Love Reconnected (Hollywood Series Book 1)

by Michaels, Avery

  I squinted at the television as the blonde moved on to the next story. I grabbed my eye mask from the bedside table and rolled over. After an exhausting morning, I fell asleep quickly.

  “Katie,” I jumped, making the room spin. I couldn’t see anything so I started swinging because I knew good and well that I had locked the door when I had come in. “Stop! It’s me, Jake.” I slid my sleep mask up and squinted away from the light.

  “How did you get in here?”

  “The hide-a-key is still stuck to the underside of your mom’s hummingbird feeder. Seems it’s been there for a while seeing as how it’s encrusted in bird shit and sugar water.”

  “I forgot it was there.”

  “I’ve been calling you for hours.”

  I laid my head back down on the pillow. “I’m really tired, Jake.”

  “Okay,” he said, sliding up behind me in the bed. He didn’t say anything else or touch me; he just lay there behind me. It felt nice to have him there, so I didn’t argue. Just like old times.

  The sun was bright when I opened my eyes again, and I felt like I was floating. I ran my fingertips through the crystal clear water that surrounded me. I looked down and saw my belly swollen with child, and I knew I was dreaming, but it was nice so I didn’t fight it like I would a nightmare. Giggling behind me prompted me to turn my float. I saw Jake catapulting Ty from his arms into the ocean with a splash.

  “Be careful,” I called out in a voice so carefree I hardly recognized it as my own.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Ty said. I grinned widely, enjoying the way he would sound if he could speak properly. It was something I heard only in my dreams so I held on to it, letting it echo in my mind. The sea was calm and the breeze was light so I closed my eyes again.

  “Did you put on sunscreen, sweet girl?”

  “Momma?” I sat up on my float, but suddenly, we were sitting on the beach watching the boys play.

  My mom’s blonde hair was pulled up in a ponytail, her favorite sunglasses swept on top of her head. She squirted some lotion into her hands and rubbed it on my belly. “We don’t want to overcook the little one.” Her laughter filled the small cove.

  I wanted to touch her, but I didn’t because I knew what would happen if I did, so I just let her rub my belly. “Do you suppose he loves me, Momma?”

  “Honey, that boy has had eyes for you since y’all were old enough to know what love felt like.” I stared at him playing with Ty.

  “Oh, Mom, Ty looks so much like you. I wish you could see him.”

  “I watch over him all the time,” she said. She still looked like a girl not old enough to be my mom, but that was the way she had looked in life too. She had always been so beautiful. She stood up and reached down to help me. I took her hand without even thinking, and it was over.

  “I’m so sorry, Momma! I didn’t mean to!” I cried out as the bones dropped to the sand.

  Ty and Jake got out of the water, “Mommy’s crying,” Ty said.

  “Yeah, she gets like that every time she breaks a nanny. It’s okay.”

  I watched, in horror, as Ty gathered the bones in his little sand bucket before I heard Jake calling to me. “Katie, Katie, Katie.”

  “Katie!” Jake shook me, and I blinked hard to make sure I was really awake. “Katie, you were dreaming.”

  “I know,” I said. “It was just a dream,” I hugged my knees and rocked back and forth. Jake put his arms around me, but I was sweaty and gross so I said, “Could you grab me some water?”

  “Sure, anything else?”

  “No, thanks. I’m good. Everything is good.” I told myself more than him.

  The sun was setting when I walked in the living room. Jake brought me a cup of water, and I pinched my arm just to make sure I was awake for real. I hadn’t had one of my overly vivid dreams in a while.

  “You were crying in your sleep. I’ve never seen anyone do that.” I just sipped my water. “That’s the first time I’ve seen you cry since I’ve been back, and we’ve talked about some pretty deep shit.”

  “I don’t cry.”

  “What do you mean you don’t cry? Everyone cries.”

  “I don’t. I quit,” I told him simply.

  “You quit crying? How does that work?”

  “I don’t know. It just does. Sometimes it’s easier not to feel, so I turned off that emotion.”

  “That’s disturbing, Katie.”

  “Anyway, you want to watch something?” I asked.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Better.” I smiled. “Thanks for staying. I’m glad you’re here.”

  “I wasn’t so sure you would be happy to see me after this morning.”

  “Well, I am. I get it. You have an image to uphold and all that jazz. I just get really touchy when it comes to my son.”

  “That’s understandable.”

  “How did you get away anyhow? Are there a barrage of people trampling my garden or what?”

  “No, Joan helped me. They’re looking for us.”

  “Do they know where Ty is?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know. Probably. When you get to Huntsville tomorrow, they may be there. It doesn’t matter though. I have already spoken with my attorney. They can’t photograph Ty without your consent.”

  “So, you aren’t coming with me?”

  “Nah, I’ll just be in the way. I can meet him some other time, when all of this calms down.”

  “Nonsense,” I told him. “You’ll come. We’ll make a little road trip out of it. It’ll be fun.”

  “But I thought you said you were worried about the media upsetting him, and I know, if I go, the press will follow us for sure.”

  “I know what I said, but if you say you have it handled, then I trust you.”

  “Yeah? What made you change your mind?”

  I thought back to how happy we had been in the dream. Just for a moment everything had been perfect. “Nothing particular. I just want you to go, that’s all.”

  Maybe Ty and Jake would hit it off or maybe they wouldn’t. I would never know unless I tried.

  Chapter 11

  I woke up early, at five, thinking of how much I had enjoyed our evening together. It had cooled off, so Jake had built a fire and whipped up some spaghetti. We had watched some TV then gone to bed early. We’d snuggled, and I had fallen asleep in his arms. There hadn’t been any sex or making out. Most notably, there had been no awkwardness. It had been easy and effortless, like it used to be, yet intimate like it had never been.

  I got dressed before I woke him so he could sleep in as long as possible. He wasn’t a morning person like me. At 5:45, I nudged him because we needed to get on the road. He was surprisingly chipper. He showered, threw on some jeans and a V-neck sweater, then asked me how he looked.

  I laughed, “What was that?”

  “I said, how do I look?”

  “What, are you walking the red carpet later or something?”

  “Shut up, I’m being for real. I want to look nice.”

  “Why? You said the photographers would have to stay back.”

  “For Ty and, you know, Julie. I want to make a good impression.”

  My laughter faded into a smile. “Ty won’t care what you’re wearing.”

  “You never know. Studies have shown that children with autism are quite a bit more perceptive than the typical child.”

  “I thought you didn’t know much about autism.”

  “I did some reading on my phone while you were sleeping yesterday. There’s just so much information out there. I wish I was more prepared.”

  I was taken aback by the gesture. I walked over to him and brushed the fabric across his shoulders. “You look very handsome.”

  “Handsome?” he said, sounding disappointed. “Okay, let’s get going. I want to run into Walmart on the way.”

  “Whatever, crazy man. I just want to get there by eight, capisce?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  He slid in the driver
’s seat, and a thought occurred to me. “Do you drive often? I mean, I know you drove your mom’s minivan around town but on the interstate and stuff?”

  “I’ve got this,” he said, and we were off. He swung the car in the empty parking lot at Walmart, insisting he would be only a minute. I rolled down the window and shouted for him to get travel snacks.

  After being in the car for a half hour, my shoes were off and my feet were propped on the dash of the brand-new car. “Aren’t you nervous at all?” he asked.

  “Nope. I haven’t seen my little love in a week. I can’t wait to see him.”

  “I mean about him meeting me?”

  “I’m more nervous about your reaction than his. He’ll either acknowledge your existence or he won’t. I don’t want you to get your feelings hurt.”

  “I won’t.”

  “You promise?”

  “Yeah, I just want us to have fun.”

  “Me too,” I told him. “Listen, if at any time you become overwhelmed, just say the word. You can take the car back, and I’ll catch a ride back with Ty and Julie on Saturday.”

  He laughed out loud. “Me, become overwhelmed by a few kids after what you’ve been through with the media for me? Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “Seriously, it can be intense.”

  “I’m not going to leave you. You’re stuck with me. Get used to it.” I nodded because I thought I already had gotten used to it.

  “So”—I tried to sound casual—“will everything that’s gone on in the past few days hurt your chances of winning the Oscar for best actor?”

  “No, the media has no influence on the Academy.”

  “Really? It doesn’t matter how your fans view you?”

  “I mean, if the public turned on me, I guess that wouldn’t be good, but that’s highly unlikely. Even if they thought Ty was my son, they would find a reason to be sympathetic, because they love me. I’m not trying to sound pompous. I’m just saying. I’m lucky to have a really loyal fan base.”

  I was surprised that he didn’t sound pompous at all, just truly grateful.

  “That Joan can be a beast,” I said.

  “No kidding! But that’s what makes her so good at her job. She knows how to handle people. I just don’t possess that talent for manipulation, so we make a good team.”

  “So, how is your dad doing?”

  “Oh, he’s doing just fine.” His tone was laced with sarcasm. “I think he’s in Aspen this week, or is it New York? I can’t keep up.”

  “Wow, really? I didn’t know he liked to travel.”

  “He didn’t either until his new wifey found out he had access to my money. Now it seems they are globetrotters. ‘Wherever the wind takes us,’ he likes to say.”

  Anger and disgust threatened to bubble over at the fact that Mr. Lewis would use Jake like that. “Cut his ass off!” I snapped.

  “I can’t,”

  “Sure you can! It’s your money!”

  “He’s my dad, Katie.”

  “He shouldn’t take advantage of you like that.”

  “You sound like my mom. He’s not taking advantage. I have plenty of money. I don’t mind that he spends it. It just pisses me off that I’m funding vacations for that witch I call a stepmom.”

  “No kidding! I would flip out if my dad let his wife do that to me.”

  “How is your dad?”

  “He’s doing all right. His new wife, Lindy, has taken him for almost everything he’s worth. I suspect she’ll leave when the accounts are empty.”

  “Home wreckers,”

  “Yeah, screw them both.”

  “I will never be like my dad.” His eyes were tight with hurt.

  “No, you won’t,” I said, taking his hand. Jake and I had both felt the hurt of our parents’ divorces through our mothers’ eyes. Both of our dads had cheated and left our moms for younger women. My dad regretted his decision, but it seemed like Mr. Lewis was quite pleased with his.

  “Hey, is this the exit?” He swerved across three lanes of traffic to hit the off ramp.

  “Remind me to never let you drive with my kid in the car,” I said, still trying to blink.

  We pulled into the Space and Rocket Center at five minutes until eight, just in time to catch the kids getting off the bus from the hotel. I spotted my little man from across the parking lot. When he saw me, he started squealing.

  “See Mommy!” he said as he ran toward us. I bent down to catch him and spun him around.

  “I missed you so much!”

  “Missed you,” he repeated.

  “Are you having a good time?”

  “Good day.”

  “Good, baby, I’m so glad!” I glanced back at Jake standing by the car, and the expression he wore was one of awe. He held up one finger, asking me to wait for him. I nodded, turning back as Julie was approaching. She hugged me. “Have y’all had a good week so far?” I asked.

  “It’s been great! Did your, ah, friend come?”

  “Yes, ma’am. He really wanted to meet you and Ty.”

  “Katie, do you think that’s the best idea?”

  “You know, I really don’t know. I’m just rolling with it, Aunt Jules.” I noticed her lips twitch up despite the fact that she wanted to scold me. She could see that I was happy, and she couldn’t hide that it made her happy too.

  “Well, that’s good enough for me,” she said. “Where is he?”

  “I don’t know. He was right behind me.” I caught a glimpse of him in my periphery. It was priceless. He had changed into a bright, multicolored sweatshirt and was wearing one of those rainbow caps with a propeller on top. He looked like Waldo on steroids. I doubled over in laughter, but he strutted toward us, looking only at Ty. I should’ve told him that Ty hated hats, but he was about to find out. I saw it coming. Ty would take it right off his head, throw it, then take off toward the Space Center like nothing happened.

  “Julie,” Jake said holding out his hand, and she shook it. “It’s been a while. I hope you’ve been well.”

  He didn’t give her a chance to answer. Instead, he bent down and held out his palm to Ty. “Hey, man, I’m Jake.” Ty stared at him and slapped his hand. “Awesome, hold your hand out.” He flipped Ty’s hand and gave him five back. Ty reached for the hat but just touched the propeller, making it spin at first before he jerked it off and began to disassemble it.

  “He’s not a hat person,” I said. Jake ignored me and focused on helping Ty remove the propeller from the hat. “We should get inside. The group is probably waiting.”

  “Just a sec, we’ve almost got it,” Jake said as he popped the plastic piece off and handed it to Ty, who immediately put it in his mouth.

  “I’ll take that.” I snatched it. I handed him his chew necklace instead, and he took off running toward his classmates. “Sorry, I should have mentioned that he chews on everything.”

  “Are you going to be apologizing all day?”

  “Probably.”

  “Well, stop. You’re being a Debbie Downer.” He took off running behind Ty, waving his arms like an idiot. “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, right?” he yelled. Julie and I looked at each other and took off after them laughing.

  The adults basically dragged the kids through the Space Center until we got to the climbing wall. When we got to the wall, Ty took off. Most of the kids were too small, but Ty was big enough, and he loved to climb on anything that sat still.

  I panicked because I wasn’t a good climber. In fact, I had never climbed, and neither had Ty. I ran after him trying to get a foothold, but Jake grabbed my shoulder. “I’ve got this one.” He spoke as if it were no big deal.

  “He doesn’t know what he’s doing,” I warned. A climbing wall wasn’t the same as crawling up the back of the couch!

  “Looks like he’s a fast learner,” Jake called as he quickly caught up to Ty about halfway up the wall. He didn’t touch him, just stayed close enough to catch him if he slipped. When they got to the top I thought Ty wo
uld freak out, not wanting to come down, but Jake whispered something to him, and they descended back to the floor.

  “Good job, baby!” I picked Ty up to keep him from trying to go up again. “What did you say to get him to come down?”

  “Ice cream.”

  “Ice cream?”

  “Yeah, they have astronaut ice cream here.”

  “You bribed him?”

  “Absolutely!” He laughed.

  Julie snorted at me. “You would’ve done the same thing.”

  I walked away from the wall and set Ty on his feet. Jake held out his hand. “How about that ice cream?”

  “Keem!” Ty yelled. There was a moment when he looked between Jake and me, but then he reached out and placed his little hand in Jake’s palm.

  “Did you see that?” I nudged Julie. She put her arm around me, nodding.

  We spent the morning wandering through “space,” ate lunch, and then it was time for therapy. Julie went back to her hotel room while Jake and I took a walk around the Huntsville Children’s Center.

  “I think it went well,” he said.

  “It went way better than well,” I told him. “You did really good.”

  “It was fun.”

  I spotted a man with a long lens camera in the distance. “Uh-oh. Better go change your shirt,” I pointed to the cameraman.

  “They’ve been here all day,” he shrugged. “Joan’s already threatened to slap them with a lawsuit if they come near Ty, so we’re safe.”

  “They’re still taking our picture though.”

  “So?”

  “So you look ridiculous in that getup!” I laughed, tugging the hem of his Waldo shirt.

  “Ty accepts me for who I am,” he mocked.

  The fact that he’d made a fool of himself for Ty, just to get on his level, overwhelmed me with gratitude. “Thank you for coming.”

  “I really enjoyed it. Thanks for having me.”

  “He looks just like you and your mom. Seriously, it’s like George had nothing to do with it at all.”

  “I know. Dodged a bullet there.” I joked. “Every time I look at him, I see her. It’s like a gift or something.” Jake tossed an arm around me and pulled me close.

  We walked over and fed the ducks at a nearby pond, sat on the park bench, and just enjoyed the unseasonably warm weather until dinner. We picked up Ty and took him back to the hotel to meet Julie and to get washed up for dinner. They’d been having a buffet in the hotel’s meeting room every night.