Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25367 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 127(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25367 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 127(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
One phone call turns Kellan’s world upside down overnight. When he’s told he’s now the guardian of a ten-year-old niece he knew nothing about, he has to scramble to find help. With a demanding job and no support system, his only solution is to hire a live-in nanny. The arrival of Nova stirs something inside him that he never knew existed. Suddenly he’s seeing everything in a new light and is ready to make some big changes.
Welcome to Cheerful, a town that loves Christmas almost as much as it loves Happily Ever Afters. This is the place to be if you need a hefty dose of holiday cheer, or you’re looking to have your stocking stuffed. Grab your coziest pajamas and hot chocolate because it’s about to get festive
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Chapter One
NOVA
This is my own doing. Apparently starting a New Year's resolution before New Year's jinxes it. I was so sure it was a sign when I was hanging out at the bakery with a couple of girlfriends. Yes, in a small town you can end up at the bakery hanging out. That said, Cheerful’s bakery is nothing to turn your nose up at. People travel in from the city for Molly’s treats alone.
Ope, that sounds wrong even in my head. I know Noah, Molly’s grumpy man, wouldn’t be too happy about the phrasing, but I digress. I was sipping on my sugar cookie coffee while my friends and I were discussing what our resolution ideas were.
I’ve been back in Cheerful for six months now after being born and raised in the quaint, adorable town. After I graduated with my early education degree, I came back home. There wasn't much of a choice since I had to get out of my dorm, but I wasn't sad about it. I missed home, and I’ve enjoyed my time being back. Living with my parents has gotten old fast, even though I adore them. It's just time for me to start the next chapter in my life. The problem is, Cheerful is a small town, and the local school district doesn't have a single opening.
As of right now, I'm part-time at the library because it gives me something to do. Being a teacher isn't my goal—I mean, I'd totally take it because I'm still not a hundred percent sure what my goal is, but I’ve been mulling over being an au pair. All through high school, I babysat for families all over Cheerful, and I loved it. Now the local high school kids have taken over those spots, there’s no room for me anymore. Plus, the pay isn't enough that I could live off of it on my own. The only option is being a full-time nanny, and not many people are searching for those in Cheerful.
Lately I've been seeing where au pairs go abroad. It’s a contract for six months to a year, which sounds fun but also a little scary. When I was in college, the city could be overwhelming at times. I could handle it, but it felt exhausting. Not sure I could deal with a big city in a whole other country.
I know I can't keep dancing around making a choice. Being stagnant is getting old, and my parents really slipped back into the whole honeymoon phase. I don't blame them. They had five kids, and I was the last one to head off, leaving them with an empty nest.
My mom went a little stir-crazy at first, always showing up at my dorm with food and all kinds of crap, but she settled down after a little while. Now she and Dad are like teenagers who can't get enough of each other. It's easy to see how they ended up with five kids.
So when I declared I was going to shake things up and pull the trigger on a new step in life and my phone rang not even five minutes later, I took that as a sign.
I met Veena my first year in college. She'd been the resident advisor, RA, of my dorm. She was a few years older, and I was super sad when she graduated. We both were getting degrees in education, except Veena was getting her master's in it.
She works for a company called Tiny Treasures. They help place nannies and sitters of all kinds with families in need. It could be for small jobs like after-school pick-up or staying with the kids for a few hours while the parent runs errands. Or it could be with the same family a few times a week to become a full-time live-in nanny.