From Dare to Due Date

by Christy Jeffries

  “Hey,” was all he said when he finally stood in front of her.

  “Hey,” she responded. “So, you’re the new team doctor?”

  “I’m just kind of helping out for now.”

  “How’s it going?”

  “Well, our defensive tackle was a little wobbly there during the first quarter because he’d heard a rumor that some girl he likes might be asking him out. But he threw up in the trash can behind the bleachers and I think everyone’s in good shape now. What are you doing on the field?”

  “I helped do some of the cheerleaders’ choreography—” Before Mia could finish, four teenaged girls in matching cheer uniforms and bouncing ponytails interrupted them.

  “Excuse me, Miss Palinski.” The cocaptain spoke for the group. “Sophie wanted to know if at the end of our routine, we could all hold up these signs we made asking JoJo Patrelli to go to Sadie Hawkins with her?”

  “Is JoJo Patrelli the defensive tackle?” Garrett whispered and Mia nodded.

  “That should be fine, as long as you wait and do it after the final basket toss. I don’t want any of you getting hurt during the stunts. Right, Dr. McCormick?”

  The man looked completely confused about why the teenaged girls burst into a fit of giggles when he smiled at them. Did he not realize that a couple of the adolescents and many of the grown women in town would probably have lovesick crushes on the handsome single doctor?

  “So.” He rubbed his forehead as he spoke with the cheerleaders. “You’re holding up signs to ask a boy to go to a dance with you? Is this a thing now?”

  “Come on, Garrett.” Mia stood up straighter. “Why shouldn’t girls be able to ask out a guy? We’re all about gender equality here in Sugar Falls. Besides, it’s for Sadie Hawkins. It’s a tradition.”

  “No, I know what Sadie Hawkins is. I meant, is it normal to ask someone out in such a public way?”

  “Oh, totally,” Sophie said and the girls all agreed and launched into some of the most memorable invitations. And bless Garrett’s patient heart for listening to them go on and on.

  There were thirty seconds left on the clock when one of the girls turned to her and said, “So are you going to chaperone Sadie Hawkins this year, Miss Palinski?”

  “Yeah, who are you going to invite this time?” another girl asked as she wiggled her head toward the new team doctor.

  Garrett’s eyebrows went into high alert and he crossed his arms across his sweatshirt. “Yes, Miss Palinski, who are you going to invite to Sadie Hawkins this year?” All the girls giggled again at his obvious ploy.

  Cornered by cheerleaders? Her own kind turning against her? She’d have to think twice before giving this squad her best moves again. “I, uh, wasn’t going to go this year because of my bad knee, Dr. McCormick. But if I was going to ask someone, I’d probably ask Mr. Cromartie again.”

  “And who exactly is Mr. Cromartie?” She saw him clench his jaw and narrow his eyes as he looked at the crowd in the stands. The girls giggled even more and she wondered if Garrett had any idea how jealous he appeared at that moment.

  Mia pointed out the eighty-year-old coffee-skinned man with a thatch of bushy white hair and a long conductor stick. “See that gentleman leading the marching band out of the stands and toward the track? He knows his way around music and the dance floor.”

  “Hmm,” was all Garrett said, but he did allow his shoulders to drop.

  “Don’t worry, Dr. McCormick,” Sophie said. “I’m sure you could find another woman to ask you to Sadie Hawkins if you want to go.”

  The referee signaled for halftime and the girls took off running to gather their pompoms and their signs.

  Mia and Garrett were left on the side of the track alone. She tried not to smile at the idea that he might have been a little peeved that she would go out on a date with another man. She wanted to ask what it meant, but she didn’t want to embarrass him. Or hear him deny it.

  Say something, her brain commanded. But a whiff of his musky citrus cologne mingled with the night air and she found herself staring at the light pulse thrumming along his neck. “So, I scheduled another ultrasound for next month.”

  If she hadn’t been standing in front of a crowd of a hundred or so people, she would’ve slapped her palm to her forehead. She was such an idiot. Couldn’t she have come up with a better conversation starter than that? In fact, why did she even need to speak with him in the first place? She should’ve run off with the cheerleaders.

  “Oh, good.” His hazel eyes lightened and his lips softened. “Let me know the date and I’ll clear my calendar.”

  Great, now she was stuck going to another doctor’s appointment with him. How did she completely lose all sense of subtlety every time she talked to the guy?

  Ever since she’d been a teenager, she had trained herself to be skilled at avoiding men and their advances—not that Garrett was making any real advances toward her—so that she could focus on her career. It had started when her mother refused to allow her to date in high school because time spent with boys was time not spent practicing. Then, when she’d gone to college, she’d gone out with a few guys, but they always seemed to want her to be their personal cheerleader just as she was finally learning to be more independent, so it was just easier to keep them at a distance. She used to be savvy enough to speak casually with the opposite sex and not lead men on or otherwise invite them into her life.

  Maybe this self-imposed exile she’d been under since she’d moved to Sugar Falls had caused her to completely fall out of practice.

  The band launched into a drum line performance and Mia watched the football teams hustle off the field. But Garrett still stood in front of her, as though he didn’t see sweaty jocks in full pads running right past them. She took a deep breath. “So, is that your cue?”

  “What? Oh. Yes. I better follow them to the locker room and make sure nobody has any sprains or concussions.”

  “Yeah, and I need to get the cheerleaders set up for their routine.”

  If they were business associates, this would be the part where they shook hands. If they were lovers, now would be when they kissed. But they were neither of these things. Plus, they were standing on a high school football field in full view of the crowded bleachers.

  The wind picked up and blew a strand of dark hair into her eyes. Garrett reached out and pushed it back behind her ear. Then he rubbed his thumb along her cheek. She remembered from her high school science class that physics dictated bubbles were supposed to rise up. But the ones tingling inside her made their way clear down to the core of her womanhood. Those hands were surely going to be the death of her.

  “Okay, so I’ll see you around,” she said then did an eight count as she forced her legs to walk slowly away from him.

  It was almost the same thing he’d said to her when she’d left his office on Monday, and she hated the way it sounded tonight as much as she’d had then. The implication was that they had no need or desire to speak to each other except in passing. The truth of the matter was that she was afraid of everything she wanted to say to him—like the fact that no man had ever been able to make her feel as if she was on the edge of a cliff, about to free-fall into the unknown.

  But at least this time she hadn’t run from him. That was progress.

  * * *

  The following Tuesday, Garrett was craving a hot home-cooked meal. Since his arrival in Sugar Falls, he’d been living on stale muffins and the whole grain cereal offered at Betty Lou’s B and B, which was turning out to be more of a bed place and less of a breakfast place. While eating like that was fine when he was on deployments or too busy in surgery to make it to the mess hall, he was now a full-fledged resident of the Potato State and intended to partake in some skillet-cooked home fries. Plus, he’d heard the Chamber of Commerce met at the Cowgirl Up Café on Tuesdays and no
w that his practice was almost up and running, it was time to establish himself as a permanent part of the business community.

  Plus, he hadn’t seen Mia since the football game on Friday and knew her mom was supposed to be arriving any day, if she hadn’t already. Garrett was curious to find out if Mia had told her mother about the baby, and there was no better place to accidentally run into her than downtown Sugar Falls.

  He entered the restaurant, which was housed in its own gingerbread-shaped cottage across the street from Mia’s dance school. He should have known by the purple exterior of the building that the inside would be just as eclectic.

  Apparently, a rodeo queen with a penchant for do-it-yourself crafts had gotten some great deals on every horse riding–themed picture from each flea market west of the Mississippi, and then thrown them up on pink-and-white-striped walls. Stirrups and bridles had been spray painted in glitter and tacked up alongside the equestrian art. The long and winding rope spelling out “Cowgirl Up” behind the counter seating area was an interesting touch.

  He doubted Cammie Longacre or any of her interior design friends would have thought to use old cowboy boots planted with cacti as centerpieces on all the wooden tables of varying sizes, shapes and years of origin.

  But he was a business owner and he was here to meet with the Chamber of Commerce, not to research decorating tips for his sparse office.

  “So we finally get to meet the infamous new doctor in town,” an older waitress wearing a zebra-print apron said. The woman had dyed red hair teased clear up to heaven and a tight lime-colored V-neck shirt plunging clear down to—well, the opposite of heaven.

  If he hadn’t left his sunglasses in the truck, he would’ve pulled them down until his eyes could grow accustomed to the bright and vivacious surroundings. But he could hear a grill sizzling, and the smell of bacon and maple syrup told him that there was a reason this place was packed with locals clamoring for a delicious hot breakfast.

  Many of the customers’ faces turned to look at him and Garrett’s heart dropped, thinking they’d found out exactly why his name was semifamous. But the waitress’s coral-painted lips smiled to reveal a slightly crooked tooth and she held out her hand to him. “I’m Freckles and I own this place.”

  “Nice to meet you, Miss Freckles, but you’ll have to fill me in on how I earned the title of infamous.”

  “Oh, darlin’, it’s just Freckles. And everyone in town has been talking about how you finally got our sweet little Mia to come out of her shell.”

  Come out of her shell? Even a remote mountain town like Sugar Falls had internet access. Didn’t they know that their sweet little Mia had been an NFL cheerleader? She’d most likely danced on a Jumbotron in front of over seventy thousand screaming fans, as well as on the living room television sets of millions of people watching the games from home. That didn’t seem too shell-worthy to him.

  At least Mia had proved to be pretty sweet. So far.

  Just then, the subject of their conversation walked in the door.

  “Speak of the devil,” Freckles said then sashayed behind the counter to get a coffeepot.

  Great. Now Mia would think he was gossiping about her around town. Which was exactly what he would have done if she hadn’t shown up and interrupted the question he’d been about to ask the café owner.

  “Hey,” he said, sounding like the same idiot he’d been when he saw her a couple of nights ago at the football game.

  “Hey,” she responded, but didn’t really smile. Her eyes scanned the room as she pulled off her jacket, probably hoping they didn’t have any witnesses to yet another awkward and unexpected meeting.

  Of course, by now everyone was most likely aware of the fact that she was carrying his child. As far as he knew, nobody had made any sort of huge announcement from the gazebo in Sugar Park, the grassy square in the center of downtown. But these people weren’t stupid. They’d eagerly picked up the clues about one of their beloved townspeople’s delicate condition and word had spread down Snowflake Boulevard like an avalanche.

  She was wearing another one of her soft wraparound sweaters over tights and a tank top and he wondered how the men in this city didn’t go wild seeing her walk around in her dance clothes.

  Garrett rubbed his forehead before firmly shoving his hands in his pockets. He needed to put those things away before they were tempted to reach out and touch her again. “So, did your mom make it to town yet?”

  She looked toward the several tables that had been pushed together. “Yes. She arrived last night and I’m already about to move in with Maxine and Cooper for the rest of the week.”

  “Did you tell her yet?”

  “Tell her what?”

  “About the baby?” His voice dropped to a whisper. “About me?”

  “Not yet, thank goodness. But I don’t know how much longer I can keep it a secret.”

  “Why would you want to?”

  She took a step back and looked at him as though he’d just asked her why she would want to drive on the right side of the road.

  He should clarify what he meant, but Maxine was waving them over to where the rest of the Chamber of Commerce members were sitting. There were two empty chairs between her and Kylie, who had offered her CPA services to Garrett right after the football game. Although, he had to wonder if Kylie was actually interested in helping him file his taxes, or whether she was hoping to get a glimpse into his personal financial records on behalf of her best friend.

  Everyone sat down and Garrett noticed most of the businesspeople left the seat closest to Mia open. They all seemed friendly enough toward her so he had to deduce that they weren’t treating her as a pariah so much as allowing him the option to sit next to her.

  He was going to have to work extra hard at keeping his mouth closed so he wouldn’t stick his foot in it during the breakfast meeting.

  “Let’s get started.” Cliff Johnston, the mayor, called the meeting to order. “Weather reports show that the ski season is starting early this year and with the holiday weekend about to start, we need to get a game plan locked down for how we’re going to handle an increase in tourists.”

  A jingle interrupted and drew everyone’s attention. Kane Chatterson pulled open the door to the café and was about to walk inside when something outside on the street caught his eye. Garrett watched the man pull his cowboy hat lower, turn right around and walk quickly down the road.

  That was odd. Was everyone in this town avoiding someone? If so, then maybe they should think twice about eating at one of the busiest local restaurants.

  But less than a minute later, Garrett saw what Kane was fleeing from. A sixty-year-old man wearing a loud Hawaiian print shirt and flip-flops in forty-degree weather would normally stand out on his own. But when that man also had a shaggy gray ponytail topped off with a red Angels ball cap and held open the door for a guy carrying an oversize video camera with a boom mike attached, it was hard not to take notice.

  “Oh, no,” Garrett muttered, wanting to duck under the table.

  “What’s the matter?” Mia whispered before glancing toward the door. When she spotted the camera, a shocked look shot across her face.

  Why? Hadn’t she set this up?

  Whether she had or not, there was really nowhere for him to hide. He would have to weather this situation with the leading members of the Sugar Falls business community by his side, being allowed full access to the spectacle that was about to be unleashed.

  “GP,” the man said as he opened his arms up wide—to create the most dramatic display possible, naturally. “I’ve been looking all over this backwoods town for you.”

  “Dad, what are you doing here?” Garrett stood up, hoping to direct the focus away from the table—and from Mia—and the curious stares aimed at them. “And why in the world would you bring a camera crew with you?”
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  “One of your old friends from high school swung by the office the other day and said she’d found out that you were having a baby. I wouldn’t have believed it myself until she showed me her social media page with a picture she’d posted of you with your arm around this pretty young thing here.” His father turned to Mia and held out his hand. “Hi, I’m Dr. Gerald McCormick. I’m GP’s dad and the soon-to-be grandpa.” He shook his head ruefully. “Wow, that word really made me sound old. Anyway, I agreed to give the network an exclusive interview with my reclusive son and the touching journey of his transition from rebellious teenager to elite navy surgeon and father. It’s going to be an award-winning piece and if we’re lucky, we might be able to talk them into a spin-off. Nice cuffs, by the way.”

  Garrett looked down at the monogrammed cuff links and shook his head, trying to let go of the rage building inside him.

  “Oh, my gosh.” Mia’s face went pale and instead of shaking Garrett’s dad’s hand, she gripped the armrest of her wooden chair tighter, her eyes glued to the huge video camera. That was one reaction he wasn’t used to seeing women exhibit when they suddenly had the lens turned on them.

  “Dad, I told you way back when I was eighteen that I wanted to be as far away from your reality shows as possible. Nothing’s changed. Why do you think I moved out here?”

  But before his dad could answer, Garrett heard Freckles’ loud, countrified accent.

  “My stars! If it isn’t Dr. McCormick from that plastic surgery show on TV. I woulda recognized that lucky red cap anywhere. I’m Freckles and I own the Cowgirl Up Café. I gotta tell you, I’m a big, big fan. I never miss an episode of the new season. It would be a real pleasure to serve you in my restaurant.” She set her coffeepot down on an empty table and reached out to shake his father’s still-outstretched hand. Which made Garrett all the more surprised when the waitress said, “But I’m going to have to ask you to leave your camera outside.”

  “Thank you for the compliment, ma’am,” Gerald McCormick said and tilted his head humbly. Garrett knew that look. His dad may look like a beach bum, but he was a determined man who could—and had—talked a woman into signing a prenuptial agreement mere minutes before she walked down the aisle. The older, sassy waitress didn’t stand a chance. “My crew and I will just be a second and then we’ll be out of your way.”