Page 2 of The Manny's Fiery Dragon Bond

“You do enough. You visit regularly. The children adore their Pop-Pop, and I don’t want you to have to be a babysitter. I want you to enjoy being a grandpa.”

I appreciated that. I knew too many grandparents who became de facto babysitters, and while they loved it, it was a very different role than being the fun, spoil them all the time, grandmother or grandfather.

“Oh, I do. Trust me.” My grandchildren were the light of my world. I couldn’t wait for my other sons to find their mates and give me more of them if that was what their hearts desired. There was something magical about seeing the world through the eyes of a child.

Tavian’s eyes narrowed, and for a moment, I thought he could see through the façade I put on. I moved to my desk, closing my laptop and gathering some papers, trying to distract from that moment vulnerability I’d accidentally shared. He didn’t need to be worried about me.

“Well, if you’re going home, I might as well go, too.”

“Perfect. I’ll walk out with you. We have interviews in the next couple of days. I’ll send the profiles over so you can look them over.” My son still wanted my opinion, and I valued that respect more than he could know.

“I’d appreciate that. Not that I need to be informed, but it wouldn’t hurt.” I gave his shoulder a squeeze.

“Kier and I would appreciate your opinion. You know the kids as well as we do. Plus, you are well-practiced at hiring people.”

Indeed I was. “Thanks, Son. How are my perfect grandchildren?”

Tavian grinned, then launched into the most recent silliness my grandchildren had gotten up to. The three of them had reached a year old and were on the move now. The only way to keep them contained was with a gate, and even that wouldn’t hold them for long. They were curious and weren’t going to let anything stop them— a fact that filled me with both pride and fear.

As long as I filled my heart with these kinds of stories—memories with my grandkids and my family—the loneliness couldn’t take up too much space.

Chapter 2

Ollie

Iwasamousein a dragon’s den. Literally. What had I been thinking? It wasn’t even the fire-breathing, talon-owning, fly-away-with-their-prey that was a danger to someone like me. They could step on me and I’d be finished. I wasn’t scared for my life, although maybe I should be. But I was pretty concerned that I wouldn’t fit in here enough to be taken seriously.

Everyone around me, including the receptionist I checked in with and every businessperson I passed in the hall to get to the interview space, was a dragon. Even the people here for meetings were fire-breathing, wing-sprouting beasts. But me? I was the meek mouse. If I shifted next to any of them, I would disappear beneath their sheer size. I couldn’t even consider myself prey because I’d be a single bite, not even large enough to qualify as a snack.

Of course, one didn’t just shift inside an office building. Plus, I’d drown in my suit if I even tried. Ask me how I knew…

I wasn’t scared of the dragons around me. Not necessarily. We were all civilized creatures, even if we were all shifters. Still, not all dragon clans were welcoming of all types. Some were old-school and felt that dragons were superior to all others. I stayed far and clear from them.

Most of the clans were open only to other dragons, though. Tradition had a way of growing roots like that. Emberstone clan was incredibly accepting of all types of beasts, or so I’d heard. If they didn’t have that reputation, I wouldn’t have bothered to show up today. It would’ve been a waste of all of our time.

Tavian, the man I was interviewing with, was mated to a wolf, and he was interviewing me to be a manny to his three children, so there had to be some truth to the rumors. His father was high up in the clan, and if interspecies relationships of any kind were frowned upon, he’d be the last person to test the waters. Or so I told myself.

I really thought I could walk in here and be fine. No nerves, no trepidation, nothing but confidence about my skill. I was wrong. There were just too many of them around. I did my best to keep my fear to a minimum. They could smell that just the same way that I could smell them. It was one thing to be weak, another to project that weakness out there for all to scent.

And the truth was, I needed this job. More than that, I really wanted this job. I’d been looking for a long-time nannying gig ever since my last one had ended. The children that I had cared for from the time they were small children were now in middle school, and their families were going off to a new location—one where I wouldn’t be needed.

It hurt, but that was life. I knew going into this profession that I’d have to say good-bye to children I cared for. That’s how it worked. It still sucked.

“Ollie?” The man I recognized as Tavian stepped out of the conference room. “Come on in.”

This was it. It was go time.

Inside the room was another person who had to be his mate, Kier, sitting at the table. Finally. I wasn’t the only non-dragon around. I was still the only prey, but that was my norm.

Kier was a wolf shifter mated to the clan leader’s son. They were the couple that were in need of a manny for their one-year-old triplet dragons, and even if they weren’t, their existence gave me the courage to come here.

“Thanks for meeting with us today,” he said.

“Absolutely.” I held out my hand. “I’m Ollie. It’s nice to meet both of you.”

Kier and Tavian both shook it.

“We must say, your references are impeccable. Your last family couldn’t say enough good things about you,” Tavian said. “They said you would always be considered family.”

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