Rose Danby, nanny for Paul Stewart’s twins, never expected her frustrated life to become even more perplexed when her employer is transferred from sunny California to wintry Minnesota. He promises her the moon if she’ll follow, and on Christmas Eve, the moon serves as a catalyst for Rose to learn that trust, faith and love can make her life complete.

Chapter One Excerpt - Christmas Moon

"Rose...I want you to marry me."

Rose Danby’s spoon clanged into the sink as she spun around to face her employer. She searched his face, expecting to see a grin but he looked serious. He was handling the joke with the skill of a standup comedian.

"So...what’s the punchline?" Rose asked.

Paul Stewart faltered. "It’s not a joke. I was thinking that--"

"It’s not a joke?" She felt her forehead rumple like a washboard. Not that she wouldn’t want to marry a man as kind and handsome as her employer, but she was his twin’s nanny. "What do you mean it’s not a joke?"

His gaze searched hers. "I’m sorry. I shocked you." He moved closer. "It just makes sense."

"It makes sense to you, maybe, but I don’t get it."

He glanced over his shoulder before refocusing on her. "Are the twins sleeping?"

She nodded. "They went to bed about an hour ago."

A relieved look settled on his face, and he pulled out a kitchen chair. "Could we sit and talk?"

Talk? She felt her legs tremble and realized sitting was a wise move. Before she took a step, the tea kettle whistled. "How about a cup of tea...while we chat?"

Without waiting for an answer, she moved to the stove and pulled the water from the burner, her mind swirling with possible topics for this conversation. Nothing fit his "I want you to marry me" line.

Rose made the tea with as much speed as her shaking hands could manage, then set a mug in front of him and sat across from him with her own. "What’s this about?"

He raised his focus from the cup to her face. "I’ve been asked to take a transfer. Told is more accurate."

"Transfer?" Her world spun out of control. What would she do? She had taken this position after a romantic fiasco more than a year ago. She wasn’t ready to find another job. "You mean transferred out of LA?"

He nodded, then refocused on the tea.

"Transferred to where?"

"Minnesota."

She felt her breath escape. "Minnesota?"

He inched his gaze upward. "To Little Cloud."

"But why? I don’t understand."

"One of our branches is having serious problems. They’ll give me two years to troubleshoot or close the place." He rubbed the back of his neck, then shook his head slowly. "That’s why I need you. The kids need you."

The kids. What would life be like without his four-year old twins? Ice edged through her veins. Though she had a huge challenge with Paul’s daughter, Kayla, Rose loved the children. Kayla had been born a quiet child, and her brother Colin had taken over for her. She mainly communicated through Colin and occasionally her father. But Rose had finally made progress. What would happen if they moved away? Kayla needed her. They both did, and she needed them, but... Her thoughts lodged in her mind like a log jam, but the answer was clear.

"I can’t marry you, Paul."

Though she spoke the words, the vision of being in Paul’s arms rose in her mind. She had dreamed it before, then warned herself for being so foolish. She was the nanny. The dinner maker. Even the thought of another employer-employee relationship made her recoil.

His brown eyes sparked with concern. "But I can’t go without you, Rose. I can’t find someone to care for my kids and handle a floundering corporation without help."

"You didn’t ask me to help. You asked me to marry you. They’re different." A deep sigh escaped her. She longed to say yes, but she was a Christian—-a woman who knew love and commitment were what the Lord expected for marriage.

She shook her head. "I can’t leave Los Angeles, and I can’t marry someone who doesn’t love me." Old memories tore through her and left her reeling.

"I thought you loved the kids."

"You didn’t ask me to marry the kids. I love them with all my heart. The thought of losing them kills me." Tears rolled from her eyes.

He knelt beside her. "Don’t cry. Please. I made a terrible mistake asking you to marry me. I know you’re a Christian woman, and I thought marriage would be the only way you’d agree to come with us."

Angry at her uncontrolled emotion, she grabbed a napkin from the holder and daubed her eyes. "You’re an executive. You’re strong. Tell them you can’t drag your kids that far away. They’ll have to listen to you."

"And if they don’t?" He rose and rested his hand on the back of her chair.

She lifted her eyes to his stress-filled face, trying to contain the ache in her heart. "They’ll listen, Paul. They have to."