Dragon Daddy’s Nanny

  Misty Vale Shifters 1

  Samantha Leal

  Dragon Daddy’s Nanny

  Copyright ©2020 by Samantha Leal

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the author’s permission.

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  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 1

  “Okay, so I guess this is how it’s done in all the great romance novels!” Amelia said with a grin as she let her finger hover over the map, willing her subconscious to find somewhere spectacular.

  When she brought her hand down and she felt her fingertip connect with the smooth paper underneath, her heart skipped a beat and her skin tingled with anticipation.

  This was it.

  She eased her eyes open slowly, her vision adjusting to the myriad of lines all coming together into one spot where she had randomly placed her forefinger, a place in time and space that was surely about to change her life. And yet, it was somewhere she didn’t even yet know.

  When she focused and the words came popping out at her, she instinctively found herself smiling.

  Misty Vale.

  From what she could tell from the map, it appeared to be a little town nestled in the Rockies, somewhere she had never ventured before in her life, but she supposed somewhere that had also always intrigued her. It would certainly be a lot different to here. She had lived by the beach her entire life. But it’s not as if that had worked out so well for her.

  “Misty Vale.” She said it aloud and let it roll around on her tongue. Her soul liked it. It sounded good. Wholesome. Somewhere that would surely bring her more happiness than here. Somewhere that could give her hope.

  Without wasting a moment longer, she jumped to her feet and sprang into action. Today was the day she was going to change her life.

  With her pack hitched high on her shoulder and with a spring in her step, Amelia couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. The cold, crisp air, the scent of pine and the beautiful fall leaves were the first thing that struck her as she walked into town on her first day and saw how picturesque and stunning Misty Vale was. Being a beach girl for as long as she had known, it was certainly going to be a different way of life out here in her new town. She was in awe at how beautiful it was, and as she wandered around taking it all in, she knew she had found somewhere special. It was the perfect place to begin again and to forget her past and all the trouble that had gone along with it.

  It was the kind of town you saw in the movies, one that Amelia had barely even dared think existed until she had played roulette with the map a few days before. She looked up and saw The Grand Lodge was sitting on the mountain, looking down over the town as if it were some kind of overseer, and it made her think again of places she had seen on TV. Like some perfect little place off the beaten track in countries like Switzerland, its colors popping out of the landscape, adding to the reds and greens, and giving the mountainside a festive feel. She began to walk and explore, and Main Street was long and full of incredible shops. She smiled as she spotted a cute little candy store, a beautician, gift shops and bars that were all independent and quirky in their own way. She didn’t think she had yet to see a chain store or big corporation, and as she ventured further into this lovely little place, she found herself feeling right at home. Something that kept appearing was an image that must be the town’s crest. There was a castle in the middle of it with a crown hovering overhead, and an ancient-looking dragon on one side and what she thought may have been a bear on the other. It looked like something from the Scottish Highlands, old and powerful, but it made her smile.

  Amelia stopped when she reached a B&B and hitched her bag back onto her shoulder. It had been a long train ride and she was aching and tired. All she could think about was sleep, but she needed somewhere to crash and ditch her things before she headed out to look for a job, and she wasn’t going to waste any time doing it.

  She reached for the doors of the B&B at the exact same time that they swung open, and she felt the unwelcome thud of the door hitting her shoulder as her bag went crashing to the ground.

  “Ouch,” she whispered as she tried to regain her composure, and she instinctively bent down to collect her things. She was aware of someone bending down too, and as she looked up, she saw him, right there in front of her eyes, looking back at her with disdain.

  “I’m sorry,” he said with a raised brow. “I almost took you out there.”

  Amelia found herself scowling, but at the same time, her heart faltered for a moment as she took in the tall dark guy with broad shoulders, a black beard, and a smoldering stare. Man, he was hot. Clearly trouble, but hot. He was dressed casually, in a pair of dark blue jeans and a black sweatshirt, but she could tell that his clothes weren’t just from any old store. They looked well-made and expensive. His eyes were heavy and brooding, and as they rested briefly on hers again, she felt stunned into stillness.

  Wow…

  That was the only thought that went through her mind as she found herself kneeling there as if she had been frozen to the ground.

  “I… well, thanks, I guess…” she said, trying to mimic his manor.

  He scooped up her bag and smiled sheepishly as they both rose to their feet. She couldn’t tell why, but the way he was looking at her was as if she had done something wrong and he was trying to figure her out. As if he wanted to ask her what the hell she had been doing there.

  “Should watch where you’re going next time,” he said with amusement and then he winked, and it made her skin tingle.

  He was so handsome, so intimidating in his stance and the way he held himself. He was like no one she had ever seen before; someone so confident in their own skin, someone who seemed to command attention. It was as if the whole of Main Street had stopped when he had stepped outside, and yet, here she was, caught in his glare and feeling as if he was seeing deep into her soul. Her skin burned with something she could only liken to intense excitement, and she suddenly became aware that her mouth must have been gaping open and she closed it tight. He seemed to narrow his eyes at her, as if he were sizing her up again, but he smiled warmly. She gave a weak smile and went to ask him if he made a habit of almost knocking girls out with swing doors, but before she had chance, he took another step, and he was moving away, glancing back over his shoulder at her as he made his way down Main Street in the direction of the mountain.

  Amelia faltered for a moment, unsure of what had just happened. She felt stunned. Shaken. Her heart was pounding slightly, and she felt in a daze. It was obviously just an accident, a silly little moment of oversite. But had he been rude? Or had she been acting dumb because he was so goddam good-looking? She shook her head and laughed to herself. She was such a ditz! If she was going to make it in a new town, she was going to have to play it cooler than that when a handsome guy appeared in front of her. Plus, that most certainly was not what she was about anymore, anyway. Men were the last thing on her mind after the year she’d had. She shook the thoughts away, not letting herself go there. She absolutely would not let the events of her past ruin what was supposed to be her new beginning.

  She felt as if she still had his eyes on her, and she found herself looking ahead to see if he was still walking down Main Street, but the crowd had surged outside one of the coffee houses and he was gone. She sighed and pushed open the door to the B&B and headed inside, still feeling as if her feathers had been slightly ruffled and she needed to prune them back into their glorious self.

  After checking in and finding her room, she threw her bags down on the floor and flopped down on the bed, stretching her arms high over her head and enjoying the feel of finally being off her feet and somewhere cozy and warm. This was it. This, as they say, was the first day of the rest of her life.

  She hugged her arms around herself and closed her eyes. It had been a rough year, with lots of setbacks and plenty to run away from. But she had done it. She had packed up and fled, and now she was somewhere new, somewhere that filled her with hope, and somewhere she could finally let the memories of her relationship with Toby disappear. There was nothing here in Misty Vale to remind her of what had happened between them. Nothing that would evoke a feeling or strong memory when she stepped inside a restaurant or a store. And she had done the ultimate thing to make sure she never suffered at the hands of someone like him again, she had done what he always tried to tell her she couldn’t do. She had gone out on her own and she was being independent. She didn’t need someo
ne to guide her, and she certainly didn’t need to be under anyone else’s control. She was her own woman, she was regaining her life, and she was starting again, without someone trying to erase who she truly was so that she fit their perfect image.

  She smiled to herself knowingly and felt a surge of pride again. She really was going to live now. The past was long dead, and she was ready for her future.

  Chapter 2

  As Dash walked down Main Street, he had to fight every urge inside of him not to turn back and stare at the beautiful woman who he had just bumped into outside of the B&B. Misty Vale hadn’t thrown him any surprises in a long time, but something about her had intrigued him, and he was already worried what that something may be.

  After the experience with women he’d had, the last thing he wanted was to find his inner beast stirred by a cute little stranger.

  Not on his life.

  “Hi, Dash,” old Mrs. Brown called from across the street outside the small café where the older generation of town met every week to crochet and swap stories. Dash smiled and raised his hand, waving back to her and her group of friends, all looking very at home there, sipping cups of coffee and talking about the good old days.

  He always wondered what it must have been like for them, growing up in Misty Vale in a much simpler time before years of animosity had changed things. But in a way, he was glad that he didn’t know, it would surely only make him sad that he and his daughter wouldn’t have the same luxury of feeling like all was right with the world.

  He reached into his pocket for the keys to his truck and when he opened the door and climbed inside, he looked in the rearview mirror and noticed the red tint to his cheeks. His heart was running away beneath his skin and his dragon was stirring.

  That woman… she really had done something to him. And from only one run-in. The tiniest patch in time, brought on by complete coincidence, and yet, now she was in his head. He furrowed his brow and started the engine. He didn’t have time for distractions today; he had a child to collect and a problem to solve as soon as possible. His inner demons were going to have to wait.

  He pulled into traffic and the hustle and bustle of Main Street with his music blaring, and he tapped the wheel and sang along as he made his way to school. He felt good, all things considered. And now, he couldn’t wait to see Nora and give her the biggest hug and chat about her day.

  “Daddy!” she beamed as she ran down the school steps and flung her arms around his neck, kissing him on the cheek as he breathed her in and held her tight.

  These were the moments he lived for, they were the ones that made everything worthwhile. The past may have been hard, and they may have overcome a lot to get there, but he and his daughter were happy and settled, and she came before anything else.

  “How was your day, sweetheart?” he asked as they drove back along Main Street and he found his eyes instinctively scanning the spot outside the B&B where he had collided with the cute stranger only an hour before.

  “It was fun,” Nora giggled. “We learned all about the planets, we looked at pictures of Earth and Mars.”

  “Wow,” Dash laughed. “That sounds pretty exciting.”

  “It was,” Nora said thoughtfully. “I like Earth the best… because that’s where we live.”

  He reached over and ruffled her hair, feeling a great sense of relief and pride. He hadn’t done so bad when it came to raising her. He was proud of the lovely girl she was becoming.

  He slowed his truck and pulled into a parking spot close to one of his offices and shut off the engine. Nora was smiling happily, looking out the window and waited patiently for him to come around to her side to unbuckle her and let her out. This was just part of their everyday routine now; afterschool pickups usually consisted of visiting the office for at least an hour to make sure everything was in order. But Dash longed to be able to give Nora a bit more normality. He felt bad that she had to spend her free time sitting around in the office when she could be doing afterschool classes or at Kid’s Club up at the golf resort. Even the thought of her settling in at home, doing her homework and waiting for her dinner to be made stirred something in him, and it made his guilt rise. A five-year-old shouldn’t have to be constantly hanging around her father’s place of business, but what choice did he have?

  It’s time you got a proper nanny, he thought.

  He had been thinking it for some time now, and it was something he definitely wanted to explore, but so far, all of the agencies he had tried hadn’t come up with someone quite special enough to be the right person to spend so much time with Nora. She hadn’t bonded with anyone, and she hadn’t wanted them to come again. It was hard, because all Dash wanted was to make her happy and know that she was with someone he could trust, and she adored.

  He walked through the office doors and watched as Nora bounced onto the black plush velvet couch that sat proudly in the front window and looked up at the flatscreen TV ahead, showing the business news on a national channel. Dash checked his watch. The office was open for a couple more hours and he knew it was unlikely that any clients would be coming in this late in the day. He reached for the remote, which was hidden in the chest of drawers below the TV and flicked it to a kids’ show.

  “There you go, sweetheart,” he said. “I’ll be as quick as I can, then we just need to run down the street to do one more building check.”

  Nora nodded at him obediently, and he smiled.

  He really was the luckiest guy in the world.

  Chapter 3

  Oktoberfest.

  The words were printed big and bold on the huge banner that hung across the very center of Main Street, adorned with twinkling lights that were already sparkling even when the sun had yet to fully set.

  Fall was starting to kick in, and Misty Vale clearly was ready to embrace it. The leaves on the trees were becoming a beautiful orange, and the days were becoming much shorter. Amelia looked at the big clock sitting proud on the town hall building and she could see that it was getting close to 6pm. It had been a wild day for her, coming to a new place and trying to find her bearings, but after an initial rest, followed by a couple of hours of exploring, she was starting to feel as if this place was starting to feel more like home.

  She had spoken to the lady at the reception of the B&B and asked her where the best place to look for work was and she had told her to find the noticeboards at the Town Hall. Back in her hometown, Amelia had worked in childcare, babysitting as much as possible, since she was young, and eventually, moved on to school and nursery settings. Since she had met Toby, her career had taken a backseat, and now she felt a little lost. She had been out of work for so long, almost two years, but she was desperate to get back to doing something she loved. Toby had done his best to make sure she didn’t have too much of a life outside of him, and work had been the first thing to go. Her mom had only made the problem worse by telling her it was up to Amelia to make sure her man was happy and never lost interest. She should follow his wishes and forget about work for a while, dress right, make an effort with her appearance, always be done up appropriately and not let standards slip. It had made her so anxious, and the thought of ever finding a job again without having to look over her shoulder had become too hard back home. So, with Toby firmly in the past, she had left. Now, she was out in the world on her own again and she was ready to reclaim her life.

  She wandered along Main Street and took in all the lovely little stores. They were all done up for Fall, bursting with color in the windows, reds and oranges, twinkling lights, pumpkins and apples. She smiled as she looked at the display in the book store and scanned the rest of the window for the site of any little signs that may indicate they were looking for extra staff now that the holidays were fast approaching, and by the looks of things, an Oktoberfest was coming to town, which would, no doubt, see an influx of visitors.