Time to love P17

Skyler batted her eyes, not knowing what to say as he continued, “Fact is, my Jenny needs a mother - and I need you, Skyler. This ‘ring’ doesn’t mean that you have to agree to anything tonight, but it does mean that I would like you to accept it - and to ask you to consider becoming a part of our lives.”

“Oh Joe - you don’t know anything about me. Why-why we just met,” she tried to reason, certain that she was going to faint now.

“Doesn’t matter, Skyler,” he assured with a wan smile. “This has been the happiest day of my life, outside of the day that Jenny was born. And I’ve been so unhappy for so long now. And…..I suspect that you have, too.”

“Oh Joe,” she eased out, tears springing to her eyes.

“I love you, Skyler - everything about you,” he went on to express, Skyler silencing him with a kiss.

When she finally pulled away, he teased, “You’ll have to get rid of the elf suit, of course.”

She giggled and told him, “Merry Christmas, my darling…..”

And Joe knew that this was the first Christmas they would share of many, many, many more to come......

The End

Time to love P16

A Time to Love, A Quick Book Romance by Sky Taylor  - Page 16

“Sure we can,“ Joe eased out, Skyler looking at him and delivering a trembling smile.

Joe went out in the sifting snow to collect a few cedar branches, for the first time understanding the famous childhood poem - The Night Before Christmas - the part of the “snow on the breast of the new fallen snow giving a luster of midday to objects below“. It was so bright out that it appeared as if it were still daylight.

In a matter of minutes, the three of them had created a beautiful wreath. Joe wasted no time in hanging it on the front door and when he returned, Jenny held out her hand to him.

She had something in it, though Joe didn’t know what. And as she deposited it into his hand, she told him, “Mommy needed a ring. This will have to do for now, daddy. And we should get mommy the biggest and shiniest ring in the store, don‘t you think? All my friend‘s mommy's have really pretty rings.“

And then she kissed both him and Skyler and headed off to bed with her new best friend, a lifeless Miranda.

Joe glanced at the tiny rope of cedar that rested in his palm which Jenny had crafted with her two little hands and her wise little brain.

Skyler held her hand over her mouth, both touched and concerned.

“Joe, what are we going to tell her? And-and how?”

He immediately closed the distance between them. There were times in life for everything - and right now, it was a time to love.

Taking her hand and slipping the cedar-woven ring around her left ring finger, he told her, “That kiss that we just shared - I’ve never experienced anything in my life like that with another woman. And I assure you that in my day, I’ve had many opportunities to do such.”

Time to love P15

And he might not have if Jenny hadn’t commented from the other side of the room, “I like it when mommy and daddy kiss, don’t you Miranda?“

As Skyler jerked away from Joe’s warm embrace, she blushed as he commented in a deep tone, “Me too, Jenny.“

To cover her apprehensions, Skyler suggested, “Jenny, would you like to open your presents now? It’s getting dark and we’ll need to turn in soon.“

“Can I wait till morning, mommy? I like to open my gifts in the morning,“ she said. "And besides, I already said that I got everything I wanted."

"Then I suppose I should return that tea set," Joe teased, Jenny's mouth forming a perfect O.

"Oh daddy!"

Joe laughed, sharing a glance with Skyler, his eyes lingering on the swollen lips.

“Sweetheart, you can wait until morning,“ Skyler managed, trying not to obsess about Joe. That kiss hadn't meant anything to him, she silently fretted. He was so handsome that he could have any woman that he wanted. In fact, there might be a reason why Jenny was still mommy-less.

To squash her troubling thoughts, she asked Jenny, “Would you like to make a holiday wreath for the front door?“

“Oh yes! And it will look pretty until the New Year gets here,“ Jenny decided with a bright smile, Skyler thinking she looked cute as a button in the gown stamped with penguins. “Can we make it now? I don’t’ have to go to bed this early.“

Time to love P14

As Jenny took her evening bath, Joe sat with Skyler in the den enjoying yet another cup of her delicious cocoa.

“Look, I must apologize for putting you in this position,” he began. “Obviously, we can’t get the van back to your work place.”

“I agree,” she eased out, not blaming Joe one bit. With her apprehensions concerning Jenny aside, this had been the most enjoyable day of her life.

She was a bit stunned as Joe rose and joined her on the sofa, and when he took her into his strong arms, she completely quit breathing.

“W-what are you doing?” she asked, feeling as if she were going to pass out.

Joe gazed into her flush face and asked, “You’ve never been kissed before, have you?”

Skyler managed to shake her head, another mistake for she was certain that she was going to faint now.

But before she could pass out, she felt Joe’s warm lips latching onto her own shocked ones, and she wasn’t quite sure what she should do.

Why was he kissing her? Out of appreciation? To smooth over the van issue?

Frankly, she found that she didn’t care as her senses totally shattered and she surrendered to sweet bliss.

Joe felt dazzled - totally dazzled by Skyler’s passionate response. He had to know what it was like to kiss her, but this was totally unexpected. And now that he’d kissed her, he didn’t want to stop.

Time to love P13

Immediately, Joe picked up on the situation and sprang into action, quickly loading them into the car.

Jenny had suggested that they listen to her favorite Christmas CD, so they drove through the flickering flakes of snow as the Chipmunks chattered out, “Christmas, Christmas don’t be late.”

About fifteen minutes into their drive, the snow became so thick they could barely see through the window.

“We better turn back while we still can,” Joe decided, the streets becoming quickly wrapped in white.

Jenny was occupied in telling Miranda such when Skyler leaned over and in a soft tone told him, “Joe, if I go back home with you, I could become stranded. Doesn’t look like the snow will fade anytime soon.”

“Then you’ll stay the night,” he told her in an offhanded tone, deciding that he loved snow. “Always wondered what it would be like to have an elf sleep over,” he laughed in a light tone.

“But-but, I don’t have any spare clothes - and there’s the business about my job and returning the van to the company. I must do such before the morning,” she told him, her face looking worried.

Joe found that he didn’t like her looking stressful, and realized that he’d placed her in a tricky predicament. In fact, she could lose her job because of him.

As things turned out, they barely made it back to the house - the roads banked so thickly in snow that it was almost impossible to tell the roads from the ditches. And they had been the only ones foolish enough to brave the snowstorm.

Time to love P12

And he had to admit that he’d enjoyed calling her mommy throughout the day, as well as hearing her call him daddy for Jenny’s benefit.

But as they were sitting in front of the fireplace enjoying the delicious homemade cookies and hot cocoa topped with marshmallows, he was gripped with a helpless feeling. What would Jenny say when she learned that Skyler wasn’t indeed her new mommy? Although the day had been intended to placate the child, the truth could prove devastating - worsening the original issue.

“Can we go for a drive?” Jenny wanted to know, offering a bite of her cookie to her new dolly. “Me and Miranda would love a drive in the snow.”

“Who is Miranda?” Joe asked, picking up his cocoa.

“Her dolly,” Skyler explained with a smile, her heart breaking in the process.

It had been silly to stay here today and she’d fallen for the handsome Joe Seavers. Handsomeness aside, she adored him - his laugh, the way that he walked, his human kindness, the way he loved his little daughter - all the good things that made up Joe.

And when Jenny was told that she wasn’t her mommy, well…..Skyler didn’t even want to think about that right now.

“Want to take a ride, mommy?” Joe asked, deciding that he liked the three of them by the fire. Add one fuzzy dog and the family-portrait would be complete.

“Why, I would love a ride!” she answered in a cheery voice, tweaking Jenny’s nose in the process.

But when the child peered into her face and uttered, “I love you, mommy,” her mood instantly changed and it was difficult to spar off the tears that suddenly threatened.

Time to love P11

“I haven’t had a cup of homemade cocoa in years,” he mulled, “in fact, not since I was a kid. Think we can make some to go with those cookies?”

“You bet - and speaking of cookies, here comes your little Jenny now,” she laughed again, the child running into Skyler’s open arms.

Joe watched her drop a kiss onto his little girl’s cheek, deciding that he had never seen anything so beautiful in his entire life. The fact that Skyler and Jenny had so much in common wrenched at his heart.

As a father, he held the common feeling that he never wanted to let Jenny go. And now, for the first time in his life, he felt the same about a woman - about Skyler, a perfect stranger more or less. And on top of these disturbing feelings, he wanted to protect her.

It was all crazy, he decided as he continued to watch the two interact. No doubt, Skyler was the most genuine woman he’d ever met. Who else would have agreed to such a kooky scheme? And she wasn’t doing it solely for him, rather for Jenny too. She understood his daughter perfectly. So much for the overpaid counselor.

Skyler held Jenny from her and nodded towards the Christmas tree, one that appeared as if it had been decorated by a child.

“Should we open gifts first?” she asked.

“No - let’s do the cookies! Please?” Jenny begged, Skyler unable to refuse her. "Besides, I already got everything that I wanted for Christmas."

She sent a grateful smile to Joe who worked to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat.

“Okay - and perhaps some Christmas lunch. We’re almost there,” Skyler decided.

As the day progressed, for the first time since Joe could remember, he felt human. He’d smiled so much that he was certain that tomorrow his face would be sore. But he couldn’t help himself. Fact was, Skyler was a delight - a total delight and he couldn’t help smiling when he was around her.