Mountain Daddy's Nanny Read online

  “Hello?” a deep, rugged voice growled at her from the other end.

  “Oh… erm.. hi, this is Morgan…and I…” she stuttered, almost as if she had been taken off guard and they had called her instead of the other way around.

  “Who?” the man’s voice snapped on the other end of the line and stopped her in her tracks.

  “Morgan,” she said quickly. “Sorry, I’m just calling about the position you have advertised…” She paused for a breath and closed her eyes. She was waiting for the dismissal and almost couldn’t bare to face it. “The nanny job?” she confirmed.

  “Oh,” he said deeply as he breathed heavily. “That was fast.”

  “Sure,” she said. “I erm, well, I saw it in the store this morning and I wanted to call you right away. I’m very interested… Could I please have some more information?”

  The line went quiet, but she knew he was still there. He was breathing, and in the background, she could hear the sound of the television. It sounded as if he were watching a kid’s show, and there was the familiar canned laughter that seemed to be placed over most cartoons filling up the silence.

  “Are you from town?” he asked her before he cleared his throat.

  His voice was so deep and hostile it was intimidating, but she felt completely chastised by it, so she kept speaking with him.

  “Yes,” she said. “I currently live with my parents at the base of Wakestone Mountain.”

  He let a silence build between them and then he sighed and grumbled slightly.

  “Alright,” he said. “I’m on the mountain. I don’t know how well you know the road? But at the moment, they’re not exactly welcoming, if you know what I mean…”

  Morgan smiled. She certainly did know, however, she hadn’t been up there for some time, and the amount of different tracks and ways to reach the top had grown considerably.

  “Main roads?” she asked. “Are you off one of them?”

  “No,” he said. “Well, not for the last part anyhow.”

  “Oh,” she said, suddenly feeling nervous.

  She hadn’t been up the mountain for such a long time, the idea of heading up there alone to meet with a family she knew nothing about suddenly seemed a little intimidating. Especially considering his bedside manner wasn’t exactly friendly.

  “I can give you directions,” he said. “It’s nothing too fierce or unmanageable, don’t worry. We head into town most days as long as the snow doesn’t drift too far, which can be an issue occasionally at this time of year.”

  “Okay,” she bit her bottom lip and rested her palm across her heart. She could feel it pounding away beneath her skin and she liked the fact that she felt this uncertainty. It was exciting, and it made her look forward to what lay ahead.

  “And the job?” she asked suddenly, before they got off track and she found herself heading up there when she didn’t even know what she was going to.

  “What about it?” he asked gruffly.

  “Well,” she paused. “The advertisement said it was a live-in position?”

  “Yes, it is,” he said before he cleared his throat again. “The work I do means I have to be gone often on an evening or at short notice. I would need someone to be on hand to cover every eventuality. I want someone who’s going to be reliable, someone who is trustworthy, and someone who is good around kids. Does all of that sound like you?”

  She was taken aback by his abruptness, but she was growing more and more intrigued by the second, and so she found herself nodding her head in agreement.

  “It sounds just like me,” she said as she smiled and chewed her bottom lip. “I love kids.”

  And she truly did. She had spent plenty of time volunteering at some of the local nurseries when she was younger, and she had always thought that maybe one day, if her art dreams didn’t ever come to fruition, then maybe it would be a career she could possibly consider.

  “I need someone quickly,” he said. “As I said in the advert, this is urgent.”

  “Yes,” she agreed. “And I’m available immediately.”

  She cringed at how eager she sounded, but she didn’t want Mr. Sweeney to get any kind of advantage over her. The last thing she needed was him thinking he had left her even slightly inconvenienced, and having a job to go to the very next day was certainly another great big middle finger in his direction.

  “Okay,” the gruff voice said deeply on the other end of the line. “I’m willing to give you an interview.”

  She grinned, and punched the air before she jumped to her feet and started to pace up and down the cabin again. She was so happy and excited, she could barely contain herself.

  “Fantastic,” she smiled. “When would you like me to come?”

  He paused again, and she was sure she could hear the sound of a small little voice in the background. It was feminine and cute, and it made her heart swell.

  A little girl.

  She smiled.

  “As soon as you can,” he said. “How about later today?”

  “Sure,” she smiled. “I can be there right around three if that is any good?”

  “Perfect,” he said.

  “One moment,” she reached behind herself and pulled a notepad and pen onto her lap before she poised the pen over the paper and prepared herself to write.

  “Directions?” she asked and then she heard him sigh again and wondered what kind of man exactly he was going to turn out to be. He sounded hella moody and cocky, but there was something rather endearing about the whole situation, and what she had gathered already.

  Did he live up there alone?

  Where was the mother?

  “Okay,” he said. “Do you have a pen?”

  “I sure do,” she smiled, and then she waited for him to instruct her.

  The afternoon passed by quickly because she was so nervous and excited. When she had woken up that morning, she truly couldn’t have predicted how different her life would be becoming in a matter of hours. She had no regrets when it came to walking out on her job at the general store, she just hoped she would be able to secure the nanny position and not have to worry about looking for something else.

  As she left home, she cast her eyes toward the house and hoped her mom and dad weren’t at home. She seemed to have gotten away with returning back to the cabin earlier in the day, but if they saw her now, or heard her starting the car to head out, they would surely know something was up and that she wasn’t at work.

  She crept toward the driveway and moved stealthily around the edge of it and to her old car that was parked up right at the bottom. She opened it up silently and slipped inside, before she looked back toward the house. The windows inside seemed dark, and she couldn’t see any sign of her father’s car, which meant that maybe both of her parents had gone out together.

  She just prayed she was right.

  She started the ignition, quickly threw the car into drive, and sped out of there as fast as she could without skidding and crashing in the remains of the snow that had yet to be cleared. As she thundered up toward the mountain roads, she let out a sigh of relief and looked in her rearview mirror.

  She was on her way. She was heading up the mountain to meet the gruff sounding man who was looking for a nanny.

  And even though her nerves were rising with each passing second, she was also getting more excited.

  The roads were clear and easy to navigate, but as she climbed higher and higher and the air seemed to thin, she knew she was about to hit difficult conditions. She clamped her mouth shut tightly and gripped the wheel, trying not to get nervous as she wound the car up the roads, higher and higher, toward the section where Morgan knew the main road ended and the dirt roads took over.

  He had told her to take the second road on the left when she got to the last fork in the main road, and he had assured her that it was clear enough to drive through. However, as she approached, she could already feel the wheels losing grip beneath her as she pulled off the main road and started out
onto the icy tracks.

  The mountain was so beautiful, and the view she experienced as she was driving further inland made her gasp. Wakestone Pines was nestled perfectly at the bottom, and she felt so high it was almost as if she were skimming the clouds. When she drove on and the view slowly disappeared behind her, she concentrated as she started to edge into some woodland.

  The snow was thick on the evergreen trees, and she felt as if she were driving into somewhere completely secluded and magical. It felt like a Christmas movie, as if at any moment a gang of elves could come skipping out of the forest and lead her deeper into the woods for milk and cookies.

  She shook her head and laughed. Her imagination was running away with her already, and she needed to keep focus. This wasn’t a day out, it was a job interview. She had to keep her eye on the prize.

  When the track began to thin out, she could see the embedded wheel marks of another vehicle that were deep in the snow and mud. She pulled her car to fit in with them and followed them up toward the edge of the forest, where a clearing spread out ahead of her.

  She hadn’t known what she was expecting, but when she saw the clearing, the view down into a valley on the other side of the mountain, and the most incredible cabin nestled right in the middle, she was completely awestruck.

  “Wow,” she whispered as she slowed to a halt and looked all around.

  The cabin was right on the side of a hill, built almost as if it were into the side of the mountain, and it had huge windows looking out over the stunning vista of the lake, valley, and forest beyond. It was wooden, and although it was traditional in design, Morgan could tell that it had been updated and refurbished to a high standard, and that was even before she set foot outside the car. There was a big, black pickup truck parked in front of a garage, and next to it, a pink bicycle with training wheels lay on its side as if it had been dumped there after a long ride. An adult’s bike was leaning up against the side of the truck, and as she strained her eyes, Morgan could see that there were two pairs of muddied boots by the front door.

  She stopped the car behind the truck and turned off the ignition. This place was huge, and it was set in the most incredible setting, it was like nothing she had imagined when the man had told her he lived on the mountain.

  She rubbed her hands together to warm them and then she opened the door and stepped out into the incredibly crisp and fresh mountain air.

  The front door looked as if it had recently been replaced, and it had a big silver knocker right in the center, with two topiary trees flanking it. Morgan stepped onto the doorstep and took a deep breath, before she raised her hand and knocked once, then twice.

  Inside, she was sure she could hear the sound of a little girl calling out to someone in a singsong voice, and it made Morgan feel more at ease. Behind the glass of the door, she could see a shadow approaching, and with it came the heavy clump of footsteps. She straightened up and waited for the door to open…

  And when it did, she almost gasped again.

  He stood in front of her, all six feet four of him, all muscles and dark, brooding demeanor. He towered over her as he stood there and looked down at her, his dark eyes never leaving hers and his presence so intense and intimidating, Morgan momentarily forgot how to speak.

  He was older than her. He must have been at least forty, and he had an aging smile and a smattering of sexy stubble across his chin and cheeks. His hair was flecked with a small amount of gray, and although he was clearly a mature man, he was sexy as hell.

  Morgan swallowed and tried to open her mouth to speak.

  “Are you the nanny?” he asked cockily as he stared down at her with disdain.

  Morgan nodded her head slowly and realized her hands were wobbling as she reached out to shake his.

  “I’m Trent,” he said. “Please, come in.”

  He stood back and let her pass by him into the house. Everything seemed to be blurred, as if she were running on adrenaline and none of it was really even happening. But when he closed the door behind them, she snapped out of her stupor and turned to him and tried to compose herself.

  “I’m Morgan,” she smiled, trying not to stammer and barely daring to meet his eyes again.

  How the hell is he this sexy? she thought as she tried to slow her heart rate.

  Trent didn’t respond to her, but he walked past her and started off down a long hallway that led to the other side of the house. She followed behind him, looking down at her muddied and snow-covered feet and wondering if she should take off her boots, or just roll with it and go after him.

  She quickly kicked them off, not wanting to appear rude, and then she darted after him, trying to keep up.

  They turned a slight corner in the hallway and then they were suddenly met with a blare of sunlight that was drifting in from a skylight in the main living and kitchen area. It was big and open plan, with glass French doors that looked out onto a veranda and down into the valley. It was stunning, and the room was warm and smelled of bacon and bread.

  “Take a seat,” Trent said as he leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest.

  Morgan faltered for a moment before she pointed to a bar stool that was in front of the island in the center of the kitchen and he nodded as she pulled it out and sat down on it. The atmosphere in the room around them was tense, and she wasn’t sure what the look on his face was, but he didn’t seem to be overly impressed with her. It almost looked as if he were angry.

  He considered her for a moment more before he cleared his throat and unfolded his arms and tucked them into his back pockets. Morgan found herself looking at his muscles again, and she had to tear her gaze away before he noticed.

  “So, you’re the first and only person who’s called about the position,” he said finally as if he was incredibly irritated by this.

  Morgan was sure she was going to blush bright red, and she tried to push it far out of her mind that that was all probably her fault seeing as she had been the one to swipe the advert.

  “Like I said on the phone, I need someone who is reliable, experienced, and who is available immediately.”

  “Yes,” she nodded and gave him a weak smile.

  “Well, what experience do you have?” he asked her with a raised eyebrow. “If I’m going to be leaving you with my kid then I want some background information, clearly…”

  Morgan nodded her head again and widened her eyes.

  “Of course,” she stammered. “Well, I, I grew up here in Wakestone and have never left, to be honest. I didn’t go off to college because I wanted to concentrate on my creative work, and since then, I have been working various jobs around town. I have plenty of experience with children, though. I used to volunteer at some of the kids’ groups in the center of town and at the nurseries. I love children, in fact, I would maybe go as far as to say that I get on with them better than I do with most adults.”

  She smiled and laughed, his eyes were still burning into hers, and he didn’t seem to want to acknowledge the humor. She felt nervous all over again, as if she were being scrutinized. This certainly wasn’t her best day when it came to that…

  “My daughter Emma is six,” he said, and his face warmed slightly when he said her name. “We’ve been back in Wakestone for about six months and we’ve settled well back up here on the mountain, but now my work is going to be taking me out of the house more and I don’t want to unsettle her or leave her.”

  “I understand,” Morgan agreed.

  “What I really need is someone who is mature, someone who understands what she needs. I try my best, but there is only so much I can do…” he gave a weak laugh and looked out the window.

  “And her mom?” Morgan asked tentatively.

  “She isn’t in the picture,” he said it short and clipped.

  Morgan nodded and knew she couldn’t probe any further.

  “What do you do?” she asked instead to change the subject.

  “Well,” he began. “I was living in
another town a day’s drive from here, and I was in construction. But right now, I don’t do a whole lot. I’m about to start a few projects down here in town. Help a few of the locals with their existing buildings on Main Street and try to ward off aggressive developers.”

  Some of that rang bells in Morgan’s mind, she was sure she had heard a few of the business owners complaining about developers from out of town coming to try and muscle in on Wakestone’s old world charm so they could flatten it and turn it into some modern monstrosity.

  “So that’s why I need you,” he said with a smile. “I need help with Emma, I will be out late and a lot more during the day. She is going to need someone on hand.”

  Morgan nodded.

  “Perfect,” she smiled.

  Morgan could tell he was loosening up.

  “I brought Emma back to Wakestone when I realized city and town life just wasn’t going to be for us,” he continued. “It’s a dangerous world out there… I don’t want her being exposed to that.”

  It was endearing how caring and fatherly he was being, and Morgan couldn’t help but be transfixed by him. He had the meanest look behind his eyes, as if he could barely stand to have Morgan there in the house with him, but as soon as he mentioned Emma, his whole personality changed. He warmed and softened, and she could see the love he held inside of him.

  “The mountain can be dangerous too,” he said as he looked out the windows and out across the valley. “But I remember growing up here, my grandfather owned this place, and I used to come out most summers.”

  “It’s beautiful,” Morgan smiled.

  “It’s a much better place to be,” he agreed.

  Down the hallway, Morgan heard the sound of a little girl singing, and she could hear her footsteps approaching.

  “Looks like Emma wants to come and say hello.” Trent smiled as a little pair of hands grasped hold of the edge of the door and opened it slowly.

  Morgan slipped down from the bar stool and looked toward the door as she waited for a shock of dark hair and bright blue eyes to come trundling around the corner.