Whose Angel Keyring
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Authors: Mara Purl
The Press Praises Mara Purl’s Milford-Haven Novels
More Praise For The Novels Of Mara Purl
Whose Angel Key Ring
A Milford-Haven Story
By Mara Purl
© by Mara Purl. All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental. The names of actual persons are used by permission.
Milford-Haven
PUBLISHING, RECORDING & BROADCASTING HISTORY This book is based upon the original radio drama Milford-Haven ©1987 by Mara Purl, Library of Congress numbers SR188828, SR190790, SR194010; and upon the original radio drama Milford-Haven, U.S.A. ©1992 by Mara Purl, Library of Congress number SR232-483, broadcast by the British Broadcasting Company’s BBC Radio 5 Network, and which is also currently in release in audio formats as Milford-Haven, U.S.A. ©1992 by Mara Purl. Portions of this material may also appear on the Milford-Haven Web Site, www.MilfordHaven.com or on www.MaraPurl.com
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information address: Bellekeep Books
29 Fifth Avenue, Suite 7A, New York, NY 10003 www.BellekeepBooks.com
Front Cover – Original Watercolor by Mary Helsaple ©2011
Front Cover design by Reya Patton & Kevin Meyer, Amalgamated Pixels ©2011 by Milford-Haven Enterprises, LLC.
Copy Editor: Vicki Werkley.
Proofreader: Lenore Hotchkiss.
Author photo: Lesley Bohm.
Published in the United States of America
E-Book Creation 2011
Bellekeep Books & Midpoint Trade Books
THE PRESS PRAISES MARA PURL’S MILFORD-HAVEN NOVELS
“Former Days of Our Lives star Mara Purl presents the first novel in her Milford-Haven series, which . . . features a setting of unadulterated beauty – the small coastal town of Milford-Haven, CA in the prosperous mid-90s – and a cast of successful, sexy, sometimes quirkily independent characters. . . Readers will find details galore . . . and the novel's many inner monologues reveal scheming, secretly confused, or flawed personalities. . . . Milford-Haven offers depictions of daily life, hints of possible future romance, the threat of scandal, and carefully parsed out mystery. . . . The novel is poised to convince readers to continue with the series. “
– Publishers Weekly
“. . . in Mara Purl’s enchanting novel What the Heart Knows . . . although the picturesque, seaside setting of Milford-Haven plays an important role in the novel, the cast of interesting and eccentric characters is what really draws the reader into the book. Purl skillfully tackles tough environmental issues such as land development and offshore oil drilling through the lives of her characters and the events that unfold. Detailed descriptions of scenic settings, eccentric characters, and tantalizing storylines combine to make this book one that fans of romance will enjoy.”
– BookWire
“In Mara Purl’s books the writing is crisp and clean, the dialogue realistic, the scenes well described. I salute her ingenuity.”
– Associated Press
“Mara Purl's What the Heart Knows is a first class novel by a very talented writer with strong believable characters, a rapid-pace delivery of story, and very tight writing that make this novel such a delight to read. Purl and Milford-Haven are off to a great start. I look forward to seeing other titles in this impressive series.”
Gary Roen, Nationally Syndicated Book Reviewer
“I read Mara Purl’s What the Heart Knows and loved the book—just devoured it, in fact—and can’t wait to read the next installment.”
– Anne L. Holmes, APR
National Association of Baby Boomer Women
“Every reader who enjoys book series about small town life has a treat to anticipate in . . . Mara Purl’s Milford-Haven Novels.”
– Dee Ann Ray, The Clinton Daily News
“. . . in a series of romantic novels centered in the fictional California coastal town of Milford-Haven, we meet . . . an intrigu[ing] cast of diverse characters.”
– Fred Klein, Santa Barbara News Press
MORE PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF MARA PURL
What the Heart Knows is the kind of novel you can curl up with while you enjoy getting to know the different people in the central California town of Milford-Haven, as well as getting to know the town itself. Mara Purl is a skillful storyteller who has written a charming and tantalizing saga about the ways in which lives can intersect and be forever changed. The first novel in the saga, What the Heart Knows, is not-to-be-missed.
– Margaret Coel
New York Times best-selling author of The Wind River Mysteries
Dear Reader —
Welcome to Milford-Haven! For your first holiday visit, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to my favorite little town and to a few of its many residents—all of whom are described in the Cast of Characters for the series near the end of the book.
This short story features Zackery Calvin, and gives you a glimpse of his privileged life in Santa Barbara. The story stands alone as a complete tale, but also is woven into the overall tapestry of the Milford-Haven saga as part of the Christmas Angels collection. And in case you’d like to return to an earlier point and experience the saga chronologically, you’ll find the Prologue and Chapter One of the first novel are waiting for you after the short story.
In the novels, we travel with artist Miranda Jones to destinations that fascinate her painter’s eye and her restless heart. The first novel takes her—and you—into the nooks and crannies of her adopted hometown of Milford-Haven, revealing some of its treasures and secrets, and giving you a glimpse into its own warm heart.
The short stories extend this world set on California’s glorious Central Coast, offering a window opening outward to sheer escape. But in this case, a window opens inward on the hopes and dreams of a family for whom it is time to heal a long-buried loss.
As this short e-book unfolds, follow my footsteps over the interconnected pathways of Milford-Haven, and come to that magical holiday awareness where only an angel’s key can open a secret door.
Mara Purl
Whose Angel Key Ring
Nothing was left of Christmas Day but an embarrassment of torn wrappings, empty boxes and the lingering aromas of dinner. The Calma estate itself seemed overhung with an enchanted slumber.
James, the butler, was the only person still awake. He knew both the Calvins had settled into a sleep saturated with the best meal of the year and the spirit of the day. Quietly mounting the stairs, he peered into Joseph Calvin’s room. Just as he suspected, the master had again fallen asleep with his reading glasses on. Removing them with the utmost care, James placed them on the nightstand, switched off the bedside lamp and left the room as quietly as he’d arrived.
Downstairs in the den, James discovered Zackery quietly snoring before the last glow of a dying fire. Draping a throw across the young master, James turned out the table lamp. He decided to leave on the Christmas tree lights in case Zackery woke during the wee hours. Passing through the kitchen, James looked over the polished surfaces and clicked off all but the small table lamp by the phone, then left by the service entrance.
Fog swirled over the stone path leading to his own cottage, which sent a welcoming glow into the dark chill. The whole of the mountain seemed shrouded by a dense cloud, the lights of Santa Barbara nothing more than a faint luminosity, as distant as the rush of waves hitting the shore far below.
James opened his front door, then closed it behind him, re- lieved both to recover his sense of privacy and to be off-the- clock. When he’d completed his evening ablutions, he pulled on his comfortable robe and worn slippers, then sat in his favorite chair to enjoy reading some Charles Dickens before retiring for the night. But reading proved impossible.
Nestled in his breast pocket, a small, vivid presence would not be ignored. Reaching inside, he retrieved the golden key ring and turned it over in his hand. More durable than dainty, exquisitely crafted, it was an assembly of three small treasures: a ring incised with a pattern of waves; a tiny, plump angel of puffed gold; and an ornately embossed key.
She’d entrusted it to him so many years ago, the late Mrs. Calvin, and he’d known exactly where to find it when the time came. But then it went missing from its special hiding place, and now—just as mysteriously—it had returned. He hoped its sudden appearance hinted not at the handiwork of fickle Fate but, instead—as promised—signified the stately grace of Providence.
As that Christmas morning began, dawn tapped on Zackery Calvin’s windows like a pesky elf. Irritated to be wakened so early, Zack squinted at the color leaking into his room. The elf, not content to be spirited away with Santa in the night, apparently lingered to paint the sky a bright Christmas red.
Paintbrush . . . Miranda
. Miranda Jones, painter and heartbreaker. Couldn’t he avoid thinking about her for one day? Zack twisted in his sheets.
Well, you certainly made a fine mess of that
, he berated himself. She was someone special who’d come into his life but, obviously, he hadn’t had the slightest idea what to do about her. And as if that weren’t enough, his indecision and ineptitude had apparently trampled on Cynthia’s feelings as well. She’d made that clear by taking back everything she’d ever given him. He’d have to tiptoe around her at brunch today, sublimating his own feelings—whatever they were—disenfranchised in his own home.