Page 34 of Fix Me Up

From the looks on everyone’s faces, Rebel’s parents already know they have a grandbaby on the way.

I immediately shake Rhys’s hand and congratulate both parents and grandparents. Daisy hugs everyone, her eyes welling up.

“Also, we were hoping you could do us a favor in return,” Rebel’s mom, Avery, says.

“What’s that?” I ask.

“We love your farm and were wondering if we could host the baby shower there.”

I have to chew on this for a second. No one has ever asked to do that before. I never thought of my farm being anything fancy like that but…

“Sure, what do you need me to do?” I ask.

“I’ll follow up with details later, but there’s not much for you to do at all,” Avery says.

Anytime an idea like this is presented to me, it starts the wheels turning.

I’m pretty quiet for the walk over to Other Brother Ben’s Brewery for lunch with Daisy. “Can I offer you something from the craft beer menu?” the server asks.

I order a local brew.

Daisy puts up her hands. “No thank you. Iced tea with lemon for me.”

Her cheeks flush and she glances at me sheepishly as the server walks away.

“No alcohol today,” she says.

“You look embarrassed. Don’t be.”

“I’m supposed to be an example. I’m literally the only doctor in town.”

I lean forward and tuck a lock of hair behind Daisy’s ear. “Tell you what. I’ll get shitfaced tonight and make a scene and no one will remember that the doctor was fucked up the other night.”

This makes her snort laugh. And I’ve fallen head over heels for this woman.

“Still, I hate that people saw me like that.”

I gesture toward the bar. “See that? That’s the fire chief. I broke up a fight between him and the animal control officer last fall at the annual Fiber Arts Festival. Both of them drunk on cider. And do you see Ruby over there?”

I look at Ruby and her husband, Nick, feeding each other fried pickles in the corner booth. “Yeah, everyone knows Ruby,” Daisy says, noting her unmistakable flame-red hair.

“Nick was a stripper at a bachelor party Ruby attended. They hooked up that night and have been inseparable ever since. And that over there, that’s Danny and Izzy. She’s from Gold Hill and she nearly tore the whole town apart when they got together. Emma and Eli met when Emma crashed her car and she wandered into a blizzard on his mountain.”

Daisy sips her tea. “I sense a point coming.”

“Everybody around here has a story to tell. Sometimes embarrassing. Sometimes…illegal. But it’s no big deal. Nobody gives them a hard time about it because that’s the way we are here. Most people are just trying to live their lives. If they notice you making a fool of yourself once or twice, great. You’ve given them something to talk about. But at the end of the day, when something bad or good happens to you, they’ll be there to support you or cheer you on. Me included.”

I don’t think I’ve ever given a speech this long in my entire life. But there’s always a first. Daisy just brings it out of me.

“That’s nice of you to tell me that, but I’m still gonna stick to iced tea today.”

“Probably a good idea, Doc.”

“I found another zucchini! And oh my gosh, there’s more over here!”

I don’t know if Daisy expected our day together to involve pulling weeds and harvesting peppers, tomatoes, corn, zucchini, melons, and blueberries, but she gets excited every time she picks something.

It’s very cute.

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