall Bloomquist at WBT-AM for their assistance.
A big howdy and thanks to my new friends at Multnomah Publishers, especially my precious editor and friend, Karen Ball, and all those in Sisters, Oregon, who’ve helped my prayers come true.
Where would I be without my friends in fiction? Francine Rivers, Lisa Tawn Bergren, Carolyn Pizzuti, Robin Lee Hatcher, Annie Jones, Angela Elwell Hunt, Terri Blackstock, Robin Jones Gunn, Debbie Macomber, all my LoveKnot sisters, and my first fiction buddy, Jack Cavanaugh. Bless you, bless you, one and all, for looking at my early writing efforts. From my point of view, you are the best in the business. I can’t thank you enough for your generous gifts of encouragement and expertise.
A huge hug to fabulous fiction writer and online soul sister, Diane Noble, whose support, prayers, and daily accountability made this book happen. Love you, dear heart!
Cherished friend and literary agent, Sara Fortenberry, managed to laugh and cry at the same time when I read her a passage from
Mixed Signals
over the phone. Bless you for your boundless encouragement.
Belle finally rang true because of you!
Gloria Looney, amazing office assistant, was the perfect first reader, keeping me going with her generous words of praise.
Mother-in-law Superior, Mary Lee Higgs, did a grand job as Head Grammarian.
Leesa Gagel served as my helpful proofreader.
Gayle Roper, talented writer and respected teacher, hauled the first draft to Canada with her, then continued to offer valuable suggestions. What a blessing you are!
Thanks to Lori and Tim Shahen at the Lovill House Inn in Boone, not only for your exceptional hospitality, but also for recommending Abingdon as “the perfect setting for a novel.” You were so right.
Finally, my deepest gratitude to all the wonderful residents of Abingdon, Virginia, who spent time with me on the phone and in person, answering questions and offering ideas. Many of these folks were generous enough to read the manuscript as well … now
that’s
a labor of love! Special thanks go to Marsha Miller at the Barter Theatre, Rebecca Boyd at the Martha Washington Inn, Joan Hilbert at the Abingdon United Methodist Church, Emily Umbarger at the Washington County Library, Martha Weisfeld at the
Abingdon Virginian
, Lesa Morrison at the Virginia Highlands Christian Fellowship, Rick and Mary Jayne Stevens at the Silversmith Inn, April Eskridge at the Abingdon Convention and Visitors Center, Craig Sutherland and Larissa at WABN-FM, Betty Cardwell at the Anchor Book Shop, Bonnie Clevinger of Balloon Virginia, and Don Hilton.
I always save the best for last; don’t you? That means my most heartfelt hugs go to
you
, my courageous readers, who’ve bravely moved into this fiction adventure with me. You, as always, are the reason I write.
Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person
.
C
OLOSSIANS
4:6
Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently
.
H
ENRY
F
ORD
R
AINY DAYS AND
M
ONDAYS
never got Belle O’Brien down. Not when her radio listeners were waiting. “Hold On, I’m Coming,” she sang out with off-key abandon. Sam and Dave had nothing on her, she decided, grinning, as she tucked her jeans inside her short leather boots.
She tamed her unruly hair into a thick braid that reached her waist, and darted out the apartment door. A chilly, mid-October downpour waited to greet her. Overnight, the rain had carelessly washed the leaves out of the maple trees lining Lake Shore Drive, plastering them across the pavement like small scarlet hands.
Belle was still humming when she spun the wheel of her Pontiac toward the station. Still humming when she tossed the keys toward Max, the parking lot attendant, and made a wet dash for the glass front doors of her radio station.
The doors with the famous call letters mounted above them.
Yup
. There they were.
W … WT … WTI … W-what?
Her humming abruptly stopped as her heart lurched toward her boots, then snapped back with a sickening thud.
Not again. Not this time
.
Numb to the core, she stepped inside the reception area. Her umbrella was hanging open. So was her mouth.
“Belle!” Her general manager emerged from a huddle of men in suits
and moved toward her. “You’re just in time. We’ve … made some major changes here.”
She gulped. “Starting with the call letters?”
“Right.” His smile was strained. “Welcome to WTIE, Chicago’s All-Sports TIEbreaker.”
Sports? Help, Lord!
“I don’t do sports,” she croaked.
“You do now.” He reassured her with a wink. “Come meet your new program director, Snap Davis.”
She watched the circle of suits move toward her, all smiling, all talking at once. Her mouth had gone dry—past wool, past cotton, clear to the linen setting.
“There she is, gentlemen.” One of the strangers clenched his cigar in a churlish grin. “The Belle of the Ball.”
“The
what?
You have the wrong announcer, Skip … ah … Slap … er …”
His tobacco-stained smile broadened. “Call me Coach.”