Sierra Jensen Collection, Vol 4 Sierra Jensen Collection, Vol 4
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CHRISTY AND TODD: THE COLLEGE YEARS by Robin Jones Gunn
Until Tomorrow • As You Wish • I Promise
SISTERCHICK® Adventures by
ROBIN JONES GUNN
SISTERCHICKS ON THE LOOSE!
Zany antics abound when best friends Sharon and Penny take off on a midlife adventure to Finland, returning home with a new view of God and a new zest for life.
SISTERCHICKS DO THE HULA!
It’ll take more than an unexpected stowaway to keep two middle-aged sisterchicks from reliving their college years with a little Waikiki wackiness—and learning to hula for the first time.
SISTERCHICKS IN SOMBREROS!
Two Canadian sisters embark on a journey to claim their inheritance—beachfront property in Mexico—not expecting so many bizarre, wacky problems! But there’s nothing a little coconut cake can’t cure …
AVAILABLE NOW!
www.sisterchicks.com
More SISTERCHICK® Adventures
by
ROBIN JONES GUNN
SISTERCHICKS DOWN UNDER!
Kathleen meets Jill at the Chocolate Fish café in New Zealand, and they instantly forge a friendship. Together they fall head over heels into a deeper sense of God’s love.
SISTERCHICKS SAY OOH LA LA!
Painting toenails and making promises under the canopy of a princess bed seals a friendship for life! Fifty years of ups and downs find Lisa and Amy still Best Friends Forever … and off on an unforgettable Paris rendezvous!
SISTERCHICKS IN GONDOLAS
At a fifteenth-century palace in Venice, best friends/sisters-in-law Jenna and Sue welcome the gondola-paced Italian lifestyle! And over boiling pots of pasta, they dare each other to dream again.
AVAILABLE NOW!
www.sisterchicks.com
About the Author
Robin Jones Gunn grew up in Orange County, California, where both her parents were teachers. She has one older sister and one younger brother. The three Jones kids graduated from Santa Ana High School and spent their summers on the beach with a bunch of “God-Lover” friends. Robin didn’t meet her “Todd” until after she had gone to Biola University for two years and spent a summer traveling around Europe.
As her passion for ministering to teenagers grew, Robin assisted more with the youth group at her church. It was on a bike ride for middle schoolers that Robin met Ross. After they married, they spent the next two decades working together in youth ministry. God blessed them with a son and then a daughter.
When her children were young, Robin would rise at 3 a.m. when the house was quiet, make a pot of tea, and write pages and pages about Christy and Todd. She then read those pages to the girls in the youth group, and they gave her advice on what needed to be changed. The writing process took two years and ten rejections before her first novel, Summer Promise, was accepted for publication. Since its release in 1988, Summer Promise along with the rest of the Christy Miller and Sierra Jensen series have sold over 2.5 million copies and can be found in a dozen translations all over the world.
For the past twelve years, Robin has lived near Portland, Oregon, which has given her lots of insight into what Sierra’s life might be like in the Great Northwest. Now that her children are grown and Robin’s husband has a new career as a counselor, she continues to travel and tell stories about best friends and God-Lovers. Her popular Glenbrooke series tracks the love stories of some of Christy Miller’s friends.
Robin’s bestselling Sisterchick novels hatched a whole trend of lighthearted books about friendship and midlife adventures. Who knows what stories she’ll write next?
You are warmly invited to visit Robin’s websites at: www.robingunn.com, www.christymillerandfriends.com, and www.sisterchicks.com.
THE GLENBROOKE SERIES
by Robin Jones Gunn
COME TO GLENBROOKE …
A QUIET PLACE WHERE SOULS ARE REFRESHED
Imagine a circle of friends who enter into each other’s lives during that poignant season when love comes their way. Imagine the sweetness of having those friends to depend on as the journey into marriage and motherhood begins.
Meet the women of Glenbrooke: Jessica, Teri, Lauren, Alissa, Shelly, Meredith, Leah, and Genevieve. When their lives intersect in this small town, the door to friendship is opened and hearts come in to stay.
Perfectly crafted, heartwarming, and rich in truth, Robin’s Glenbrooke novels have delighted half a million readers with their insights and charm. All souls looking to be refreshed are warmly invited to come to Glenbrooke.
SECRETS
Glenbrooke Series #1
Beginning her new life in a small Oregon town, high school English teacher Jessica Morgan tries desperately to hide the details of her past.
WHISPERS
Glenbrooke Series #2
Teri went to Maui hoping to start a relationship with one special man. But romance becomes much more complicated when she finds herself pursued by three.
ECHOES
Glenbrooke Series #3
Lauren Phillips “connects” on the Internet with a man known only as “K.C.” Is she willing to risk everything … including another broken heart?
SUNSETS
Glenbrooke Series #4
Alissa loves her new job as a Pasadena travel agent. Will an abrupt meeting with a stranger in an espresso shop leave her feeling that all men are like the one she’s been hurt by recently?
CLOUDS
Glenbrooke Series #5
After Shelly Graham and her old boyfriend cross paths in Germany, both must face the truth about their feelings.
WATERFALLS
Glenbrooke Series #6
Meri thinks she’s finally met the man of her dreams … until she finds out he’s movie star Jacob Wilde, promptly puts her foot in her mouth, and ruins everything.
WOODLANDS
Glenbrooke Series #7
Leah Hudson has the gift of giving, but questions her own motives, and God’s purposes, when she meets a man she prays will love her just for herself.
WILDFLOWERS
Glenbrooke Series #8
Genevieve Ahrens has invested lots of time and money in renovating the Wildflowers Café. Now her heart needs the same attention.
Excerpt from Sunsets
“COFFEE,” ALISSA MUTTERED, pushing herself away from her cluttered desk, “a tall café mocha, and I need it now. You want anything, Cheri?”
“No, thanks,” her coworker said without looking up from her computer. “Are you getting this same strange reading on the Mazatlan cruise package?”
“Yes,” Alissa said after checking the computer screen over Cheri’s shoulder. “I got that reading when I tried to access the Alaska cruise package for the Andersens. But I’m not ready to try again until after I’ve had some coffee.”
Cheri looked over the top of her glasses. “We open in five minutes.”
“I know. I’ll be back in four. Don’t sell any cruise packages until then.”
The line at Starbucks was shorter than usual. Alissa examined the pastries in the case. They had Cheri’s favorite lemon bars this morning and lots of other incredible-looking goodies.
She started her familiar mental workout. Croissant. I want a croissant. But I shouldn’t. Too much fat. I’ll have a muffin. A low-fat blueberry. Or a bagel. I can have a bagel. A bagel with fat-free cream cheese.
“What can I start for you?” the young woman behind the counter asked.
Alissa hesitated.
The customer behind her spoke up. “Cappuccino and a croissant.”
“Excuse me.” Alissa turned to the casually dressed man behind her. “I was next, and if you don’t mind, I’m in a hurry.”
He wore his long brown hair with a crooked part down the middle. A soft cocoa stubble curved across his broad jaw, and his gaze struck her with intense clarity. Green eyes. Green like the grass after it rains.
“So what took you so long?” he said with
a teasing smile.
Alissa raised her eyebrows and decided this must be his idea of a joke. Since she had moved to Pasadena seven months ago, she had met plenty of men who acted as if the world were their footstool, and therefore they could put up their feet whenever they wanted. Southern California was full of that sort.
Turning to the woman behind the counter, Alissa said calmly, “I’ll have a tall café mocha, a lemon bar, and a cinnamon roll. Thanks.”
There was no point looking over her shoulder as she left Starbucks. The man with the intriguing green eyes wouldn’t be watching her. Men used to watch her walk away. She could feel their gazes. Men used to offer to let her go first.
But that was thirty-two pounds ago. It had been far too long since a man had given her a second glance. Not that she blamed any of them. Much had changed in the life of Alissa Benson.
Wistfully, she remembered what it was like to be seventeen, sauntering through the sand at Newport Beach while everyone watched. That had been many summers ago, back when the ends of her long blond hair had danced in the wind like the mane of a wild horse.
Today, a linen blazer covered her rounded hips, and her shoulder-length, wavy blond hair was caught up in a twist, clipped flat against the back of her head. She rarely wore her blue-tinted contact lenses anymore. Makeup was something she bothered with only on special occasions, of which there hadn’t been many lately.
Alissa’s live-in companion was a cat named Chloe, and her favorite weekend pastime was reading. At twenty-six she was living the life of a sixty-year-old. And she was safe.
As Alissa opened the door to the travel agency, Cheri motioned to her. “She’s right here. I’ll put you on hold, Mr. Brannigan.”
“Line two,” Cheri said to Alissa. “And your landlord is on line one.”
“Oh, terrific.” Alissa handed the pastry bag to Cheri. “I picked up a little something for you.”
A smile spread across Cheri’s face. “Did you bring me a lemon bar? You are a honey!”
“Don’t touch my cinnamon roll!” Alissa playfully responded as she slid behind her desk and reached for the phone. “Good morning, Mr. Brannigan. Did your wife tell you I was able to reserve two nights for you at the Heathman?”
With a few clicks on the computer keyboard, she tried to pull up the active file of the Brannigans as he said, “We’ve decided to stay three nights. Can you add one more night for us?”
The computer screen froze. Alissa tapped on the keys. “Certainly, Mr. Brannigan. May I call you back to confirm that?”
“I’ll wait for your call,” he said.
Alissa knew he would. The Brannigans had to be the most active retired couple she knew. In good health and possessing excessive spending money, they traveled constantly. And with Alissa’s efficiency and excessive good manners, she was their only travel agent.
“Okay. Thank you, Mr. Brannigan. Good-bye.”
“Cheri?” Alissa said. “Did we go off-line?”
“I’ve called the repairman. I don’t know what the problem is. I guess all we can do is take messages. Don’t forget your landlord.”
With a push of a button and a deep breath, Alissa picked up line one. “Clawson Travel Agency. This is Alissa.”
“Ms. Benson,” the landlord said with forced friendliness. “You have not responded to the notice we sent you last month. I have left messages on your machine at home, but you have not returned the calls. I found it necessary to call you at work to ask for a reply.”
Alissa turned away from Cheri and the client who had just entered the shop and was seated in front of Cheri’s desk. “I’m going to need more time to decide.”
“I’m afraid there isn’t any more time. I must know today by five o’clock.”
Alissa heard the click as he hung up, but she kept the phone to her ear as if the answer she needed would come sometime after the dial tone. Her condo complex had been sold a month ago. The new owner required all renters to sign a new lease that included an increase of $150 a month and a minimum commitment of two years. Alissa had never lived anywhere for more than two years. It was a nice condo but not her dream home. During the past month she had found nothing else in her price range. Yet the two-year commitment scared her. She had already been in Pasadena and at the same travel agency for seven months. That in itself was almost a record.
She heard a slight rustling sound and realized a customer was now seated in front of her desk. “Okay. We’ll work on that and get back to you then,” she said into the dumb receiver she still held to her ear. “Good-bye.”
Turning to hang up and greet her customer, Alissa forced a smile back on her face. “Yes, how can I—” She stopped. It was the guy from Starbucks. “How can I help you?”
He took a slow sip from his Starbucks cappuccino and looked at her with his grass green eyes. “You’re having trouble with your computers this morning?”
It crossed Alissa’s mind that perhaps this guy had followed her here and somehow overheard Alissa and Cheri say they had computer problems. For a brief flash, Alissa felt flattered that this man had apparently sought her out.
“What can I do for you?” he asked.
Alissa was glad to see Cheri come over to offer her support. “Alissa? This is Brad Phillips. I thought you two had already met. Brad works down the street at The Computer Wiz.” Cheri kept her voice professional. “I called him this morning.”
“Oh,” Alissa said, feeling foolish for allowing herself to think this man had come looking for her. She rose from her work station and offered Brad her seat. “All yours.”
Then, reaching for her coffee and cinnamon roll, which Cheri had put on a paper plate for her, Alissa took the customer seat on the other side of the desk. She might just as well make some phone calls.
“All righty then.” Brad punched the keys at top speed. The screen miraculously unfroze. “We have lift off.”