I use punctuation and everything.I don’t gush over him or ghost him; I just send one text.Like a normal person.
Then, I collapse back on my frilly bedspread with my hands over my face.
I’ve got to get my crush under control.
ChapterThree
Maisy
“They said it couldn’t be done.They said we’d be under six inches of snow.But look at us now!”my grandma crows.
“Uh, Daisy?”I look up from my clipboard and look around.“Weareunder six inches of snow.”
There’s nothing Bad Bear Mountain loves like a festival.But this is the first annual Winterfest–a two-week event meant to bring the community together, and I’m not sure if the turnout is what we’d like.
But the cold isn’t as bad as I thought it’d be.I’m in a cute GoddessWear snow outfit, cornflower blue with a faux fur hood.Daisy is in a similar ski outfit that’s canary yellow.She even has her signature faux daisy fixed to her snow hat.The bright color actually looks great against her white hair.
“Nonsense.It’s only three.And I told everyone to bundle up!”She bends down, scoops up a bit of snow, and packs it into a tiny snow pellet she then launches at Old Man Luther’s back.“Bullseye, yeah!”
“Dagnabbit!”He claps a hand to the back of his neck as he turns and glowers at Daisy.My grandma waves and zooms off before he gets the courage to yell at her.
I trot to keep up with her.
“What’s going on with the Ferris wheel?”she asks.“Why isn’t it running?”
I sigh and consult my clipboard.I found the town a killer deal on the Ferris wheel because it’s off-season.No one else in New Mexico thinks it’s a good idea to have an outdoor county fair in January.I wonder why?
“Maintenance check.The attendant seemed overwhelmed, so I asked Axel to help.”Axel is another one of Dr.Hunk’s brothers.He’s amazing with anything mechanical.
“Axel, eh?”Daisy gives me a sly look.“How is that handsome young man?”
“He’s a great friend,” I say firmly.Daisy has tried to set me up with Axel before.She even made him be my date to senior prom.I was mortified that she asked him, but he showed up in a ‘69 Camaro that he’d just rebuilt from the wheels up and acted like the perfect gentleman all night.
After that, we’ve hung out a few times, mostly going for rides in the cars or bikes he’s fixing up.He even took me to some of his races.He’s a few years older than I am and effortlessly cool with his long hair, tattoo sleeves, and chill vibe.I wish I could have a crush on him.
But no, it’s always been Dr.Hunk.In every romance novel I’ve read since I first discovered the genre at age fifteen, I’ve replaced the hero with Dr.Hunk.He’s the man who’s starred in every fantasy I’ve ever had.
Not Dr.Hunk.Dr.Stark.Dr.Stark.With my luck, I’ll slip and call him that, and then I’ll really have to change my name and move to Alaska.Or maybe somewhere warm–Mexico.
“I should get back to the Daisy Day booth before things get too busy,” I say.
“No, dear.Everest has that well in hand.Or paw.”
We both turn to the booth where a giant polar bear is carefully ladling out hot chocolate from a big black cauldron.The fact that there are werebears on this mountain is kind of an open secret to the two hundred citizens of Bad Bear, so the townspeople are used to the sight of Everest in bear form.Right now, the kids in line look like their every dream has come true.I get that having a polar bear serve you hot chocolate is a big attraction, but he keeps eating the marshmallows.“I guess.”
“You’re young.”Daisy claps my shoulder.“You should be out with your friends, having fun.I know, you can ride the Ferris wheel once it’s working again.”She grabs my arm, and my clipboard goes flying.She tugs me towards the Ferris wheel, surprisingly strong for her age.Lately she’s been weightlifting as part of Dr.Hunk…Stark’s health plan for her.
I look around for Missy in the crowd as she leads me over, hoping to make an excuse that will leave Daisy satisfied that I’m socializing.I really don’t want to ride the Ferris wheel, not in freezing temperatures.I mean, I’m not ten years old.I especially don’t need to ride it by myself.That would be…awkward.Then again, maybe Daisy needs me to get on and ride to get the party going and prove her point that it’s not too cold for a Winterfest.
Yes, that probably is the case.Okay, fine.I surrender.For Daisy, I’ll ride the damn thing.Even if I have to do it by myself.As Daisy’s granddaughter, I am also a de facto social coordinator and representative of this town’s government.
Except…oh God.
Is that Dr.Hunk standing by the Ferris wheel, talking to his brother Teddy and his brother’s partner Lana?
Of course it is.There aren’t that many six foot five black men on Bad Bear Mountain.
I’ve managed to avoid him since that embarrassing appointment a few weeks ago.I’m on birth control now, and Nancy, the nurse practitioner, is monitoring my symptoms.There isn’t a cure for PCOS, but the pain medication helped me get past the ovulation pain.I’m feeling much, much better.
