Lost Love (Lazy Love Book 4)

by Kirsten Osbourne

  May frowned, shaking her head. “I’m not sure.”

  Sally knew that May was uncertain what to say when a teenage girl wanted to read one of her books because May had read books with sex scenes when she was eleven, but she knew not all parents approved of books like that for young girls.

  Sally leaned close to Jay and whispered her niece’s dilemma.

  Jay shrugged. “You read romances all the time, don’t you, Alison?”

  Alison nodded. “Mom never minded.”

  “I think it’s fine, then.” Sally thought it best to go along with what Alison’s had allowed for her.

  May leaned down and got a book out of her purse. “Do you want me to sign it for you?”

  “Yes, please!”

  May signed it quickly and then passed it to Bob. “I bet she’d love an autograph from one of her favorite actors as well.”

  Bob took the book and scribbled his name before passing it to the teen. “We’re filming late on Tuesday. I can get you and your uncle a pass to come watch, if you’d like.”

  Alison looked at Jay, her eyes wide. “Please, Uncle Jay? I want to meet Valerie and Jesse and Amber too!”

  Jay sighed. “If you’re completely caught up in English by Tuesday morning, we’ll go.” He had no desire to watch a show get filmed, but if Alison was that excited about it, he could do it. It was one of the sacrifices that needed to be made as he raised her.

  Bob smiled. “I’ll leave passes for the three of you.”

  Sally looked at Bob. “Three?”

  “You haven’t been out to the set yet either, Aunt Sally.” Bob looked over at May. “You should come too. Make it a party.”

  May wrinkled her nose. “I have to work!” She sighed. “Of course I’ll be there. We’ll have a party in Bob’s trailer!”

  “Does Bob get no say in this?” Sally asked.

  “Why would he? I’m the queen, and he’s just the court jester.”

  Bob leaned over close to May and whispered “King Bob” loudly into her ear.

  Sally looked at Jay. “Just ignore them. They’re both crazy.”

  Alison was practically bouncing up and down in her seat. “Why don’t you tell the class about the famous people you’re related to, Miss Jackson?”

  Sally shrugged. “I don’t see how any of it affects English literature, do you?”

  “I guess it doesn’t,” Alison said. “But it would make you seem so much cooler!”

  “I’m not sure if you’ve realized this yet, Alison, but my life goal isn’t to be cool. I probably would have chosen a cooler subject to teach if it was.”

  “Maybe not, but I see you took my advice and wore your hair down today. It looks good. Doesn’t it, Uncle Jay?”

  Jay smiled, squeezing Sally’s hand under the table. “It really does. And the next time I go out with you, I’m not bringing Alison, because she’s way too interested in my love life.”

  “Your love life?” Alison asked. “You’re in love with Miss Jackson?”

  Jay blushed, shaking his head. A man in his forties shouldn’t be blushing! “Drop it, Alison. My feelings for Miss Jackson are none of your business.”

  Alison rolled her eyes, turning to Bob. “What about Jesse and Valerie? Are they really in love? And I read Amber got married to some guy who lives in Jupiter, of all places. Who’d want to live in Jupiter, Texas?”

  May laughed. “I’ll have you know that Jesse and Valerie are very much in love with each other. You should see how they look at each other all the time. It makes my heart melt. And Amber and John are happy too! She grew up in Jupiter, so she doesn’t mind moving back.” She leaned forward as if imparting a great secret to Alison. “John took her to the prom in high school. She’s been in love with him since she was twelve!”

  “Wow!” Alison sighed. “I wish I had someone I loved that much.”

  “I didn’t meet my husband until I was in my thirties. You have plenty of time to fall in love and marry.” May smiled at the girl, knowing her life was similar to her own in some ways. “What do you want to do when you finish school?”

  Alison shrugged. “I think I’ll probably be a doctor. Like a pediatrician or something. I’m really good at biology. Much better than I am at literature.”

  May grinned. “I was better at literature. It was very fortunate for me that I had a live-in literature teacher when I was in high school.”

  “Did you always want to be a romance writer?”

  May shook her head. “Not exactly. I always knew I wanted to write books that would make people laugh. I read a lot of romance, so it makes sense that it’s what I decided to write. It makes me crazy when someone writes something they call a romance and one of the main characters dies at the end.”

  Alison nodded. “Me too!”

  Jay ignored the banter between the two nieces and leaned toward Sally. “I don’t care if people die in romances.”

  Sally shrugged. “If they do, they become a tragedy, but whatever. I’m glad you guys decided to come tonight. I love how well May and Alison are getting along.”

  He looked back and forth between the two. “Alison worked all day on her essays. She said she has a little bit more polishing to do, but they’ll be ready to turn in tomorrow morning.”

  “Good. I would hate to have to fail your niece. But I’d do it.”

  He grinned. “And that’s why you’re known as the toughest teacher in school. And the prettiest.” He winked at her, squeezing her hand.

  Tiffani came back with their drinks, obviously still angry with May for something no one else could really understand. “Are you ready to order?” She pulled a notepad from her apron and patted the front of herself, trying to find something to write with.

  May pulled out a pen and handed it to her with a smile. “If you don’t mind using one with my pseudonym on it, you can keep this. I know waitresses are always having their pens walk out on them.”

  Tiffani took it, gripping it between her forefinger and thumb as if it was something she didn’t want to touch. She took their orders and wandered off.

  Sally looked at May. “Why does she hate you so much?”

  May shrugged. “I’ve wondered that a lot. She wasn’t this terrible to me until I married Bob. I really think she had me in a little compartment in her brain that said I’d never be anything but a nerd and a loser, like she thought of me in high school. Then I became a bestselling author, and that bothered her. But when I married Bob, her opinion of me was blown out of the water. I married a sexy, successful actor, and she’s married to a washed-up football player who lets her support him and their three kids. If I’d been unsuccessful, she wouldn’t hate me so much.” She took a bite of a chip. “Just a theory, of course.”

  “Sounds like a good theory to me,” Sally said. “I remember how much she and her friends tormented you in school.”

  “Yup. Bullying at its finest.” May didn’t need to say anything else because everyone at the table understood.

  “Were you one of the smart kids who got picked on too?” Alison asked, her eyes wide.

  “Of course!” May responded, winking. “And Tiffani was the pretty cheerleader who always had a date on Friday night. In her mind, I was supposed to stay a ‘loser’ forever. I didn’t. It’s hard for her to swallow that fact.”

  “Do you go to your high school reunions?” Jay asked, suddenly wondering if others still treated her the same way.

  May shook her head emphatically. “No way. No one in that school would give me the time of day when I went there. Why would I go out of my way to see them again? I see my favorite teacher all the time, but I don’t need any of the rest of them.”

  “I’m surprised you haven’t moved out of Wiggieville,” Jay told her.

  “I didn’t want to leave Aunt Sally. I’ve thought about it a lot, though. I hate the summer heat.”

  Alison frowned. “You should move to Wyoming like Jesse and Valerie did. I’m sure you could find a nice place there. You’d still come to
Wiggieville because Bob would work here, but you could spend most of the summer where it’s cool.”

  “And you’d come visit?” May asked.

  “I do love the mountains,” Alison answered with a grin.

  “Sounds good to me. We’ll have to look into that.” May rested her head on Bob’s shoulder for a moment.

  Jay smiled over at Sally. May really was happy now. He was pleased to see the girl who had seemed so sad in a different light. Sally was right. May didn’t need her anymore. He breathed a sigh of relief. Even if May didn’t need her, he did. And he was going to find a way to marry her. Soon.

  Chapter Four

  After dinner, Jay and Alison walked Sally home. At her front door, Alison looked between the older couple. “Aren’t you going to kiss her goodnight, Uncle Jay? That’s what you’re supposed to do after dates.”

  Jay looked at his niece. “So you want us to kiss so you can watch? Are you nuts?”

  Alison shrugged. “Probably a little. Isn’t everyone?”

  Jay shook his head, surprised at her attitude change. She was definitely a hormonal teen because her moods were more temperamental than the Texas weather. He leaned down and kissed Sally on the cheek. “Goodnight. I’m really glad we did this.”

  Sally smiled up at him. “Me too. I’ll see you Tuesday evening, I guess.”

  “Do you want to drive out together? Or do you want to meet there?”

  What she really wanted was a bit of time alone with him, but she wasn’t about to tell him that. She wouldn’t hurt Alison’s feelings that way. “Let’s drive out together.” Sally looked at Alison. “Are you sure you can go out on a school night and not get behind?”

  Alison shrugged. “I’ll do fine. I was only behind in your class, and only because I figured you’d fail me no matter how hard I worked.”

  Sally shook her head. “I will if you don’t do the work, but not because your uncle and I didn’t work out.”

  “I see that now. G’night, Miss Jackson.”

  “G’night, Alison.”

  Jay ran his hand down Sally’s arm before following his niece to his truck. He had to figure out some way to be alone with Sally. Alison wouldn’t always get in the way. Would she?

  Sally went into the house and closed the door, leaning against it. Spending time with Jay had brought back so many memories. She had thought she was used to being alone and content. She knew now that would never be the case. No, she wanted Jay to be involved with every minute of her life.

  She walked toward her bedroom to get ready for bed. School started early. She hoped she’d be able to teach without her students realizing anything was different. Even as she walked to her room, it felt like she couldn’t stop smiling. Surely the whole world would know she was in love the moment they saw her.

  * * *

  As soon as the last bell rang on Tuesday, Sally gathered her things to leave. She usually stayed after school for at least an hour or two, but Jay was picking her up so they could drive out to the set. She wasn’t a huge fan of the show, though she did watch it. It gave her more to talk about with May because she was so obsessed with it.

  Sally was just headed for her classroom door when it flew open, and Alison rushed in. “Are you ready, Miss Jackson? I can’t believe we actually get to watch them film some of the show!”

  Sally grinned. “It’s going to be fun. May’s never been there for filming either, but she’s been invited a bunch. I think she’s only going to keep us company.”

  Alison held the door for Sally. “I like May. She’s cool. I read that book she gave me last night instead of doing my math homework, and it was really good!”

  Sally shook her head. “So, did you get your math homework done?” It was hard to find the line with Alison between teacher, friend, and uncle’s girlfriend.

  “Yeah, I did it during biology.”

  Biting her lip, Sally didn’t say anything about that. “Where is Jay meeting us?”

  “He was supposed to meet us here, but the vet took longer than he expected, so he said to walk to your house, and he’d pick us up there. Why don’t you drive to school?”

  Sally knew the vet was going to be at the ranch checking out Jay’s favorite horse. “I like to walk. I drive if it’s rainy, but that’s the only time.”

  “What happens if it rains while you’re at school, and you’re stuck there with no car?”

  Sally shrugged. “I get one of the other teachers to drop me off, or I walk home in the rain. It’s not far.” She actually loved to walk in the rain. She found it very soothing.

  “I’m glad it’s not raining today. Will you help me talk Uncle Jay into letting me get my learner’s permit? I want to get a car and drive myself to school.”

  “You can’t drive alone until you’re sixteen anyway. When will that be?”

  “Not until April, but I want to start learning now. Uncle Jay says I’m not ready, and I have to take drivers’ ed next semester.”

  Sally shook her head. “I’m not going to interfere between you two. Ever.”

  Alison sighed. “I was afraid you’d say that.”

  Jay’s truck was parked in front of her house when they got there. He was leaning against it, and hurried to her, grabbing her books. “I got out a little quicker than I thought, but school was already over, so I figured it would be best if I kept to the plan and waited here.”

  “Perfect.” Sally went to the door, opening it. “Let’s leave my books here. I should probably grade papers while we’re on the set, but I think that might ruin things for Alison.”

  Alison nodded. “It would. How could I have fun watching everything if you were grading my Cyrano papers?”

  “Oh, I graded those already. I’ll give them back during class tomorrow.”

  “How’d I do?”

  “You think you’re going to get special treatment now that I’m dating your uncle, don’t you?” Sally had a strict rule about not discussing grades outside of class. Any student was welcome to come talk to her after school if they were concerned about a grade. She’d made the policy the first year she’d taught at Wiggieville when one of her students had asked her for his grade when he’d run into her at the grocery store with his mother. The mother had gone into hysterics when she mentioned he was making a D.

  Alison grinned. “Why not?”

  Sally shook her head, laughing. “Not happening.”

  Jay set her books on the table and walked back to them. “Let’s head out. Are we going to be there long enough we’ll need dinner?”

  Sally shrugged. “No idea. If we are, we’ll just get something after. No big deal.”

  “I probably should have packed a picnic or something, but I wasn’t sure what to do,” he said.

  Alison grabbed his arm. “Come on, Uncle Jay!”

  Jay shook his head and walked toward the truck as Sally locked the door. She followed along behind, watching the two of them together. She could see a big difference in the way they interacted just in the short time she’d been around them. Alison was definitely a lot more comfortable with her uncle now.

  Sally slid into the passenger side while Alison got into the backseat. “How was your day? What did the vet tell you?”

  “He’s done something to his leg. The doctor put some kind of poultice on it and said he should be walking more normally by morning.”

  “Are you going to have to ride another horse for a few days?”

  He shrugged. “I could, but I’ll probably just mend some of the fences close to home. I’ve been putting it off because I hate that job so much, but it’s as good a time as any.”

  “At least the weather is cooler now.” Sally turned and looked at Alison. “What are you guys doing for Halloween?”

  Alison shrugged. “I don’t know. At my old school, I’d have had plans, but I haven’t really been here long enough to care much.” She sighed. “Maybe I’ll just pull out last year’s costume.”

  “What were you last year?”

  “
Hermione Granger. I’m a big Harry Potter nerd. I’d love to go as Harry, but I do have the whole breast thing going on, and it’s not quite as believable.”

  Sally laughed. “Yeah, you’re probably more believable as Hermione. Or Ginny. You could go as Ginny.”

  “Oh, that could be fun! I never thought of that, but if she could steal Harry Potter’s heart … yeah, I’ll go as Ginny! I just need to get a red wig.”

  “Have you actually read the Harry Potter books?” Jay asked Sally.

  “Of course! They’re wonderful! Yes, they’re children’s books, but I keep up with most of the trends. Not all, but most.”

  “Hunger Games? Twilight?”

  “Yup. I want to know what’s popular among kids so I can reach them with my old stuff.”

  “Old stuff?” he asked with a grin.

  “Hey, that’s what the kids call it. I can’t expect every one of my students to fall in love with Cyrano like I did.”

  Alison laughed. “Trust me, Miss Jackson, with the way you teach Cyrano, there’s no way a girl wouldn’t fall in love with him. Some of the boys in class were even complaining that they’ll never be good enough after the girls heard you talking about Cyrano.”

  Sally bit her lip to keep from laughing aloud. “They just need to up their games then, don’t they?”

  Jay sighed. “What about me? How am I ever supposed to live up to him?”

  “You lived up to him the first time you told me you rented the movie.” Sally was glad he couldn’t see the look she gave him because she knew it was full of love.

  “When I was in Alaska, I wore out a copy of the Jose Ferrer version of the movie.”

  “Really? You watched it without me?”

  “How could I not? It made me feel closer to you. ‘Oh I have no more illusions! Now and then—bah! I may grow tender, walking alone in the blue cool of evening, through some garden fresh with flowers after the benediction of the rain; my poor big devil of a nose inhales April…and so I follow with my eyes where some boy, with a girl upon his arm, passes a patch of silver…and I feel somehow, I wish I had a woman too, walking with little steps under the moon, and holding my arm so, and smiling. Then I dream—and I forget…And then I see the shadow of my profile on the wall!’”