Page 3 of Head Over Heels

“You okay, man?” Jack gives me a quizzical look.

“Yeah. Fine.”

Brooks rests his hand on my shoulder. “Maybe Jack knows someone who can watch Katie.”

I wasn’t going to get into it, but Brooks is right: maybe Jack does. “I had to fire my nanny Friday. She was helping herself to my liquor cabinet. Shoulda guessed. Katie kept saying she smelled bad and sometimes she’d be asleep in a chair with Katie watching a movie when I got home.”

“That sucks, man,” Jack says sympathetically. “What about Katie’s grandma—that your mom?”

I shake my head. “Mother-in-law.”

Jack nods sagely. “So maybe you don’t want her all up in your business.”

I lean against the truck, tired just thinking about it. “Honestly, I’m desperate enough I wouldn’t mind. But she’s got health issues. Lung stuff. She gets tired easy.” I exhale a sigh. “You ever tried to hire a nanny? Who knew it was so hard?”

Jack shakes his head. “Maddie has, but I’ve gotten lucky in that department. My mom and sister fall all over themselves to watch Gabe.”

“Yeah, well—my parents are in Texas and my brother is an ER doc in Cleveland. Not a lot of help there.”

“Can we call a halt on the Dad’s Survival Club meeting now?” Brooks asks, with a dark look. “Get these fish back to camp and on an open fire? Crack open a few more?”

I don’t mind. Before Katie was born, I was like Brooks. Mind on the present and the pleasant, and I wouldn’t have wanted to listen to two dads talk about nannies or diapers or any of that shit, no pun intended. Anyway, I’m kind of grateful to Brooks for changing the subject. The nanny problem can wait.

“Hell yeah,” Jack and I say simultaneously.

Believe me, if I started a Dad’s Survival Club, it would definitely involve a lot of kicking back with beers.

We swing ourselves up into Brooks’s truck and head back to the campground.

Chapter 2

Chase

“Chase!”

It’s a few days after the fishing trip, and Mike, the owner of Mike’s Outdoor Store and my boss, has come into the store. He’s rarely here. He spends most of his time fishing, a privilege he’s definitely earned after a lifetime of hard work.

He’s still pretty spry for an old guy, and he strides over and pumps my hand.

“Hey, Mike.”

I’m a big fan of Mike. When he was actively managing the store, he ran a tight ship, and I always knew exactly what he expected from me. When he put me in charge, he made it clear that he trusted me to make decisions, and he’s stayed mostly out of my way. Can’t ask for a better situation. Plus he’s been a saint this week about my working shorter hours until I can figure out child care. My mother-in-law is still filling in, but she’s wrecked by 4 p.m. I can’t ask her to do next week, too, and I’ve got no leads other than total strangers on Sitter Match.

Mike claps me on the back. “When are you going to put me out of my misery and buy me out?”

Shit.Neck-deep in nanny woes, I’d totally forgotten about this obsession of Mike’s. He wants me to buy the store from him. I’ve told him all the reasons it’s not going to happen, but—yeah, I don’t think he was listening.

“You know I want to see this store go to someone who loves it. Who appreciates it. Who will take care of it.”

“Someone who has enough money topayyou for it,” I remind him.

“I told you, you don’t have to have the money now! You can buy me out, bit by bit, as you get the money to do it. And the bigger a chunk you own, the more profits you’ll share, and the more money you’ll have to put into the store. No risk.”

I raise my eyebrows. Both of us know that’s not true. “What about Big Win?”

He waves his hand. “Big Win, big fucking deal. You’ll figure out how to beat them at their own game.”

Big Win is the new big-box sporting goods store that opened near us. It’s been siphoning off more business than we can afford to lose. I’ve been trying to figure out some new strategies to fight back, but so far, no genius ideas.

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