Cowboy Baby Daddy

“So good to see you, Dr. Jones,” Georgia said silkily. “You've been busy lately; you aren't returning my calls.”

“If you want to schedule an appointment, you need to call me on my work phone; you know the drill,” I told her. I actually hadn't listened to any of her voicemails. I assumed if there were something seriously wrong with her, she'd come find me in person. Or find another doctor. I could only dream.

“You silly,” Georgia said, laying a hand on my arm. “I'm not interested in booking an appointment with you.”

“Your shoulder is feeling better?” I asked sarcastically.

“Loads better,” Georgia said, flashing her teeth at me. “I was just wondering how things were going. I know life as a single parent can't be the easiest.”

“Unless you're volunteering to babysit Emma on one of Nana's nights off, you should stop right there,” I cautioned her.”

Georgia frowned and took a sip of my water. “Isn't that what Olivia is for?” she asked.

“Olivia is Emma's daycare provider,” I said. “Emphasis on the day part of daycare.”

Georgia giggled. “So I assume if I wanted you to take me out on a date, it would have to be on one of the nights when Nana could watch Emma?” she asked.

I rolled my eyes. “Georgia, we've been over this before,” I hissed, hoping no one else could overhear us in the crowded diner. “I'm not interested in dating you. Now please, just let it be.”

“I get it, you're still mourning,” Georgia said, waving aside my protests. Her eyes narrowed. “You know, I'm not sure I would trust Olivia if I were you.”

“What the hell do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, she's new in town,” Georgia reminded me. “And let's just say, I have my doubts about the woman's credentials.”

I raised an eyebrow at her. I wanted to fly off the handle at her, to tell her to get the hell away from me. But there was something about the way she said it that made me curious. I hadn't done a very thorough check on Olivia's background before bringing Emma to her daycare. I had taken the recommendation from Jeannie at face value, as you did in a small town, where everyone in the local business scene was your neighbor. But Olivia wasn't part of the local business scene; as Georgia pointed out, she was new here. I frowned.

“You know,” Georgia said, leaning in and whispering in an exaggeratedly loud manner, “Harlan told his mom that he saw Miss Olivia kissing a man the other day, right there in the daycare.”

I frowned, wondering what she was talking about. I had kissed Olivia at the daycare, but that had been nearly two weeks ago now, and we hadn't been in the daycare, strictly speaking. We'd been out in the backyard.

Was there a chance that that was the kiss that Harlan had been referring to? Then again, he was picked up earlier than Emma most nights.

“Buck Johanssen,” Georgia said triumphantly, clearly able to see from my expression that she had hit a nerve.

“What about Buck?” I asked. It had to be me that Harlan was talking about, but something told me Georgia wouldn't have been so smug if that was the case. And was it really so unbelievable that Olivia might have moved on to someone else? She and I had hardly talked over the past couple weeks, and I knew how those city girls moved.

Not that Olivia struck me that way, but you never knew, did you?

“Well, that's who he saw,” Georgia said cheerfully. “Harlan saw Olivia Sable kissing Buck Johanssen at the daycare. I suppose it makes sense, given that Buck is her mother's gardener. Those two families have always been close.” She paused, staring consideringly at me. “Why, did you hear something else?”

“No, of course not,” I said after a moment. Buck Johanssen. I couldn't believe it. I swallowed hard, pushing back the bitterness that surged through me. It was my fault, I knew. If I wanted Olivia to be interested in me, I had to get my life together and stop worrying about what Emily would have thought.

Easier said than done.

“I've already put orders in for these two, but can I get you anything?” Ernie asked Georgia, arriving suddenly at the side of our table.

“Oh no,” Georgia laughed as she grabbed her purse off the back of her chair. “I'm not hungry, but thanks anyway.” She winked down at me as she stood up. “It was good seeing you, Dr. Jones. Don't be such a stranger, you hear?”

Chapter Sixteen

Olivia

I flushed the toilet and wiped my mouth, feeling horrible. It had been a while since I was this sick. I worked with kids, so I knew to take my vitamins and eat a healthy diet. I got as much sleep as I could, although lately my sleep had been plagued by dreams of a certain doctor and his wonderful hands. I blushed even thinking of the filthy things that I'd imagined of him.

But right now, I couldn't feel turned on; I felt wretched. I'd puked the past couple mornings, unable to keep any food down. And the rising of the sun didn't seem to help things, unfortunately. Keeping up with Emma when I felt this crummy was a nightmare, and I was just lucky that it was the weekend. I was all set to put on my fluffiest pair of pajamas and crawl back into bed. Maybe I'd watch a movie, although the idea of focusing on anything made my stomach lurch again.

I looked at my calendar as I fell back into bed. The middle of May already; how was that possible? This year was flying by.