Page 2 of Rejected Nanny Mate (Crystal Creek Wolves #3)

It wasn't quite raining when I pulled up in front of Kiera and Samson's house, but the air was still misty, and I pulled my cardigan just a touch tighter around myself.

At the end of the driveway, Kiera was putting Kit on the school bus, kissing the top of his head and waving as the yellow bus pulled away into the fog.

I waited for my friend at the bottom of her porch steps, and Kiera hugged me when she reached me. It was early, and I still hadn't figured out exactly why she had invited me over for coffee at the crack of dawn, but I was happy to see her nonetheless.

“Come in,” Kiera said, waving me up the stairs. “There's something I want to talk to you about while the boys are out of the house.”

“That sounds ominous,” I'm only halfway joking. Kiera usually invited me over with Nayeli in tow, and never in the morning. I was already on edge, but knowing that she'd intentionally waited until we were fully alone to talk made me even more so.

“Oh, not really,” I followed Kiera into the kitchen, where she poured us two cups of coffee.

She added milk and sugar, while I opted for milk only.

We sat at the dining room table, where there was a good view of the backyard and a scattering of birds at a brightly colored bird feeder.

“Nayeli just sleeps till noon these days, or she'd be here. Pregnancy is kicking her butt.”

That made me feel a little bit better. Being with Kiera was enough to make me feel good on its own, anyway.

Since Samson had married Kiera and made the witch his Luna, the pack had slowly started to change for the better.

She-wolves were able to take their own ranks in the pack and not have to either stay at the bottom or have the same rank as their husbands, and Samson was doing a lot of legwork to make sure the entire pack saw us all as equal.

It helped that Kiera was a powerful witch, but I'd like to think the changes would have happened without the threat of her magic, too.

“I don't envy her,” I said, crossing my legs. “But she and Scott are going to be such good parents.”

“Scott has no idea what he's in for,” Kiera said, deadpan. She meant it. “I hope he's taking some classes or something.”

“I think we both know he isn't.”

Kiera and I laughed. I'd worked for Scott, the Alpha of the Shadowbay pack, for quite some time now, and Kiera had worked for him for a few weeks about a year ago.

He was a good business owner, but research wasn't his strong suit.

Scott would make an interesting parent, to say the least, but Nayeli would keep him in line.

“Speaking of Scott,” Kiera leaned forward, her red manicured nails tapping on her coffee cup, “How is work?”

“It's fine,” I shrugged one shoulder. “It's not what I thought I'd be doing with my degree, but Scott pays well, and it makes it possible for me to be independent, so I guess I don't have any room to complain.”

“Your degree was in early childhood education, right?”

I nodded. “Just an associate.”

“That's still so impressive, though!” Kiera's voice was overly bright, and it made me suspicious.

Thankfully, she didn't leave me waiting too long to figure out the mystery.

“I ask because...I might have a job opportunity for you. Something that you might like better than the coffee shop. And before you ask, I already talked to Scott about it.”

That stopped me in my tracks. “A job? What do you mean?”

“I know it's sudden, but the entire situation is happening at light speed.

A good friend of ours has become a father overnight.

The baby's mother abandoned her on the father's doorstep, and she's a little less than nine months old if my instincts are correct.

Since this came out of nowhere, our friend has no one to stay with the baby while he works, and he's just now learning to be a father.”

I was silent, shocked. “That's...that's horrible.”

“Yes, and no,” Kiera's voice had gone high as she recounted the tale, her emotions clear. “It was a shock, to be sure, but he's taken to being a father so well, and it's been beautiful to witness. He just needs a little help. He's a busy man. That's where you come in.”

“Oh, you want me to babysit for him? That's no problem—”

“It's a little more serious than that,” Kiera stopped me. “He's looking for a live-in nanny. He's got a large house, so you'd have your own space, and the pay is generous. You'd have cut your hours at the cafe, but Scott has already agreed to it. So, what do you say?”

“I-I'm not sure.” I was stammering, my head spinning. This was so far out of left field.

“Please,” Kiera implored. “You're an amazing woman, Gwen. You have a heart of gold and the patience of a saint. This is perfect for you, and you'd really be helping out a friend. You know that I wouldn't ask this of you unless it was a true emergency.”

I swallowed, looking at Kiera, my friend, and Luna, and felt a sense of being trapped.

How could I say no when she was asking me like that?

It hadn't been that long ago that I felt like a total outcast, friendless and languishing in my parents' basement, a low-ranked, mateless Omega.

I'd bonded with Nayeli first, and then when Kiera came to town, we became an inseparable trio.

I would do anything for Kiera, and I could tell she was trying really hard not to make the request an order.

She wanted it to be a favor from one friend to another, not from the Alpha's mate to a subordinate.

Plus, I loved working with kids, and babies even more so. It would be a nice change from my small apartment, and I could save up for the house I wanted to buy in the near future if I weren't bogged down with rent and utilities.

Still, something was hovering at the corners of my mind, making me want to say no. I couldn't figure out why and chalked it up to my anxiety. The deal she was offering me sounded perfect. So why was I so hesitant?

Be brave, Gwendolyn, I told myself. Take a risk.

“I...well...sure. Okay, why not? It sounds fun. I think.”

Kiera squealed, grabbing both my hands from across the table.

“It will be fun! Rose, the little girl, is just the sweetest thing you've ever seen.

And it's not like we'll leave you hanging!

I bet Nayeli, especially, will be over all the time to practice for her own bundle of joy.

Oh, I can't wait to tell Joe you accepted—-”

“Wait, what?”

“Huh?”

“What's his name again?” I was starting to panic.

“Oh, I can't believe I didn't tell you that part yet! It's Joe Longwood. You know him. The Brokenclaw Alpha?”

And, just like that, my stomach hit the floor.

“Joe Longwood,” I repeated, slowly, hoping somehow that Kiera was wrong and would realize she'd confused him for someone else.

“Yup,” Kiera was so relieved that I had agreed to the job that she hadn't picked up on my quick shift in demeanor. “I couldn't believe it either, but one look at that baby, and it was totally obvious she belonged to him. He's holding up well, but I'm sure he's going to be glad to see you.”

There were a million things I wanted to say, dozens of memories flying through my mind at warp speed, but all I could manage was, “I can't.”

Kiera had picked up her phone to message someone, grinning from ear to ear, but she stopped when I spoke. “You can't what?”

“Be Joe's nanny!” I said it too loudly. “We—I—” I licked my lips and tried again. “We don't get along.”

Kiera frowned. “What do you mean? I told him you were the one I was considering, and he seemed happy about it.”

Damn him. Of course, he wouldn't be bothered by our past. Joe is unbothered by everything. Cool and calm and dependable, while I'm a born-and-bred people pleaser with anxiety and a rocky history with the tall, sexy Brokenclaw Alpha.

I looked at my friend for a long moment and considered just telling her the entire truth.

Wouldn't it be easier than hiding everything and skirting around what actually happened between me and Joe?

But when I opened my mouth to say it, nothing came out.

I was too embarrassed, too ashamed at how naive I had been with Joe.

Kiera had been through so much to find her way back to Samson, including years of living alone and supporting not only herself but her son, too, so what would she think of me if I told her how shaken I had been from a single kiss?

I could tell she knew there was more that I wasn't telling her.

After all, everyone loved Joe. His easy-going demeanor made it seem like he was friends with everyone, and at one time, I had considered him my friend, too.

It had started when Scott's coffee shop had first opened, and I had been one of the first people working there.

The alliance between the three Alphas was still new at that point, but Joe made a point to come into the shop to support Scott, and that was where he and I first started to talk.

No matter how many girls were working, he always gravitated towards me.

Tall, tanned, with green eyes that had hints of gold in the sunlight, and dimples when he smiled, Joseph Longwood was a lady killer without even trying.

I hadn't been immune to his charms, either, but I'd tried to keep things casual since I was at work.

When his fingers brushed mine when I handed him his cup, or when he rested his big, warm hand at the small of my back when he moved past me as I wiped down a table, full-body shivers would hit me.