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

Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

***KEITH***

“ S tella, you had no way of knowing. It was entirely my fault, and I don’t want to hear another word about it,” he said, starting to pack up. “You told me about the way Jordan was acting. I knew something wasn’t right; I just didn’t want to face it.”

“You mean this isn’t normal?” she asked, looking over at Jordan. “I just assumed…”

He shook his head. “Most shifters don’t show the ability until they hit their teens,” he said. “Baby shifters would be very dangerous, both to themselves and others.”

To his surprise, Stella bent over and picked up the baby. “If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I wouldn’t believe this little angel is anything but a normal baby,” she said, studying him. “I hate to admit it, but I was scared of him. It was like he was something else there for a few seconds.”

“I’m sorry, Stella,” he said, throwing the beach bag over his shoulder. “You don’t have to be alone with him again if you don’t want to, I’ll understand, and I don’t blame you, I wish there had been some way I could have prepared you.”

Stella snorted, “I would have thought you’d gone over the deep end,” she said, a smile finally appearing on her face. “I’m still not sure that I haven’t.”

“You’re perfectly sane,” he said. “In fact, you’re taking this much better than I thought you would.”

“I may freak out yet,” she said, shaking her head. “So don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.”

When they got back to the cabin, he took Jordan, changed him, and put him down for his nap, sure that Stella needed some time to herself. He knew that she was going to have questions and was preparing himself to answer them as best he could, but he knew that some of what he would tell her, she’d have to take with a big dose of faith. Most people didn’t believe in real magic, couldn’t open themselves up to the possibility, and refused to believe something they couldn’t see. He hoped that Stella was not one of those people, that as the truth slowly sank in, she wouldn’t freak out, and that she wouldn’t see him as a monster.

Jordan was fast asleep as soon as he laid him down in the crib, but he stood staring out the window into the trees, putting off coming out of the bedroom for as long as he could. Stella was waiting for him in the kitchen. “I made some coffee. I thought it might help clear my mind,” she said. “Do you want a cup?”

“Are you sure you don’t want to lay down for a while?” he asked. “I’ll be here if Jordan wakes up. You’ve been through a big shock, and some sleep might help clear your mind.”

“I wouldn’t mind lying down for a while,” Stella said. “But it’s the middle of the afternoon, I shouldn’t be napping now, there are things that need to be done.”

“I can do them,” he said, taking her by the shoulders and leading her out of the kitchen. “I want you to go rest. I’ll take care of dinner, you just get some sleep, you look exhausted.”

She didn’t fight him, even let him tuck her in. “Wake me up in an hour,” she said, closing her eyes. “I don’t want to sleep too long.”

The sound of her quiet breathing told him that she was already asleep, and he leaned down, kissed her on the forehead, and stood over her for a second. “Sleep well, sweetheart,” he said. “You’re an amazing woman; I would be a fool to let you get away.”

A second later, a knock on the door interrupted the quiet in the cabin, and he quickly left the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Max was standing on the porch when he opened the door, a concerned look on his face, and Keith opened it wider to let him. After putting a finger up to his lips, he led him through the kitchen and out onto the porch, then let out a long sigh.

“I thought we were going to wake them up,” he said, gesturing to a chair. “Stella and the baby are both asleep. We had…an eventful afternoon.”

“What the hell happened?” Max asked, then lowered his voice. “Keith, I felt the surge of power when you shifted. I think everyone on the island did.”

“I didn’t have any choice,” he said, then quickly told Max what happened. “So, I’ve exposed myself to a regular human, and my son is already showing signs of being a shifter.”

Max was silent for a second. “Holy crap,” he finally said. “You’ve got yourself in a real mess.”

“Gee, you think?” he asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Stella didn’t freak out as much as I thought she would, I mean, she saw me, Max, all of me.”

“You said she was tough,” Max said, shrugging his shoulders. “Maybe you shouldn’t be so surprised.”

“I’ve never met a woman like her. She’s special, and she makes me feel things no one ever has before,” he said, as surprised by the admission as Max was. “I’ve tried to push the feelings away, tried to pretend they weren’t there, but when I thought she was going to drown, it…I don’t know, broke something loose inside of me.”

Max raised his eyebrows at him. “That sounds pretty serious,” he said. “Are you falling for this woman?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never really fallen for anyone, so I don’t know what it feels like,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I thought you didn’t believe in love.”

“I don’t,” Max said, a thoughtful look on his face. “But attraction is real. Sometimes it’s just physical, and sometimes it’s deeper than that.”

“So, what am I supposed to do now?” he asked, feeling confused and miserable. “She’s my nanny, Max, this is all so inappropriate.”

“That’s just an excuse and you know it,” Max said, shaking his head. “You’re both adults. If she’s willing, there’s nothing wrong with it, but I just want you to remember, if things don’t go well, you’ll be out a nanny.”

***Stella***

Stella swam slowly to the surface of consciousness, a feeling that there was something unpleasant she was going to have to face slowly settling over her, but unsure what it was. A second later, it all came rushing back to her, and she sat up in bed, her heart pounding, the memory of watching Keith shift playing over and over in her mind. Taking a deep, calming breath, she laid back down on the bed and closed her eyes, letting the entire scene play out in her mind from start to finish.

It was a bit of a shock to discover that she wasn’t scared, wasn’t freaked out. She just had a lot of questions, and she got out of bed ready to find the answers. Looking out the window, she realized that the sun was almost down, and a few stars were already shining brightly in the sky. Turning from the window, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and cringed, then quickly changed out of her swimsuit.

Opening the door to her room, she looked down the hallway thinking that it was too quiet, and instantly began to worry about Jordan. Hurrying down the hallway and cursing herself for sleeping too long, she burst into the living room, then abruptly stopped when she saw Keith playing on the floor with the baby.

He was stretched out next to Jordan, dressed in a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt, leaning up on one elbow, helping the baby stack the blocks, then knocking them down. “Well, hey there, I hope you had a good nap,” Keith said, smiling up at her and making a wave of desire erupt inside her. “Are you feeling better?”

“I’m not sure,” she said, trying to fight off the attraction surging through her. “I’m still a little confused.”

Keith sat up and pulled the baby into his lap, “That’s not surprising. If I was you, I would be too,” he said. “I’m going to put the baby to bed, then we can talk over dinner. I bet you’re starving.”

Her stomach began to rumble loudly, and she realized that she smelled food. “Did you cook?” she asked, fighting off the urge to sink down next to him. “Something smells good.”

“I’m afraid I’m hopeless in the kitchen,” he said, shaking his head. “Max sent dinner over from the village.”

“That was kind of him,” she said. “Does he know what happened?”

“He’s one of us so I told him. I hope you don’t mind,” Keith said, getting to his feet. “I’m going to go read this little guy a story. You have time for a shower before dinner if you want.”

She was relieved to escape from him for a few minutes, both to cool the desire that was surging through her and to give her some time to collect her thoughts. Keith looked so normal, he didn’t look like a…magical creature, but she’d seen the proof, witnessed it herself, and there was no going back. Standing under the hot water, she forced herself to look at the facts, to view the situation objectively, and concluded that believing was the only path she could take.

Feeling like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, she got dressed, brushed her hair, then followed the smell of food out to the porch. When she saw the little table, set for two, a candle burning merrily in the middle of the table, she gasped as a wave of pleasure shot through her.

“I wanted to do something special, something to say thank you for understanding,” Keith said, looking more nervous than she’d ever seen him. “You do understand, don’t you?”

“I don’t know if I understand, but I believe what I saw was real,” she said. “I think that’s a start.”

“I bet you’re hungry,” he said, pulling a chair out for her. “Sit down, and I’ll go get the food. I hope you like fish. I took a chance that you did.”

When he came back a few minutes later and set a huge platter down in the middle of the table, the smell made her stomach begin to growl. “Oh, I love fish tacos,” she said. “I haven’t had a chance to try them here yet, but it smells fantastic.”

“I cooked the fish myself,” he said, pulling the lid off a casserole dish in the center of the platter, sending a stream of fragrant steam into the air.

“That smells wonderful,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I thought you said you couldn’t cook.”

“Oh, I’m great at turning on the oven and putting things inside it,” he said, grinning at her. “I can’t take credit for the seasoning, but I did half the work. ”

“Well, thank you for using your excellent oven skills,” she said. “Now, can we eat?”

He laughed, “You bet, I’m just as hungry as you are,” he said, reaching over and filling her plate. “I don’t think I’ve been eating right the last few days.”

“You think?” she asked, then shoved half a taco into her mouth. “You’ve been living on coffee and cereal for days.”

“You shouldn’t talk with your mouth full,” Keith said, grinning at her. “But I’m glad it’s good.”

She gave him a dirty look, but was already shoving the other half of her taco into her mouth and decided that she needed another one when it was gone. She polished off two more before sitting back in her chair with a sigh ready to take a break for a second, and looked over at Kieth to find that he was watching her with an amused look on his face.

“I was hungry,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “Now, let’s talk about this…dragon thing. Start from the beginning, and don’t leave anything out.”