My Guarded Valentine (Hope Peak’s Valentine’s Day)

7. Buck

Chapter 7

Buck

B efore yesterday, you could’ve asked me if I believed in love at first sight and I would’ve said no. Now that I have met Mitzi, somehow everything has changed. But that was the problem. Nothing had changed. I still didn’t deserve anyone. Something would somehow screw up and they would get hurt, too. No, Mitzi was better off. She just went back to where she came from.

Ms. Dolly put her hands on her hip and looked at me. “You know, if you don’t find a girl one day, I’m gonna set you up in the Valentine’s Day auction if you’re not too careful.”

In a panic, I made a choice I shouldn’t have made. I grabbed Mitzi‘s hand and squeezed it tight. “Now Ms. Dolly, what if I just met Mitzi, and we were thinking of starting a relationship? If you put me in a Valentine’s day auction, you could ruin a budding relationship.”

Ms. Dolly stared at us before walking away as she tried to figure out if I was lying or not. Panic spread across Mitzi‘s face one more time.

“What are you doing?” Missy whispered harshly.

I winced. “Honestly I don’t know what I’m doing. There’s a high chance she would create some sort of bachelor’s auction for Valentine’s Day or bachelor speed dating just to give me a date. I panicked. I try to give her hope that maybe you will be my next true love.”

“So you’ve had a true love before?”

“Well, no, I haven’t. But she knows I’ve been alone for a long time and she just wants me to find that perfect someone.”

Mitzi laughed. “Well, if there is a bachelor’s auction suddenly, you’re gonna have to get yourself out of it because I can’t afford no bachelor. I’ve heard things like that are, like, astronomical. I guess unless that’s just like what the media says. I don’t know.”

“I will give you the money to bid on me. It’d be simple if I could figure out a way to get myself not set up with anyone else in town.”

“Do you not like anyone in town?”

“No, it’s not that. I just don’t deserve anybody.”

“So, you do like girls in town?”

I sent her a dull look. “None of them are my type.”

Mitzi made a funny face before shoving a big bite of her food back in her mouth as we ate the rest of the meal in silence. “I highly doubt that.” She looked at me intensely, and her eyes widened. “I mean, if you don’t like girls, that’s cool, too.”

I shook my head. “No. I try to keep to myself. I used to be a player. I’ve sworn that life off. I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Maybe I’m bad luck. Didn’t you just say that you’re bad luck and things are always going wrong? Maybe I’m unlucky with people.”

Mitzi made a sound with her mouth that sounded like she did not believe me at all. “I think if what you’re saying was true, which I do not believe at all. You wouldn’t have people like Mitch in your life. You wouldn’t have people like Ms. Dolly who wants you to have a relationship and wants you to be happy. No, there’s something else going on and maybe I’ll find out. Maybe I’ll write an exposé on a man tormented by his past demons and really, he’s just tormented by guilt.” She giggled with her last statement as she smiled at me.

I grinned at her. “Are you saying I’m going to be your subject?” I asked. She leaned forward. The jacket she had taken off meant that her cleavage was peeking out from the top of her blouse. My eyes drifted towards her cleavage before starting back to her face.

“You better be careful if you become the subject of my next article. We might have to get really close.”

I winked. “Maybe I wouldn’t mind that.” Internally, I winced. I shouldn’t have said that. I shouldn’t be flirting at all. When it came to Mitzi, my thoughts were clouded, and I found myself being driven more by desire than by my heart.

“Are you done eating?” I asked. “I can go ahead and pay while you finish up. Then we’ll go talk to Mitch.”

“Feel free to go pay. I’ll finish up, thank you,” Mitzi said as she stuffed another mouthful of food into her mouth. She calmed and nodded in her head like she was trying to quickly finish chewing. I stood up and walked to the register. Ms. Dolly met me and glared at me.

“Now I’m serious, boy. If you don’t find someone, I will somehow in twenty-four hours make some sort of bachelor auction and you’ll be the first name on the block. You don’t know how many girls in this area would love to land you, Mr. Money Bags.”

“You can’t do that!”

“I can and I will. Now I suggest with how that girl looks at you, you need to somehow make that work.”

“What are you talking about with the way she looks at me?”

“That girl has a crush on you. It might be a small crush, but it’s a crush. Now I made some extra food for Mitchell and his partner. I’ve heard that baby crying and I know they have not been able to cook. Poor things. Colic probably. Cold air can help. Tell them that. And make sure the baby is bundled up. A cold baby is a sad baby. They’ll freeze to death.”

I tried to suppress my smirk as she passed me a bag full of food, and I nodded. “I’ll tell them all that.”

“You’re a peach, honey,” she said as she handed me back my card. I turned around, and Mitzi was already behind me. I motioned out the door and she followed me. As we walked up the stairs, I grabbed her arm and leaned in closer to her.

“Mitch and I have a long and complicated history. He used to date someone close to me. But the person’s gone. Ever since then, we’ve been friends because we’ve been dealing with our grief. So yeah.” I didn’t want to tell her about my brother. Mitch was happy now, but what if I stole his and Lance’s happiness?

Mitzi’s eyes narrowed as she looked at me. “Interesting. Maybe you are the subject of my next article. ‘Kind stranger helps townsfolk.’”

I laughed, and we finished walking up the stairs. I knocked on the door and Mitchell’s husband, Curtis, opened it up. The baby in his arms was wailing and the look on Mitzi‘s face as she reached for the baby melted my heart. Curtis passed the baby to Mitzi, and she cooed and whispered to the baby. When I was still dating, I’m not sure if I’d want kids. But for some strange reason, seeing Mitzi holding that baby made me want kids suddenly. Then again, all I wanted was Mitzi.

“Mitchell should be coming right back up. He was just checking on your car,” Curtis said to Mitzi.

Mitzi looked up. “How do you know it was my car?”

“Who else would moneybags over there be with? It has to be you.”

As soon as he said that, as a curious expression crossed her face, Mitch burst in through the door. He looked at Mitzi and shook his head. “If you were wanting to leave today, it ain’t happening. I can fix it on Monday, but you’ll still have to wait a few more days.”

Mitzi’s shoulder sagged as Curtis grabbed the food for me. “Come on. Let’s go to the kitchen and put this up. I’ve got to warm up Hope’s bottle.”

“I’m Mitzi, by the way,” she said as she happily followed him into the kitchen.