Page 4 of Head Over Heels

He punches my arm lightly. “Chase, admit it. Only reason you won’t buy the store is you’re afraid of commitment.”

I want to tell him one five-year-old girl is plenty of commitment for anyone, but I keep my mouth shut.

“You’re too old to keep blowing in the wind. You have to settle down. Find a nice woman. Buy my store. Live happily ever after.”

“That’s all it takes?” I ask dryly. “Find a nice woman and buy your store? And then I get to live happily ever after?”

“Pretty much,” Mike says. “Plus, you have Katie; you need to leave her a legacy. This can be her legacy.”

He’s got a point there. I look around the store. It’s the last of a dying breed, the all-purpose outdoor store. Fishing, camping, hunting, and a bunch of outdoor-wear and sporting goods. I love stores like this, have ever since my uncle taught me to fish and hunt and make camp and all the rest when I was barely old enough to tote my own pack.

I don’t completely understand why I haven’t jumped at Mike’s offer. But even though I love the store, I feel trapped when I think about being tied down to it.

I feel the same way about Mike’s “find a nice woman” suggestion. There are many of them out there. I love to catch a good action flick or watch a baseball game or grab dinner with a date. I’m a huge fan of a night’s flirtation and all the fun and rewards that can follow. But when it comes to anything more than that—nah. Makes me feel twitchy to think about it. Maybe what happened with Thea, Katie’s mom, gave me romantic PTSD.

It’s weird, right, that I’m fine with spending the next thirteen years raising Katie, but I can’t picture myself with a serious girlfriend or owning a business?

“Think about it, huh?” Mike says sternly.

“I will,” I say, by which I mean, I probably won’t.

Mike heads to the back of the store to pretend he’s still necessary to its healthy operation. Up front, the store’s bell jingles. I see a flash of coppery-red hair as someone enters. It’s my friend Liv—Olivia Stratten. She weaves her way through the aisles and hurtles herself at me.

“Chase!” She hugs me and dances me around in a circle. “Chase, guess what?”

There’s only one thing that would make Liv this happy, so I know the answer, but I play dumb.

“What?”

“I got the job!”

“That’s great!”

I give her a huge hug, then let her go.

She’s beaming from ear to ear. Liv’s good moods are contagious, maybe because she glows when she’s happy. Sparkling blue eyes, a smile full of straight white teeth, and dimples in her rosy cheeks. She’s wearing her long hair in curls today. I’ve tried to figure out sometimes if you can read Liv’s moods by whether she goes curly, straight, or updo, but no dice.

Liv is probably my best friend, judged purely on who makes me laugh most. We got to be friends after we went on a blind date three years ago and realized that even though we had no romantic potential and even less in common, we still enjoyed hanging out.

Unfortunately, it looks like that’s going to end, and pretty soon.

“So you’re going. To Denver.”

“Yup. Leaving at the end of the month, driving myself out there.”

That’s only two weeks away. I have to admit, I wasn’t letting myself think much about Liv’s actuallyleaving.I mean, I’d been rooting for her to get the job, but not thinking much past that.

“Are you planning to drive to Denver in the Shitmobile?”

She makes a hurt face, even though we both know it’s a very accurate description of Liv’s car. “Actually, Eve’s getting a new car, and selling me the CRV.”

Thank God for that—wouldn’t want to think of anyone driving Liv’s car a thousand miles.

“And I gave the family I’m working for two weeks’ notice, and they seemed okay with it.”

Liv has been nannying to help make ends meet so she can take unpaid marketing internships. I can’t believe how hard she works, or how devoted she’s been to trying to get her career started. She deserves this success. “We should celebrate,” I tell her.

“I could bring over some takeout. We could watch movies after Katie goes to bed. It’s been a while. The great Chase Crayton hasn’t had any dates in a while.” She leers at me.

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