Page 48 of Seal of Approval

CHAPTER THIRTY

Ethan

I sat at the small desk in my room, sending the notes from my iPad to my laptop. I had a lot that I needed to sort through to decide what would be appropriate for my report. It was hard to tell what would be valuable as my research continued and my thought processes shifted. Rose and Bailey were in the living area having one of their discussions. I tried to drown out their voices.

“Rose, leave him alone,” Bailey said.

“I don’t want him to miss out on decorating.”

I smiled to myself even though I should have been concentrating on the words in front of me. Rose thought Timmy needed to be involved in everything. And Timmy often was, whether he wanted to be or not.

“I’m sure he’s decorated a million times.”

I cocked my head. The only thing Timmy decorated was his litter box.

“But he hasn’t decorated with us. I’m going to get him.”

Loud footsteps approached my room in a rush. Rose came bursting in and slid to a stop next to me. “Ethan, it’s time to put up the Christmas tree.”

I closed my laptop. There was no way I was going to get any more work done today. I went out into the living room with Rose. Bailey shook his head at her, but couldn’t contain his grin. Jasmine was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s your mom?”

“Getting the Christmas tree,” Rose said.

Bailey headed to the laundry. “The box is up in the roof space.”

There was no attic in this house. What did he mean? I went into the laundry. There was a ladder in the middle of the room, leading to a hole in the ceiling. Bailey pointed up to it.

“We go through the manhole to store things up there that we don’t use much.”

Jasmine’s face appeared. “I’m going to lower down the Christmas boxes. Can you grab them please, Bails?”

“Yep.”

The boxes were tied in rope. Attached to it was another length of rope which Jasmine used to lower the box down. She repeated the process three times while I helped Bailey retrieve the boxes and take them to the living area.

“Can you hold the ladder steady while I climb down, please?” Jasmine asked me.

I glanced between the ladder, Jasmine in the manhole and the floor. This didn’t look safe at all. My heart raced. Surely she didn’t do this with just her and the kids. What if something went wrong?

“Ethan?”

“Sorry, yes.”

I strode over to the ladder and held it firm. Jasmine’s face disappeared, then her long legs appeared and her feet found the rungs. She descended slowly. The ladder moved slightly, and I gripped onto it. There was no way Jasmine was falling on my watch. Lower she came until her feet were equal with my face. Then her shapely calves. Her curvy butt.

Her back brushed against me. She may have been closer to the floor, but I wasn’t letting go of that ladder until her feet hit the ground. When she reached the floor, she was encircled in my arms. Safe. And trapped. I took a breath in. The dust on her skin almost overpowered the citrus scent of her hair. I needed to move out of her way. I let go of the ladder and stepped back at the same time she turned around and walked into me. A gush of air left my lungs.

She laughed. It was a joyous sound that I would forever associate with Christmas. Her brown eyes glowed with warmth. Crap. I needed to stop staring.

“Sorry,” I said, moving out of her way.

“I see the kids roped you into helping with the tree.”

“Rose didn’t leave me much choice.”

“You don’t have to help if you are busy with your work.”

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