Exclusive Book Preview! Read an Excerpt of Debbie Macomber’s Festive New Novel ‘A Christmas Duet’

Beloved by readers for her heartwarming stories, bestselling author Debbie Macomber has written more than 200 books—many of which were turned into Hallmark movies and TV series. Macomber's compelling stories about family, friends and romance are always infused with hope and often set around the holiday season—which is why she's also known as “the official storyteller of Christmas.” And her forthcoming novel, A Christmas Duet (out October 15), delivers all her signature festive cheer. Here, we have an exclusive sneak preview of this cozy holiday book just for WW readers!

Keep scrolling to find out what A Christmas Duet is about, then sit back and enjoy the exclusive excerpt! And stay tuned for part two of the excerpt next week—plus an exclusive Q&A video interview with Debbie Macomber and Woman's World's Editor-in-Chief Liz Vaccariello.

What is Debbie Macomber’s new book about?

Hailey Morgan once had big dreams of becoming a professional songwriter, but reality led her to working as an assistant high school band teacher in Portland. With the holidays approaching, Hailey wonders how she can steer clear of her family’s annual tradition—and her mother’s constant questions about her love life. So when Hailey’s friend offers up her family’s empty cabin for a relaxing solo trip, she decides to say yes and put herself first. Hailey is expecting peace and quiet upon arriving in Podunk, Oregon—then she discovers her cabin is not quite what she had imagined. Enter, Jay, the son of the town’s main store proprietor…who just so happens to be a ruggedly handsome musician. Jay offers to help Hailey and before long they are spending a lot of time together. Hailey starts to think she’s escaped her family drama, but the holiday season has other plans.

Excerpt

Once back at the cabin, Hailey followed Thelma’s instructions and waited inside her vehicle with the heater on. The temperatures had dipped below freezing and minute flakes of snow began to drift down from the sky. Hungry now, Hailey reached for a protein bar and munched on it until truck lights showed in her rearview mirror.

Eager to get inside the cabin, she opened her car door and climbed out.

The driver parked his truck alongside her car. The door creaked when he opened it. He kept his headlights on, focusing on the front door.

Although the light was dim, Hailey had a good view of the man. It didn’t take more than two seconds to recognize this was no hillbilly. Jethro had the physique of a lumberjack: tall and handsome didn’t begin to describe him. He was gorgeous, with wide shoulders that tapered down to narrow hips. He wore jeans with a thick winter coat.

“Wowzer,” she muttered under her breath.

Standing in front of his headlights, Jethro turned to her and asked, “I’m sorry, did you say something?”

Embarrassed, Hailey was too tongue-tied to respond. Instead, she pointed toward the cabin and managed to squeak out a single word: “Help.”

Although the weather was well below freezing, Hailey could feel the heat fill her cheeks. Generally, her head wasn’t turned by an attractive man. Something about his rugged good looks and his smile got to her in ways she found hard to understand. She supposed it was because he was nothing like what she’d expected. Jethro Cantor took her completely by surprise. Quickly looking away, she shook her head and managed to mumble, “It was nothing important.”

Jethro nodded and glanced toward the cabin. “Mom said something about a rabid raccoon chasing you.”

“I…don’t have much experience with raccoons, no experience, if the truth be known, so I can’t be sure if it was rabid or just ticked off that I’d invaded his territory. What I do know is that he reared up on his hind legs and hissed.”

“Not exactly the welcome you’d expected.”

“You can say that again. By the way, I’m Hailey Morgan. I really appreciate you helping me, Jethro.”

Jethro grimaced when she mentioned his name. “Please call me Jay. My mother and a few of the locals are the only ones who use my given name.”

“I will say you don’t look much like a Jethro.”

From the look he gave her, Hailey had the feeling she wasn’t the first one to mention it. “Jethro was my grandfather’s and great-grandfather’s name. My grandparents only had daughters, so Mom felt it necessary for me to carry on the family name.”

Although she didn’t say it aloud, Hailey thought, Lucky you.

“Is the house locked?”

In her rush to escape, Hailey hadn’t thought to relock the front door.

“No…frightened as I was, I didn’t…”

“No problem. It’s doubtful anyone would break in around here.”

“Other than forest creatures,” she reminded him.

What followed was a short laugh.

“Point taken.”

Hailey smiled in return.

“Okay, stay here, and I’ll go inside and do what I can to convince Mr. Raccoon to find other housing arrangements.”

Hailey expelled a sigh of gratitude. “I really appreciate your doing this… Only would you mind checking to be sure no one else from the animal kingdom has taken up residence?”

“Sure thing.”

Armed with thick gloves and a flashlight, Jay entered the house. Because she was curious, Hailey ventured onto the porch. Stepping up to the large front window, she leaned forward and framed her face with her hands to see what she could make of Jay’s progress.

At first all that was visible was the beam from his flashlight. The light swept the room and then disappeared. Hailey gasped, afraid Jay had fallen or been overcome by the raccoon. Unsure what to do, she was about to brave the beast herself when the electricity flickered on. Greatly relieved, she placed her hand over her heart. Jay must have found the panel Thelma had mentioned. It had probably been out of her line of sight.

Even with the lights on, Hailey couldn’t see Jay. An eternity seemed to pass, long enough for the cold to seep into her bones and for her to start to worry. Hailey wrapped her arms around her middle; far more interested in what was happening inside the house to worry about the cold.

All at once he came into view. Hailey hurried to the front door just as Jay opened it.

“Are you hurt? Is the raccoon gone? Will he be back? Is there anything I need to do?” The questions gushed out of her like water from a broken pipe.

Raising his hand to stop her, Jay smiled. “One question at a time, please.”

Nodding vigorously, she inhaled a huge breath to center herself. Once she felt composed, she asked, “Were you hurt?”

“Not a scratch.”

Her shoulders sagged with relief.

“That isn’t to say that your rabid raccoon took kindly to being ousted from his cozy quarters. But I managed to get him to leave, which took a bit longer than I expected. Have you been standing out here all that time?”

Teeth chattering, she nodded.

“Come inside. I’ll get the fireplace going and you’ll be warm soon enough.”

“But the raccoon… Will he be back?”

“Not a chance,” Jay said in a clear effort to reassure her. “I found where he came in and have temporarily blocked the entrance.”

“Temporarily?” Her eyes widened with the question…

Check back here next week for part two of this excerpt! And preorder your copy of A Christmas Duet (out 10/15) now to read the whole story.

Excerpted from A CHRISTMAS DUET by Debbie Macomber. Copyright © 2024 by Debbie Macomber. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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