today’s book: Mother for a Month by Zoey Marie Jackson
This week we kicked off the summer-long Road Trip Reads Giveaway where we will be visiting all 50 states on the pages of recently released books. Because road trips are always better with friends – and books – right? So grab your fave snacks, a cold soda or bottled water, an upbeat playlist and let’s head to…
today’s stop: Delaware
FYI – the excerpt is set in Shreveport but they’re on the way to Delaware, where the book is set, so we’ll just tag along 🙂
MOTHER FOR A MONTH by Zoey Marie Jackson
GENRE: Inspirational Contemporary Romance
PUBLISHER: Love Inspired
RELEASE DATE: April 25, 2023
PAGES: 208
Of all the locations in all the world, Joel Armstrong had to end up here—in Shreveport, Louisiana—on a Friday afternoon in this tiny blip of an airport. Sienna King leaned forward so her knotless auburn braids would cover her face while she read through her dissertation research on her iPad mini titled The Effect Size of Teaching on Student Progress Despite Poverty and Parenting. This was her fourth time reading through it after the humiliating faux pas during her defense the week before. But Sienna would have a second chance to present during the summer, and she was going to ensure there wouldn’t be a need for a third.
Maybe Joel wouldn’t spot her. Although, at five foot ten, she was hard to miss, especially with so many empty seats in the small waiting area. Still, a girl could hope.
A shadow loomed. In her peripheral view, Sienna saw a long, lanky frame slink into the seat next to her and gave him the side-eye. At six-four, Joel was one of the few men who truly towered over her. He had olive-toned skin like she did, a light beard and curls the girls seemed to love. He’d only recently started sporting a beard which suited him.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, moving her braids off her face, not even trying to feign surprise or hide her irritation at her companion. This was how she communicated with Joel.
Ever since he had beaten her at the annual spelling bee in second grade—her parents had been mad at her for spelling the word fuchsia incorrectly—Sienna had been angry at Joel. He had preened over that plastic medal, keeping it on his desk just to taunt her, which led to the birth of their decades-long rivalry. All through school, if she answered a question, he had the opposite response. The worst of it was in high school, when he received a perfect score on the SATs. Eventually, their interactions with each other became a habit. It was one she never intended to break.
Right as she asked the question, Sienna noticed he was holding a small, squirming bundle in his arms. “What is that?” She pointed, her eyes wide.
“What does it look like?” he shot back, lifting the baby boy to his shoulder and giving him an awkward pat on his back. At least, she presumed he was a boy, judging by the blue blanket dotted with gray elephants and baby bag. Suddenly, the baby opened his mouth, fully intending to suck on Joel’s jacket. A very dirty jacket.
Sienna considered moving to another seat, but she couldn’t risk the baby sucking on germs. She dropped her iPad in her bag and snatched—er, rescued—the infant from his clueless caretaker just as he stuck out his little tongue.
“What did you do that for?” Joel snapped, holding on to the infant’s legs with one hand while lifting his baseball cap to glare at her.
“What’s the point of having a receiving blanket if you’re not going to use it properly?” She jutted her chin toward him. “He was about to eat your filthy jacket. Although I’m not sure why you’re wearing one in the month of June.” Sienna made a show of placing the receiving blanket over her shirt and then cuddling the baby in her arms.
Releasing his hold, Joel rested his head against the wall. “Good catch. I didn’t even think about it.” He sighed. “Not even an hour, and I’m already failing at this whole babysitting thing. I don’t know what made me say yes,” he mumbled.
The baby fussed. “Where’s his bottle?” she asked.
Joel fumbled around in the diaper bag and took out a small bottle.
Sienna popped it into the infant’s mouth. He started sucking hard. “He is going at it,” she observed, smiling at the bronzed face peering up at her.
“I couldn’t get him to feed on the ride here,” Joel breathed out, wiping his forehead.
When he was finished, the little one cooed. Aw. The sound went right into her heart. Sienna placed the bottle in the pocket of the diaper bag and held the baby to burp him. She closed her eyes, loving the feel of his cheek against her face—and that smell. The mixture of baby’s breath, formula and newborn rolled into one intoxicating scent, making her ovaries scream. She patted his back, and he released a huge burp.
Chuckling, she asked Joel, “What’s his name?”
Joel stretched and rested his hands on his jeans. “Micah. He’s my nephew.” His brows furrowed. “My brother, Greg, and his wife, Tessa, live here in Shreveport. She had a medical emergency, and Greg asked me to take care of Micah for a little while. He said it should only be a few weeks, tops.”
“Your brother must have been really desperate to trust you with his newborn.”
“More like overwhelmed. Micah is three weeks old, and Greg has been toggling between caring for him and Tessa. Thankfully, he knows a judge and was able to get me temporary custody and Micah’s birth certificate early.”
Seeing the worry in Joel’s dark brown eyes pricked her heart. “Sorry to hear that.” She struggled to keep her tone noncommittal, pressing her lips together to keep her curiosity sealed. Getting into other people’s business meant you were inviting them into yours. And she sure didn’t want Joel in hers. The very nature of his job as the town’s reporter made him nosy. A nuisance. If there was something to know, Joel was the one to find out.
More passengers trickled over to the gate, sitting in the row ahead. Scanning the room, Sienna hoped there wouldn’t be too many more.
“What brings you to Shreveport?” Joel inquired.
She adjusted the baby tummy-up on her lap. “A former student of mine is in the air force and invited me to his pinning ceremony as he was ranking up.”
“Oh, that’s right. There’s a base about twenty minutes from here.” He cocked his head. “That was nice of you to attend.”
“He doesn’t have any family, so I kept in touch with him through the years.”
“And that’s why you are Swallow’s Creek’s Teacher of the Year for two years in a row. I wish you would let me feature you in the town paper.”
“I don’t need recognition,” she said, her tone frosty. “Whatever I do for others, it’s because I care.”
“All the more reason to let me do the story.”
Joel had been pressing her to do the article since last year. She turned him down every time, but that didn’t stop him from trying.
“See, this is why I don’t try to have a conversation with you. You don’t quit.” Sienna pulled out a changing pad and a diaper then changed Micah. Micah pumped his little legs. “Where’s his car seat and stroller?” she asked once she was finished.
“I checked the car seat and didn’t take the stroller,” Joel said, pointing to the baby carrier on his chest. “I wanted to pack light. I’ll buy whatever he needs once I’m home.”
She snorted. “That was a big mistake. You’re going to need a ton of stuff. These little guys come with a lot of baggage. You’ll have to get a bassinet, formula, diapers…a baby cam. All of that.”
“Yeah, I am clueless.” He rubbed his chin and studied her. “You seem to know a lot about babies. Would you mind coming with me to the department store once we’re back in town?”
“Ah… I don’t know if I’m the right person for the job,” she hedged, returning the baby to Joel. She grimaced at Joel’s awkward attempts to hold the infant. “Maybe you could ask Jade or Kelsey,” she said, referring to her best friends, who were mothers. Sienna was godmother to Jade’s almost sixteen-year-old daughter, Izabella, and she played aunt to Kelsey’s twin six-year-old girls, Mia and Morgan . Kelsey was also expecting again and due sometime in early July.
“Thanks. I’ll reach out…” He sounded lost. But Jade or Kelsey would set him straight, Sienna told herself, pushing back the small feeling of guilt. Micah chose that moment to release a little sigh, which tugged at her heart.
Kelsey’s pregnancy had awakened Sienna’s desire to be a mother, but until she was finished with her dissertation, everything else would have to wait, including motherhood. Sienna wanted to be a wife and then have children, and a husband wasn’t on her must-have-anytime-soon list.
For now, her computer was her only serious relationship. That suited her just fine. Her laptop didn’t fuss, didn’t complain, and when she was tired of it, all she had to do was close the lid.
In the meantime, Sienna fed her maternal instincts by volunteering in the nursery at church. The head organizer was on vacation, and Sienna was the lead caretaker in her absence.
“Are you connecting in Dallas or Charlotte?” Joel asked.
“Dallas.”
“So am I. Where are you sitting?”
She huffed. “On a seat inside the plane. Where do you expect me to be? On the wing?” She knew she was being snarky, but really, he just asked too many questions.
Joel held up a hand. “Just making conversation.” Even though more passengers had trickled over to the gate, Sienna deduced their flight wouldn’t be full, which was good news.
The flight crew walked up to the podium, and the attendant shared with the passengers that the plane was being cleaned and prepared for takeoff. Sienna glanced at her watch. There was about ten minutes before they would begin to board. Joel excused himself, leaving the diaper bag with her, and strolled up to the counter.
Sienna decided to text her Three Amigas group, which consisted of herself, Kelsey and Jade. Her fingers glided across the screen. Guess who I ran into?
Your future husband, Jade shot back. Sienna sent a gagging emoji.
I wish, she replied.
Jade sent three question marks.
Joel’s here and get this. He’s coming back to DE with a baby.
Kelsey’s answer was instant. Hold up. Joel’s got a baby mama?
No. His nephew. Sienna looked up and saw Joel heading back her way. The attendant announced they were going to be boarding soon. Gotta go. Talk later. She slipped the phone into her purse.
Joel returned and asked. “What zone are you in?”
“I’m zone six,” Sienna said.
“If you want, I can upgrade our tickets to first class. I could use help with the baby, and I’m too tall to be cramped on that small plane. I need all the leg room I can get.”
How can he afford an upgrade? she wondered. He was a small-town reporter. But it wasn’t her business.
He tapped his feet. “Well? Do you want it or not?”
Her instinct was to decline, but the baby shouldn’t have to endure the plane ride with an amateur. Besides, Sienna couldn’t resist being better than Joel, and helping with Micah would be a good way to rub it in his face. She smirked. “When you put it like that, how can I say no?”
“You could just say thank you.” He grabbed his backpack and diaper bag, then marched up to the counter. She stood, gathered her belongings and accompanied Joel to get the new ticket. Sienna mumbled her appreciation. She knew she should be gracious, but being in Joel’s presence made her cranky. Within minutes, they were settled together in the airplane with the baby nestled on his lap, fast asleep.
At one point of their journey, an older woman across the aisle looked over at them and smiled. “Such a good baby. You guys make a beautiful family.”
Since he was in the aisle seat, Joel thanked the woman, which led to her chattering on about her own grandchildren. However, Sienna remained silent, sucker punched by the woman’s assumption that she was Micah’s mother. She stole a glance at Micah. How she wished she could claim this adorable child. She looked out the window, once again yearning to know how it would feel to bear life.
Her parents’ mantra, Education before love and marriage, counteracted her biological clock. Her overachieving parents had hammered that into her since she was a child. By the end of the summer, she would finally be Dr. Sienna King, and she could erase the mental image of her parents’ disappointed faces during her dissertation defense out of her mind.
Zoey Marie Jackson, Mother for a Month
© 2023. Used by permission.
affiliate links used
Zoey Marie Jackson loves writing sweet romances. She is almost never without a book and reads across genres. Originally from Jamaica, West Indies, she has earned degrees from New York University, SUNY at Stony Brook, Teachers College Columbia University and Argosy University and has been an educator for over 20 years. Zoey loves interacting with her readers. You can connect with her at www.zoeymariejackson.com
Zoey Marie Jackson is offering a print copy of Mother for a Month to THREE of my readers! (US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.
What about you? What makes you want to read Mother for a Month by Zoey Marie Jackson? Have you ever visited Delaware?
Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.
Thank you for sharing. This sounds good.
I haven’t been to Delaware.
I have been to Delaware. MOTHER FOR A MONTH by Zoey Marie Jackson sounds like a sweet story.
This sounds interesting! I have not yet been to this state.
I’ve never been to Delaware.
Sounds great! I live in Delaware. 🙂
I would like to read Mother for a Month because I have read other books by Zoey Marie and really liked them so because of that this this excerpt I am confident it would be a fun book to read. I have never been to Delaware.
New author for me. Never been to delaware.
I have never been to Delaware. It sounds like a really interesting book. Thank you for sharing.
This looks like an interesting novel.
Thanks for the excerpt, sounds good! I’ve not been to Delaware.
That excerpt makes me want to read more!
I have never visited Delaware, but I have enjoyed one of Zoey Marie Jackson’s romances.
i haven’t either!
looks like a fun one
Sounds really great
agreed!
Never been there and new author for me!
yay!
I love Christian romance and books with babies! I’ve never been to Delaware.
I’m drawn to ‘Mother for a Month’ by Zoey Marie Jackson because it promises an emotional and heartwarming journey about love, family, and unexpected bonds. The unique plot makes it an appealing read that I’m eager to delve into. Regarding Delaware, unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to visit, but it’s definitely on my future travel plans!
Have not been to Delaware, but it sounds like a fun read!