The Dragon’s Brave Nanny (Mysteries of Dragon’s Island #4)

Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

***KEITH***

K eith looked over at Stella, then down at the baby playing at his feet, wondering how she’d managed to ask the one question he hadn’t been able to answer since Jordan appeared in his life. He wasn’t prepared to be a father, and might have had time to adjust to the idea if he’d been given the opportunity, but suddenly being responsible for a one-year-old had thrown him badly. Doing things halfway had never been his thing; he finished what he had started and always did the best job that he could do, but fatherhood was different.

“I’ve been asking myself that same question for three days,” he finally said. “And the truth is, I’m no closer to an answer. I know that probably makes me a bad guy. I’m sure you think I should just automatically love him because he’s my son, that I should want him in my life, but I’m still reeling, still trying to adjust to the idea.”

“That’s understandable. It probably still doesn’t feel quite real,” Stella said, her eyes full of compassion. “This has been hard on both of you, and I’m not going to tell you what you should do. All I’m going to say is that you can’t just ignore Jordan. As long as he’s with you, he needs you. You’re all he has right now.”

“Yeah, that’s what scares me the most,” he said. “I’ve never run away from anything in my life, but I don’t know if I can do this. I don’t know anything about babies.”

Stella studied him for a second. “You seem like an intelligent man,” she said, a little smile on her face. “At least when it comes to some things, I’m sure you could figure it out, and we do have things like books and the internet. There’s lots of good information right at your fingertips if you just look for it.”

“I don’t know if I have time,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m trying to build my contracting business. This job I’m doing for Max will make or break me. I’ve been working toward this for a long time.”

“You don’t have to do it alone, you have me,” she said. “But you’re going to have to do more than you’ve been doing. Jordan needs his father, not a mean grumpy man who ignores him.”

He looked down at the baby, “I don’t know where to start, he cries every time I hold him,” he admitted. “I must be doing something wrong.”

“You’re just nervous, Jordan can sense that,” she said. “And he probably misses his mom, so some of those tears aren’t because of you. It will get better if you just relax.”

She scooped Jordan up off the floor and tickled him under the chin. “Go say hello to your dad, little one,” she said, then handed him over. “And no crying, he’s doing his best.”

Jordan tensed up in his arms, and he was sure that he was going to start crying. “Hey, it’s okay,” he said, remembering how Stella had calmed the baby earlier. “You and I just need to get to know each other, that’s all. ”

The baby stared up at him warily but didn’t cry. “See, I’m not so bad,” he said, smiling at his son. “I know I’m not your mom, but we might be able to figure this out if we work together. What do you think, little man?”

To his surprise the baby began to gurgle at him, then reached up and patted his cheek, a smile on his face. Their eyes met, and he realized with a shock that Jordan had his eyes. A rush of something warm and wonderful spread through him, and a smile slowly spread across his face. He looked over at Stella, then back down at the baby, shocked by the feeling, not sure what to do with it.

“I think there’s hope for you two yet,” Stella said, grinning at him, tears in her eyes. “Welcome to being a parent.”

“What do I do now?” he asked. “What’s the next step?”

“We go shopping,” she said, getting up from the bed. “Unless you want to stay here with Jordan while I go.”

“I think we should all go,” he said, getting up carefully from the bed, afraid he might jostle the baby and make him cry. “I’m still traumatized from the last time we were alone together.”

Stella laughed, “That bad, huh?” she asked. “I wish I could tell you that the worst is over, but it’s not. That tooth has just started to break the surface, so we’re going to have a few sleepless nights ahead of us.”

“You’re not making this parenthood thing sound very appealing,” he said, looking down at Jordan. “He’s like a volcano just waiting to erupt.”

“Aptly put,” she said, laughing. “But there might be a few things we can do to hold back the lava. I just hope they have a good baby store on the island.”

“I’m sure they can help us at the front desk. For what I’m paying for this room, they’d better,” he said, grabbing the key and heading for the door.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Stella called, stopping him in his tracks. “You’re not going to get far without the car seat and the stroller.”

“I guess that would help. See, I’m terrible at this,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I just hope I don’t lose the baby.”

Stella laughed, “Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on you,” she said, her eyes sparkling with amusement, and to his horror, his body began to tingle. “You make a handsome pair.”

Quickly looking away, he took a deep breath to calm the desire racing through his blood and took his time buckling the baby into the stroller, relieved that Stella couldn’t see his reaction. For a few minutes he’d forgotten about his attraction to her. Now it was back and even stronger, and he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d made a mistake telling her so much about himself.

Stella was waiting by the door, the car seat in her hands, the diaper bag thrown over her shoulder. “I hope you’ve got your credit card,” she said. “This is going to be expensive.”

He groaned, “I’m not made of money, you know,” he said. “I hope you’re a bargain shopper.”

“I’ll do my best,” she said, opening the door. “But babies need a lot of stuff, so prepare yourself.”

***Stella***

“Okay, we’ve got diapers and wipes, enough food to last two weeks, teething rings, and biscuits,” she said, pointing to each thing in the cart. “Let’s move on to clothes, or maybe we should look for a travel crib first.”

“I’m sure Max will have a crib,” Keith said. “I don’t think we need that, do we?”

“Trust me, you’ll be happy to have it,” she said, pushing the cart toward the right aisle. “Oh, and look, the backpacks, we definitely need one of those. ”

He looked at the box in her hands, “Why do we need that?” he asked. “Are we going hiking or something?”

“Yep, you and the baby, a father-son adventure,” she said, throwing it into the cart. “Bonding time, silly.”

“I don’t remember agreeing to that,” he said, taking the box back out of the cart, a frown of annoyance on his face. “I’m not exactly the hiking kind of person.”

“Fine, no hiking, but it might come in handy around the resort. I don’t think the stroller is going to work well in the sand,” she said. “Tell you what, I’ll pay for it.”

He put it back in the cart with a sigh. “No, you won’t, but if we don’t use it, I’m never going to let you forget it,” he said. “What’s next?”

She talked him into the travel crib, then led the way to the clothing department, ignoring his impatient sighs every time she put something into the cart. “I have an idea,” she finally said. “Why don’t you and Jordan go over to the toy department and pick out a few things? Some sand toys would be great, and a few educational things wouldn’t hurt.”

“Toys? We’re buying toys?” Keith asked, then started shaking his head. “I have to draw the line somewhere. This is getting out of control.”

“Kids need toys, it’s how they learn and grow, but if you don’t think Jordan needs that, then fine,” she said. “I suppose a few books so we can read to him are out of the question as well.”

“Woman, you’re going to bankrupt me and we’re not even married,” he mumbled, then realized what he’d said and looked over at her. A thrill shot through her when their eyes met, and she felt her cheeks getting hot. “I mean……. never mind, we’ll go look for some toys.”

She watched Keith walk away, desire rushing through her as she tried to push the picture of them together out of her mind, then forced herself to turn away. Nothing good could come from her ridiculous crush on him. He was her boss, and a bit of a jerk, definitely not the kind of man she usually got involved with. She just hoped he didn’t realize the kind of reaction his words had caused and hoped he never knew. It would be humiliating if he found out about her little infatuation.

Forcing herself to push it out of her mind, she began to gather a small wardrobe for Jordan, shopping the clearance and finding as many deals as she could, dreading another confrontation with Keith. But when he finally pushed the cart back over to her, she had to laugh when she saw all the toys piled up inside, enjoying the look of embarrassment on Keith’s face.

“We had a hard time making up our minds,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t know how we’re going to get all of this home.”

She added her stack to the cart. “Come on, you old softie,” she said. “We’d better get out of here before we buy the whole store.”

Keith only winced when the cashier announced the total. “Just look at it this way, you’re making up for a year of not being there,” she said, patting him on the back. “Jordan is going to be a much happier baby now, I promise.”

They loaded everything back up in the car that was waiting for them, then drove back to the hotel, Jordan happily playing with one of his new toys. “He’s pretty cute when he’s not crying,” Keith said, smiling at his son. “The toys were a good idea. Thank you for standing up to me. I can be a stubborn jerk sometimes.”

“I’ll always stand up for Jordan,” she said, smiling at him. “He needs as many adults in his corner as he can get.”

“Well, he’s got me now,” he said. “Even if I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“I hope so, poor little guy,” she said. “He probably misses his mother. She must have been in really bad shape to give him up to an almost stranger.”

“It’s terrible, but I don’t really know that much about her,” he said. “But I wish she would have told me; I wish she would have let me help her. Things could have been so much different.”

“You can’t change the past, Keith,” she said. “But you can change the future. It’s up to you.”

“I still have a lot to learn,” he said. “But I’m not running away anymore. I’m sure I’ll make a lot of mistakes, and I’m sure you’ll be there to point them out for me.”

“Did you just make a joke?” she asked, smiling at him. “I didn’t think you could.”

“I can be funny when I want to,” he said, clearly a little hurt. “I just have not felt much like it lately.”

“I’m sorry, I was just teasing you,” she said. “You’re doing great, Keith. Most parents have time to prepare for a baby. Give yourself a break.”

He studied her for a second, “A few hours ago, you made it seem like I was failing spectacularly as a parent,” he said. “Now you’re telling me I’m doing great. All I did was spend a bunch of money, and I don’t know how great that is.”

“You’re trying, and that’s what counts,” she said. “You’ve made sure that the baby has everything he needs to be physically comfortable, provided some toys to help him learn and grow; that’s progress. You’re not going to be a perfect father overnight, well, actually, you’ll never be a perfect father; it’s not possible, but you’re committed, and that’s more than I saw when I met you at the airport.”

Keith looked over at Jordan, “He is pretty cute when he’s not crying,” he said, his face softening. “Did you notice that he has my eyes?”

“It’s hard to miss, they’re the exact same shade of blue,” she said. “I think he has your nose and chin too. ”

“He does kind of look like me,” he said, still studying the baby. “It’s kind of a strange feeling to see so much of yourself in another person.”

She laughed, “He’s probably got some of your personality too, heaven help us,” she said, smiling at him. “And it looks like he needs a nap. We’ve completely worn the poor little guy out.”