The Rancher’s Unexpected Nanny Read online

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  RELAY PUBLISHING EDITION, JUNE 2019

  Copyright © 2019 Relay Publishing Ltd.

  All rights reserved. Published in the United Kingdom by Relay Publishing. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Mary Sue Jackson is a pen name created by Relay Publishing for co-authored Romance projects. Relay Publishing works with incredible teams of writers and editors to collaboratively create the very best stories for our readers.

  Cover Design by LJ Mayhem Covers

  www.relaypub.com

  Blurb

  Finn Henry was once a rodeo star. That was, until life happened. His wife was expecting, his father in law was injured, and the family ranch needed someone at the helm. There seemed no choice but to retire from glory and move back to their hometown to raise their family. When Finn’s wife died suddenly just three years later, it seemed like their twist of fate had given him the twist again: all his dreams were dead. To compensate he’d thrown himself into ranching—losing himself in the grief.

  Callie Winter, has landed her dream job moving to the east coast to work for a prestigious private school, but she’s fallen in love out west...with an adorable kindergartener. Wendy Henry has imprinted on Callie and Callie is scared she’s imprinted right back. Callie knows she should head out in June and get settled out east, but then she finds herself offering her services as a summer nanny after one too many parent teacher conferences gone badly with Finn. Callie’s excuse is to earn the extra money she needs to rent a home in the historical area around the school...but the reality may be that it’s harder to leave the pair than she ever expected.

  Callie’s goal for the summer is to reunite father and daughter so that she can leave and know that the two of them have bonded again. However, as they learn to live together, Callie finds that she’s more involved than ever, as she learns to love the stoic rancher. Suddenly, she’s wondering if maybe her dream isn’t her dream anymore...but is Finn ready to open his heart again?

  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 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Epilogue

  End of The Rancher’s Unexpected Nanny

  Thank you!

  About Mary Sue Jackson

  About Leslie

  Sneak Peek

  Also by Leslie

  One

  “Wendy! Come back here!” Finnegan Henry growled in frustration as his five-year-old daughter managed to stay out of reach of his outstretched arms. Reaching up to wipe the sweat from his brow, he knocked his Stetson off his head. Bending down to grab it, he smacked it angrily on his leg to shake the imaginary dust off before setting it tight on his head. Getting called in to meet with his daughter’s teacher was not on his list of things to do today. “We’re going to be late to see your teacher,” he warned her but all he got in return was his daughter’s musical laugh. The one that made everything seem okay, even when it wasn’t.

  Eyeing his daughter speculatively, he tried to calculate which way she would run next as he stalked toward her. Her contagious laughter had him smiling as he gave up on being on-time. Getting closer to Wendy, he pretended to go right and quickly jumped to the left catching his daughter about the waist before scooping her up and tossing her in the air. Catching her easily, he gave her a raspberry, which had her squealing with delight. With another quick toss, he had Wendy in a fireman’s carry over his shoulder before covering the distance to the school’s entrance in long strides.

  Entering the school, he headed toward his daughter’s classroom hoping that whatever her teacher wanted to see him about wouldn’t take too long. Stepping into the room, he was surprised to see it empty. Back stepping out into the hall, he looked toward the offices. Wendy’s “Hi Miss Winter” had him whirling around, his daughter swinging behind him as she laughed with glee.

  Without even speaking, he could see the look of disapproval on Miss Winter’s face at how he was carrying his daughter. Feeling sheepish under her scrutiny, he lowered Wendy to the ground before taking his hat off and nodding to her. “Sorry we’re late.”

  She looked like she was expecting him to say more but he was at a loss as to what else to add. Instead, he gestured to her classroom. “Shall we?”

  When she didn’t make a move to enter, he decided he would go ahead of her right as she took a step and they played a momentary game of touch and dodge before he placed his hand on her back and ushered her into the room ahead of him.

  Taking a look around his daughter’s kindergarten classroom, it didn’t look like anything had changed since he was last there. Without being told, Wendy ran over to the library area, grabbed headphones to put on before plugging them in, pulled a book off the shelf and sat down to follow along with the audio. Relieved to see that she was fully entertained, he turned to his daughter’s teacher.

  Looking around at the limited options for an adult of his size to sit, he waited for Miss Winter to take her seat behind her desk before sitting uncomfortably down in a chair that had more give than it should. Finn clasped his hands tightly in his lap to keep from cracking his knuckles as he waited for her to speak. He had no delusions that the two of them were there to commiserate. He'd been to more than his fair share of these things since losing his wife two years ago.

  Before Alex’s unexpected death, it wouldn't have occurred to him that kids as young as his Wendy could even be called in for conferences. Nowadays, as a single father, he knew better. Miss Winter was good at dealing with parents, no question about that. He'd seen enough to know she was a master of keeping her cool. He had an idea of where this meeting was headed, and he just wasn't sure he had it in him to deal with it today. As the thought passed through his head, Miss Winter picked up a stack of papers and considered them studiously as if eager to get the rodeo started.

  “All right, Mr. Henry,” she said conversationally. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I asked you to come by.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t think it was for a visit,” he nodded miserably.

  “Please, Mr. Henry, this is not a bad thing,” she replied earnestly. “I honestly only want what’s best for Wendy.”

  Something in her tone made Finn look at his daughter's teacher, really look at her as a woman, not his daughter's kindergarten teacher. He could appreciate her beauty, even under the present circumstances. She was on the taller side with a slim figure that curved in all the right places. Her hair fell over her shoulders in loose blonde waves, and her blue eyes sparkled. Pretty didn’t cover it. She was beautiful and way out of his league, which is why he shouldn’t be having these thoughts while discussing his daughter.

  “I know that, ma’am. I can see that you take your job seriously.”

  “Good, then you’ll understand tha
t I want what’s best for Wendy.”

  “What has she done wrong, Miss Winter?” he finally asked, too restless to continue with the pleasant runaround any longer. Giving his daughter a quick look, he was pleased to see she was engrossed in her book and oblivious to what they were talking about.

  Now it was her turn to look uncomfortable. Finn ducked his head at being so blunt, but he was maybe a little angry, too. He couldn't seem to figure out the right way to handle things.

  “I wouldn’t call your daughter’s behavior wrong or bad, Mr. Henry,” she finally answered. “When kids this young act out, they’re doing it for a reason.”

  “Something tells me you’ve got a reason in mind,” he answered, trying not to grit his teeth.

  “I do,” she agreed. “I think she’s bored.” She opened her mouth to say more, and Finn jumped in.

  “I’m sorry, Miss Winter. I’m not in the habit of interrupting ladies. But honestly, I’m having trouble seeing why I needed to be called in to see you in the first place.”

  "I'm sorry?" she asked, her brow furrowing ever so slightly. That, along with the way she was biting her lip, somehow made her sexy as hell.

  Finn shook his head to try to get his head back in the game, which he belatedly supposed she might take as him dismissing her. Miss Winter kept her poker face on, but he thought he caught a flicker of annoyance. He tried again. “Look, I don’t mean to be offensive, Miss Winter. I just don’t see how Wendy being bored is such a problem. When I was going through school, being bored was part of the deal. Parents got called in for the big things.”

  “Big things?” she echoed with a frown, “I’m sorry, Mr. Henry, I don’t follow you.”

  “Bigger things than boredom?” he prompted, genuinely perplexed. “Off the top of my head, I can think of several things.”

  She leaned forward and volleyed right back at him, “Wendy is a bright girl, Mr. Henry. I think she might be exceptionally bright. I think she needs more academic stimulation than she’ll find in a regular classroom.”

  Finn shook his head in bewilderment. “Hell, I’m sure you had your share of snoozers when you were going through school.”

  The use of profanity earned Finn another raised eyebrow. He groaned to himself. The things he wanted to say sounded right in his head, but opening his mouth seemed to cock it all up. He got to his feet and started pacing back and forth in front of her desk. It felt good to do something. Hell, it felt good to do anything other than sit there and feel foolish.

  “I was bored in school myself,” she said gently, her eyes following his progress. “That’s why I believe so fervently that Wendy deserves better. I want to give all my students the best I can.”

  Finn stopped to look at her. “I can see that,” he answered, running his hand through his hair distractedly.

  “Good!” she said brightly, “That’s good! Now we’re getting somewhere.”

  “Good,” he echoed quizzically. “Where exactly are we getting?”

  Her answering smile filled Finn with one part exasperation, one part appreciation. This woman was persistent, that was for sure. She was also clearly devoted to the children, something hard to find fault with. Still, Finn felt like his world was about to get even more complicated than it already was. Seeing as he was trying to raise a little girl on his own while running a ranch he’d never asked to be the caretaker of in the first place, that was saying a lot.

  She put the papers down on the desk and tapped something on the top page, saying, “There’s a school, Mr. Henry, one I believe you should seriously consider for your daughter.”

  "She already has a school," he said in exasperation. "We're in it. Why would I want to move her to someplace where she doesn't know anybody?"

  Miss Winter sighed. “The place I’m suggesting for Wendy is a whole other ballgame. It’s a private school, a place where she won’t ever have to be bored again. I think she’s a prime candidate.”

  Things were moving too fast. “Hold on, what private school are we talking about? I wasn’t aware that there was a private school around here,” he asked warily.

  “It’s not around here,” she answered, her first sign of embarrassment showing. “It’s about an hour away.”

  “An hour?!” Finn balked. Look, he loved his little girl, but the idea of adding a roughly two-hour commute to his day was almost more than he could stomach. Four hours, coming and going twice, when he thought about it. He looked to his daughter again. No way was he going to risk Wendy to some bus driver.

  Then there were his own dreams. He’d been hoping for too long now that he would be able to phase his wife’s family ranch out, maybe even sell it and walk away. When he shut his eyes, he could almost make himself believe he was still on the rodeo circuit, still back in the days before life had happened.

  He had loved being a rodeo star. It had come as naturally to him as breathing, and he had never expected to give it up. But Alexandra had gotten unexpectedly pregnant around the time an accident had injured her father too badly to run the ranch on his own, and that had been that. Finn's little family had gone to live at the ranch, and they had never left again. Finn's dreams of returning to the rodeo seemed to recede further every day. Miss Winter’s proposal added to the pile of things completely beyond his control. The thought of it was enough to set him pacing again, this time with more agitation than ever.

  “Mr. Henry—” Miss Winter said, rising from her chair.

  “Yeah,” he cut her off, “I heard you. I just need a minute to think.”

  "Your daughter—"

  "I want her to be happy, too, Miss Winter. I'm just—I don't see any way to make it work.”

  The teacher moved gracefully around her desk and stopped him in his tracks, laying her delicate hands on his shoulders and looking up earnestly into his face.

  “I know, Mr. Henry. I know these things are so much harder than most people give them credit for. But you need to know that you won’t be doing this alone.”

  “Is that so?” he laughed without humor, “Who do you suggest I go to for help?”

  “I’ll help you,” she answered calmly, fiercely. “Anything you need, I’ll be there.” At his skeptical look, she added, “I want to make sure Wendy gets what’s best for her. I believe that’s important.”

  "To be honest, I need an extra pair of hands," Finn said grudgingly. It wasn't like him to admit to needing help, but something in her earnest face made it next to impossible to keep from telling her something that he hadn't said out loud yet, not even to himself. It felt like a weight coming off of his shoulders.

  “Of course,” she nodded. “You need an au pair.” He wrinkled his nose in puzzlement, and she laughed. “A nanny,” she clarified, “someone to help you look after Wendy. Children are wonderful, but they are also an awful lot of work. The more help, the better.”

  “Right, more help. That’s exactly what I’m after,” Finn agreed slowly.

  Miss Winter, apparently encouraged that they were on the same page, started listing off the things a nanny could help with, everything from getting Wendy to the places she needed to be to homework to looking after her on the ranch.

  Astounded, Finn tried to figure out if Miss Winter was actually proposing what he thought she was proposing. If he was right, she was offering up her services as a nanny during the school’s summer break, when she’d be out of work anyhow. From the way she was going on, it sure sounded like she was volunteering for the job. He didn’t love the idea of having a stranger looking after his little girl, but Miss Winter wasn’t a stranger, and she was qualified. She obviously cared for his little girl. If there was anyone he would want watching his daughter, she might as well be the one.

  "The best part is," she continued, "school is almost done here, and the private place I'm talking about has a summer program. I've already taken the liberty of mentioning Wendy to their director, and she is very interested in learning more about her. A nanny could help while she gets acclimated to the place over the
summer, and by next school year, you'll be sure if it's the right thing."

  “I’ll have to think about it,” he said uncertainly, studying her face carefully. “We’ve never had anyone from outside the family live in our house before.”

  “I completely understand,” she allowed, “but don’t take too long. Summer’s almost here, and besides, I don’t offer up my solemn pledge of aid no matter what to just anyone, you know?”

  She laughed prettily, and he nodded. He was almost sure he had it right. She was offering to be his daughter's live-in nanny, and a growing part of him was tempted to take her up on it.

  Two

  “Mr. Henry?” Callie answered her phone, trying to show her surprise at receiving his call as she walked out to the school parking lot at the end of a long day. “What can I do for you?”

  “Miss. Winter, I’m glad I caught you,” he answered distractedly. Callie had to concentrate to hear him. Wherever he was calling from, it wasn’t exactly a peaceful place. The background noise coming from his end was distracting to say the least.

  “Yes, okay,” she stammered. “Is there something you need help with?”

  “Nope, not help. I just wanted to call and finalize the details for this summer.”

  “I’m sorry, the details? I’m really not sure what you’re talking about.”

  “Of the nannying gig,” he reminded her, just the faintest hint of exasperation in his voice. “I thought it over, and I figure you’re right. I appreciate the offer, and I’d like to nail down things like salary and the like. I figured you could just live on the ranch for the summer, if that’s amenable to you. Seems like it would make things easier on all of us.”