“Down in Florida. It’s really nice, and it’s not too far from Disney World. Mom takes me there every time we go to see them.” He would have loved that, too, but his parents had retired to New Mexico, which had nothing like Disney World. What it had was desert, heat and reptiles – lots and lots of reptiles. Which was wonderful, if you liked that sort of thing.
“Are you going to see them over the holidays?” He had no plans for the holidays yet himself. He supposed he ought to start thinking about making some.
“We always go to see them for Thanksgiving,” Lucy said. “But they won’t be home this year, so we’re having it here, just me and Mom. And maybe my – I don’t know what to call him. He always tells me to say Uncle Tyler, but he’s not, really.”
Could she be referring to the man that Allison had been embracing in the store the other day, the man she’d chosen over him? “What do you mean he’s not your uncle?”
“Well, Tyler is Mom’s cousin. So he can’t be my uncle, right? He’s something else, but I don’t know what, and Mom says she doesn’t know either.”
He wasn’t sure why he was relieved that the man having Thanksgiving with Allison wasn’t the mystery man from the store, but he was all the same. “If he’s your mom’s cousin, that makes him a first cousin once removed to you. But if he’s older, you should probably still call him Uncle Tyler. Fair enough?”
“Fair enough,” she agreed. “Oh, and you should come by the store tomorrow. The new books always come in on Tuesday. And I bet Mom would be happy to see you.”
Mike kept a smile on his face, but it took a bit of effort. It wasn’t fair to poor Lucy to let her go on thinking she was succeeding at her game of matchmaking when Allison had already found someone else. And Lucy really ought to be told at some point. But it wasn’t his place to say that, or anything else about Allison’s personal life. “I’ll try to get over there, but I can’t make any promises, OK?” She nodded. “And now you’d better run along so you’re not late for Ms. Matthews.”
He felt crummy about lying to the girl; he wasn’t going to go by the shop tomorrow, or any time at all for a while. What point was there?
IT WAS A TYPICAL DINNER: pasta with vegetables for Allison and a spoonful of the same vegetables along with a heaping portion of chicken fingers for Lucy. The conversation was typical, too, a recap of Lucy’s day at school that had taken half an hour so far just to get up to morning recess. But then Lucy asked, “Mom, where do you think Mr. Jensen is going to have Thanksgiving?”
Allison wanted to say “how should I know?” but she caught herself. “I’m not sure. Maybe he’ll go visit his family?”
Lucy shook her head. “I don’t think he likes going there. He didn’t say, but he looked sad when I said how we always go to see grandma and grandpa in Florida.”
Again, Allison wanted to make a smart remark. Something along the lines of, “I bet Teresa Rampton-Brewer will find a place for him at her table.” But again she kept that to herself. “How did the subject come up?”
“I told him we saw him at the store and you wanted to talk to him, except we had to get home to do Facetime. Then he asked if we were going to see them for the holidays.”
Why had she told him about seeing him at the grocery store? And why had she lied that Allison had wanted to talk to him? All Allison could think was that Lucy had not yet given up on playing matchmaker. “You know what? Maybe Mr. Jensen has a friend he’s spending the holidays with.”
“You mean like a girlfriend?” Allison sighed. This was what she got for raising a quick-witted daughter. “He doesn’t have one.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Because Bailey said nobody ever comes to his apartment, and he doesn’t go out except to the store or the library.” By the time she’d finished speaking, she realized she’d said too much, and Allison didn’t let her off the hook.
“So you’ve had Bailey spying on him for you?”
“She’s not spying! She’s just telling me what he does every day! And anyway, he’s really nice, and he’s handsome, all the other teachers say so, and I could tell you really liked him when he came in the store last week!” That was all said without a breath. “You do like him, don’t you, Mom?”
Allison wanted to ask Lucy why she’d begun this whole thing in the first place. Was she after a new father, or was it because she thought her mother was lonely and needed to meet someone so she could be happy again? On the other hand, she wasn’t at all sure she actually wanted to know the answer. But it didn’t matter anyway, because Mike wasn’t available.
“I do like him, but just as a friend. And he feels the same way about me. Do you understand that?” Lucy didn’t. “It’s...”
“Don’t say ‘complicated,’” Mom. It’s what grownups always say when kids ask them something and they don’t want to say the real answer.”
Lucy wasn’t wrong. “Well, it is complicated. But I guess you deserve the truth. I think Mr. Jensen does have a girlfriend. I saw him talking to her in the grocery store last night. That’s why I didn’t want to go over and see him.”
Now Lucy was puzzled. “Just because he was talking to somebody? I saw a little kid there, too. He probably goes to our school, and the lady Mr. Jensen was talking to was his mom. That doesn’t mean she’s his girlfriend, right?”
When she put it that way, it made all the sense in the world. Yes, Mike was standing very close to Teresa Rampton-Brewer, but so what? That didn’t have to mean anything. Maybe they were keeping their voices down, and he had to stand close to hear her properly. Or maybe she had a poor concept of personal space and just naturally got right up to people to talk to them. It certainly didn’t mean she was his girlfriend. Right?
“You’re absolutely right, honey.”
Chapter 9
Apparently, every teacher in the school, even the ones who were married, was concerned about Mike’s love life. Tricia Darlington came up to him while he was finishing lunch in the teacher’s lounge and, apropos of nothing, told him, “Logan Brewer said he talked to you in the grocery store the other night. He said you had a long conversation with his mother.”
“Really?” He tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, and mostly succeeded.
“I only mention it because his mother was divorced recently,” she said, patting his arm. “You know how people talk about that sort of thing. This is a small town.”
It certainly was. “So I’m learning. We were just chatting for a minute or two. It was nothing. I’m not seeing her, or anybody else for that matter.”
She smiled at him, a gentle, maternal smile, something like the one he used to get from his grandmother when he said or did something dumb. “I understand. But you have to understand, too. You’re the only eligible man on the whole faculty of this school, and there are a dozen of your female colleagues who are looking for someone exactly like you. Not to mention at least that many mothers of our students.”
“So what am I supposed to do about it?”
That gentle smile again. “Get married, of course. That’s the only way all the talk will stop. And it’s probably time for you anyway. You’re quite handsome, if you don’t mind me saying so, you have a steady job, you like children – I’d say you’re as prepared as any man can be to become a husband and a father.”
How had she managed to pack so many inappropriate things into one sentence? It had to be some kind of record. On the other hand, his mother said pretty much the same thing to him every time they spoke, with the addition of “just because you screwed up one marriage doesn’t mean you can’t get it right the next time,” which never failed to make him feel awful.
“I’ll think about it, OK?”
One more smile, even more tolerant and maternal than the last one. “OK. But don’t think too long. Time does march on, Mike.”
He bit back the first several answers that came to mind, and finally he just thanked her and went back to his classroom. But maybe she, and his mother – and app
arently everyone else in his life – was right. Maybe he ought to go back to the bookstore after school today, and talk to Allison.
When he did, that same young man was back, too. Looking in the window, he could see him there, helping Allison unload boxes of books out onto the shelves. He was making a point of touching her, too. He watched for a minute, completely failing to notice the door opening until he heard Lucy Miller’s voice. “Mr. Jensen! You came! Mom’s going to be so glad to see you!”
“She looks pretty busy to me, Lucy,” he said. He was proud that he said it in a pleasant, even tone.
“Remember I told you, Tuesday is new book day. She has to put all the books out, and Uncle Tyler came by so he’s helping too.”
Uncle Tyler? The cousin that Lucy had mentioned yesterday? That was who this mysterious young man was?
That would explain the hugging, and the close talking and the touching. And it also meant she wasn’t seeing anyone, she wasn’t playing some sort of game, she was single and if he wanted to, he could even ask her out on a date.
If only he could get up the nerve to actually do that.
“LUCY, CLOSE THE DOOR! I’m not paying to heat the sidewalk!” Allison had to laugh at herself. Had she actually just said that out loud, when she felt the cold draft from outside? That was one of her father’s old sayings, and any time she kept the door open a nanosecond longer than was absolutely necessary, she’d heard it.
“Sorry, Mom,” Lucy answered. Allison heard the door close, felt the air get immediately warmer, and, when she looked up, she saw that Lucy was not alone.
“Mike?”
It was Mike Jensen, and he looked nervous, if she had to put a word to it. Why on Earth should he be nervous coming into her store, though?
Maybe – hopefully! – he had been having similar thoughts to hers. “In the flesh,” he said. “Lucy said I should come in and see the new books today, and...” He trailed off, and she didn’t have the heart to press him on what he was going to say.
“I’m glad you did. By the way, this is my cousin Tyler, he just got back to town. Tyler, this is one of Lucy’s teachers, Mike Jensen.”
Tyler and Mike shook hands. She thought, just for a minute, that they were sizing each other up, which was ridiculous. Tyler had no business having any opinion on a man she might potentially be open to the possibility of thinking about asking out on a date. And Mike had no reason to be wary or threatened or anything else by Tyler.
“Glad to meet you,” Tyler said to Mike, finally releasing his hand. “Lucy can’t stop talking about you. Seems you’re her favorite teacher.”
“Tyler,” she said, trying to keep an edge out of her voice, “there’s another two big boxes downstairs. You think you can bring them up for me?”
He knew he was being dismissed so she could talk to Mike alone, and he gave her a mock salute before disappearing down the stairs to the storeroom. But of course they still weren’t alone. “Uncle Tyler’s in the army,” Lucy said. “But he’s at Fort Leavenworth now, so we’re going to see him all the time.”
“Yes, we will, Lucy. Why don’t you go downstairs and help make sure he knows the right boxes to grab, OK, honey?” Lucy, too, knew when she was being dismissed, and she copied Tyler’s salute before following him down the stairs.
“OK, now we can talk,” Allison said. “Let’s get some coffee into you, you’re shivering.” She led him over to the coffee machine, filled a cup for him and a hot cocoa for herself. “I’m glad you came by.” Did she dare say why?
“I’m glad you’re glad.”
Allison couldn’t believe he said that, but it was possible he was just as confused about his feelings as she was about hers. “Well, we’re both glad. That’s good.” Maybe if she hinted around, he’d say something to indicate what he was really thinking, so she’d know where she stood. “So did you come by just to check out the new releases?”
“Partly,” he said. “But also to see you. I enjoyed talking to you last week, and I thought, maybe we could have coffee or something.” Allison would have laughed at his hesitant words and his odd expression – he looked simultaneously relieved to have gotten those words out and shocked at what he’d said – if she didn’t feel the same way herself.
“We are having coffee.” They were sitting down now, too, and she hadn’t even noticed herself sinking into the plush armchair. “But I know what you mean. And I agree. Are you free right now?” He just stared at her. It really was a dumb question, wasn’t it? “Obviously you are. And I’ve got Tyler here for another hour. How about I leave him in charge of the store and we go over to Loretta’s Coffee Bean around the corner and talk like civilized people?”
She saw his lips begin to form the word “yes,” but he didn’t get the chance to speak it. Before he could, they both heard three sounds from downstairs: a shout, a loud thud, and a much louder shout, maybe even a shriek.
Chapter 10
“This is ridiculous!” Yes, it was. When he had gone over to The Last Page, Mike hadn’t expected to be pressed into service as an ambulance driver. “Basic training, Ranger training, twenty-three jumps and I never set foot in a hospital. One hour stocking the shelves at Allie’s store and I break my ankle. You tell me how that makes any sense!” Allison’s cousin Tyler was not coping well with his injury.
Mike had been about to say yes to Allison’s offer of what might have possibly been a date, when they’d heard the shouting from the storeroom. Her cousin – veteran of basic training, Ranger training and twenty-three jumps – had slipped on a slick patch of floor, lost control of a box of books, and gone down hard.
“It really doesn’t,” Mike agreed. “But honestly, I don’t think it’s broken.”
“Allie didn’t mention you had a medical degree.”
Mike knew the man was in pain, so he let that pass. “It’s just, if you broke it, it would have swelled up a lot more by now. My best friend broke his ankle in college. Playing ping pong, if you can believe that. Anyway, it swelled up about twice as big as normal, and the doctor in the ER said that’s a quick way to tell.”
Tyler considered that. “I don’t know. Maybe you’re right. But it hurts like...” He caught himself, remembering that there was another passenger in the car, one whose ears were more sensitive.
“Just be brave, Uncle Tyler,” Lucy said from the backseat. “That’s what Mom always tells me when I hurt myself. You can do that, right?”
Her words did the trick. He clearly wasn’t willing to look cowardly in front of a nine-year-old girl. He also must have realized that Allison would never have allowed her daughter to accompany him to the hospital if she thought it was serious. “You’re right, Lucy. It’s not bad, really. I’m sure I’ll be walking out of the emergency room in time to get you home for supper.”
It ended up being almost that quick. They only had to wait twenty minutes to go back to an exam room, and once there, only another half hour to see a doctor. The doctor took two minutes to confirm that Tyler’s ankle was merely sprained, and to have the nurse wrap it tightly and put a plastic splint on. They were all back at Allison’s house on First St. by six-thirty.
“I made your favorite, Tyler. Meatloaf with ketchup gravy, and mashed potatoes. I figured you’d need some comfort food after your ordeal.” She said it with a teasing grin. “And if you’d like to stay, Mike, there’s plenty for you, too.”
She said that with no teasing at all, and why should she have? She’d asked him out on a date - well, coffee, anyway – and he’d been about to say yes when her cousin had to go and sprain his ankle. “Sure, I’d love to.”
“Good call,” Tyler told him. “You can’t beat meatloaf with ketchup gravy. Best thing in the world.”
For her part, Lucy didn’t say anything; she just grinned like the cat who ate the canary.
Dinner was as good as promised, although Mike didn’t have much opportunity to talk directly to Allison. Lucy was so enthralled by Tyler’s stories of life in the army that she seemed to
have forgotten her goal of putting him together with her mother. Or, Mike supposed, she might feel that her job was now done, and she could sit back and enjoy her victory.
That was more likely. Nine-year-olds were not known for their ability to see the big picture. Or for their understanding of the complexities of adult relationships. To be fair, though, he didn’t have much understanding of them, either, and he was twenty-three years older than her.
Whatever the future might hold, at least this was a pleasant evening with good food and good company, and Mike decided he’d be satisfied with that for tonight.
“SO I ASSUME THAT’S the teacher Lucy wanted to set you up with?”
They only had a minute to talk before Lucy came back downstairs. “He was.”
“She picked pretty well, I’d say. Smart guy, good in a crisis, likes your kid, likes your cooking. Not sure what else you could ask for, Allie.”
There was a lot more she could – and would – ask for. But that was certainly a good start. “He did come through tonight, didn’t he? And he seemed to like my meatloaf, so he gets points for that. But don’t start writing the wedding invitations just yet, Tyler.” She laughed. “Not that Lucy would let you do them anyway.”
Lucy picked that moment to rejoin them, teeth brushed, face washed, and her winter coat all buttoned up. “You going to escort me home, Lucy? I’ll have the two most beautiful women in town taking me home. Lucky me!”
Allison tried to keep the conversation away from the subject of Mike on the drive over to Tyler’s house, but he asked Lucy about school, and that led straight back to her favorite teacher and how smart, handsome and just generally wonderful he was. “If you don’t get together with this guy, she’s never going to forgive you,” Tyler whispered to her when she parked in front of his house. As she helped her cousin into the house, she had to agree with him.
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