Page 3 of Fix Me Up

This all started at the town’s New Year’s Eve dance, where Owen showed up to our blind date, having forgotten to buy a ticket for himself.

Trisha and Rebel have repeatedly urged me to give him a second chance. Trisha’s friend, who works for Owen at the feed store, initiated the blind date idea in the first place. The blind date ended up being the New Year’s Eve dance at Ursula’s now-husband Noah’s ranch, which made the whole debacle even more of a public spectacle.

Everyone in my little universe doesn’t understand that not everything works out perfectly just because they had a role in setting us up.

The bottom line is that Owen and I did not click that night.

And besides, I don’t have time for a relationship. After only eight months, I’m still getting established in Fate. I’m an outsider, and although many people have welcomed me with open arms, I’m still adapting to small-town life.

Everyone’s obsession with me finding someone to date is simply everyone’s favorite pastime.

This town has a habit of attracting deeply hot people, only to see them snatched up by other deeply hot people. You only have to look at the population explosion here over the last seven years to figure out that there’s something in the water. People move here, fall in love, and start making families.

It’s an epidemic, and I know all about those. Me? I’m inoculating myself against love and marriage.

chapter

two

Owen

I’ll wait all day to see Dr. Daisy Allen.

Graham, on the other hand…

The odor of a recently filled diaper reaches my nose after I walk away from the reception area. Well, at least it’s not a blowout like he used to have when he was an infant.

I’ve learned that putting moments like this in perspective helps to preserve my sanity as a single parent.

Honestly, I do not know how my mother survived while raising me and my three sisters on her own after Dad left.

I quickly change Graham’s diaper in the waiting area’s restroom, wondering if now is a good time to start potty training. The most recent parenting book I read says now is a good time to introduce the idea.

God, that sounds like a nightmare I’m not ready for.

After I get the kid changed, we head to the little play area the doctor has set up in the corner with blocks and picture books. I sit on the floor with Graham in my lap, flipping through a duct-taped copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

It’s not long before Graham begins to whine, so I find his sippy cup of milk from his diaper bag.

He had a rough night last night, so it’s no surprise to me when the kid eventually falls asleep on my chest. And now, I’m not sure how I’m going to stand back up.

“You’re very good with him.”

The comment comes from the town busybody, 87-year-old Ernestine, who sits nearby, sporting a cast on her arm. Her opposite hand holds open a paperback.

I nod and smile politely. “Thank you,” I say.

The older woman doesn’t smile back, but she’s not what I would call a warm-and-fuzzy grandmother type. Still, I don’t dislike her. Ernestine is a frequent visitor to the feed store’s fledgling garden center that I’ve been trying to get established. “I know it’s hard, but under the circumstances, you’re doing great, honey.”

My eyes fall to the cover of that book she’s not reading. The illustration shows two naked people, a man and a woman, covered by nothing more than a bedsheet. The dark-haired man hovers over a red-haired woman, whose head is thrown back in the throes of passion. The man’s arm is placed in such a way that hides the woman’s bare breasts. I don’t know why Ernestine is so interested in my life when she’s got a far more fascinating book to read, but I would never say that out loud to her.

“That’s very nice of you to say,” I reply.

“Nothing nice about it. It’s the plain truth,” she says. “When I had my first baby at 17, I didn’t know which end was up. You look like you got a much better handle on things than my generation.”

This surprises me. I’ve never heard anyone older than me cop to being clueless. “To be fair, parents my age have the internet.”

“Hm,” she says, sniffing and adjusting in her seat.

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