Love Reconnected (Hollywood Series Book 1) Read online

  love

  Reconnected

  Avery Michaels

  Copyright © 2016 Coastal Escape Publishing

  All rights reserved.

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, character, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or use fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locals or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Coastal Escape Publishing

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Dedication

  To those who work tirelessly

  to make the world

  a better place for those with autism.

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to first thank you for reading. Without you, I would still just be writing for fun. I truly appreciate every moment you took out of your day to read my book and I hope you come back for more. Thank you, sincerely.

  Next, I want to thank my family for putting up with the hours I locked myself in the bedroom to write. I love y’all and wouldn’t know what to do without you guys.

  Thanks to Team Jayce. You know who you are. Thanks to the ASA and TSC for trying to make the world sensory-friendly for my baby-bug.

  My fab five: Paula, you’re my soul-sister. You inspire me to write. Thank you. Bridget, you introduced me to one of the great loves of my life: reading. I love you forever. Dana, thanks for keeping it real and being so good to us. J-man adores you. Amy, girlfriend, thank you for keeping me abreast of trending lingo so I know what my students are saying! Jamie, love you girl. Lori, thank you for what you’ve done. You’re all the best.

  Thanks to my book club and all the girls of The Looney Bin. Where would I be without you ladies? “I adore you, you crazy, gorgeous, wonderful (but also sometimes quite weird-but still very lovely) people.” The Laura’s, Lauren, my Sarah, Jessie, Dana, Linda, the Ch-Kristy’s and all of you ladies. I love all of you amazing women!

  A special shout out to my first draft readers, Bridget and Bethy. Jenn, love you girl! Brook, you know.

  Thanks to Coastal Escape Publishing for giving me a chance to turn a hobby into a paying gig. Tomi, I really wouldn’t have done this without your help. Thank you.

  Ashley, Kathy, Rick, Sissy aka: Elizabeth, Alex and Ashton, thanks.

  Chapter 1

  “Hey, Harvard, order’s up,” Joe called over the busy kitchen.

  The owner had started calling me Harvard after he’d read my application. I thought it funny at first, but then it caught on.

  “Thanks!” I yelled back, grabbing the hot plates from the counter. I delivered them to the eager customers with a sparkling smile. “Can I get you anything else, some syrup for those pancakes, perhaps?”

  I grabbed their syrup and headed to the next table, trying to get into the groove. It had been a rough morning, and it was only nine. Ty had woken up at five and had a major meltdown over the potty approximately five minutes later. I did get him to school on time, so that was a win for the day.

  I pulled the pencil from behind my ear, careful not to disturb the one holding my hair in a bun. “Hey there, welcome to Joe’s. What can I get for you?”

  It didn’t escape me that I looked like a walking cliché. The fact of the matter was I simply didn’t care anymore. The pencil in my hair, coupled with the Pepto-pink dress and apron, made me look like someone straight from a 1950s film. All that was missing was a pair of roller skates.

  When I’d given up my career in medicine, I’d had no idea what I was getting myself into. I laugh now at what my friends said. “You’re not in the best place to be making big decisions right now, Kate.” Of course, they had been right, but sometimes, big decisions needed to be made no matter what state of mind a person was in.

  I didn’t regret giving up my career…most of the time.

  “Hey, Kate,” Lauren said. “Joe wants to see you in his office.”

  “I’m busy!”

  She shrugged and gave me the I-know-the-feeling look.

  I checked on my tables then headed to the office, wondering what in the world Joe would be doing in his office this time of day when we were so busy. Christmastime was our busiest time of year since we got people from out of town visiting family.

  I tapped the open door with my finger. “Lauren said you wanted to see me?”

  “Harvard, I need to talk to you. Have a seat.”

  Uh-oh. “Joe, I’m really slammed out there. Can it wait?”

  “Actually, it can’t. Here’s the thing…”

  I laced my fingers together nervously. I’d never been fired from a job.

  “I know your, ah, situation.”

  Of course he knew. I’d only applied for the job because Joe was willing to work around Ty’s school schedule. The diner was a breakfast and lunch only joint, so it was a perfect fit for “our situation.” He’d agreed to let me come in at eight thirty, instead of opening at six, so I could take Ty to school.

  He knew everything…Well, almost everything. Had he found out about my past?

  “Please, Joe, I need this job. Whatever I’m doing wrong, just tell me, and I’ll do better.”

  “You can’t, honey.” I dropped my head in my hands. “You’re doing the best you can. I see you out there busting your tail five days a week. You’re the best waitress I’ve got.”

  I looked up at him, perplexed. “So…you aren’t firing me?”

  He laughed. “Firing you? Don’t be ridiculous! That would cost me a lot of business.”

  “Then what’s this about?”

  “The missus and I were talking. We really want Ty to get to go to that winter therapy session in Huntsville with his class next week. I heard you talking to some of the girls about it. It sounds like it would really help him.”

  “Yeah, I know, but that would mean my coming up with six hundred dollars by, um, yesterday plus taking off work for a week, and that isn’t going to happen.”

  “Well, it is now. I can’t get your shifts covered, but if you can get your auntie to go with him, we want to pay the tuition.”

  “What?” I was taken aback by his generosity. I’m not one to take handouts, but Ty could have really used the therapy this year. He was starting kindergarten next year, and he was so behind in speech. Not to mention his behavior.

&
nbsp; “Joe, I…I don’t know what to say.”

  “Say you’ll ask your Aunt Julie to chaperone.”

  “Thank you so much, Joe! I’ll call her right now.”

  “The girls really wanted to cover for you, but they could only work out a day or two, not the whole week. Maybe you could drive up those days.”

  “That would be great!” I hugged him, despite his aversion to physical contact.

  “All right, get back to work,” he ordered, shoving me out of the small office.

  I checked on my tables then ran to the phone, eager to call Aunt Julie. She’d retired seven years ago. Since she and Uncle Ray had never had any children of their own, they’d done everything they could to step into the role of grandparents when Ty was born. Julie was the only person I trusted to babysit since she knew all of his issues and handled them with ease. Sometimes I wondered how she hadn’t been named a saint for her patience.

  She did everything she could to help me, including keeping Ty every other weekend. It gave us a little break from each other. I couldn’t fathom what we would do without her.

  When I called her, she was ecstatic to hear that Ty would get to go to the therapy session and happy to chaperone. My next call was to the preschool for autistic children that my son attended. I arranged to pay for the trip that afternoon.

  When I hit the floor again, I felt like I was walking on sunshine. I dropped a quarter in the jukebox and chose the song by Katrina and The Waves, as I always did when found myself having a particularly good day. It was something my mom and I had done for fun when I was a little girl.

  The regulars loved the routine. I began my performance dancing around the diner, refilling glasses, carrying plates, and singing into a spoon when my hands were free.

  Joe even stepped out to watch with a smile on his sourpuss face.

  Just as the song wound down, the applause began. I was bowing with a coffee pot in hand when suddenly everyone froze. I followed their gaze to the door, where I was greeted with sapphire blue eyes and a pearly white smile.

  Could it be?

  It couldn’t be…I hesitated for only a second because the moment our eyes met, all the emotional turmoil we’d been through melted away. I set the coffee pot down on the counter and ran toward him, throwing myself into his open arms.

  “Jake!”

  “Nice performance, Katiebug!” I closed my eyes, letting the nickname bounce around in my mind. No one had called me that since my mom…

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “I’m home for the holidays. You know Mom doesn’t take no for an answer.”

  I did know Momma Lewis, and she absolutely did not take no for an answer, but as far as I knew, Jake had come home only for Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning for the past seven years.

  I hadn’t seen Jake in person in seven years—granted five of those were by choice—but now that he was here, I let go of the past and hugged him again, tighter this time.

  Suddenly, the out-of-towners were on him asking for autographs. “Jackson Jacobs!” they shouted as they snapped photos with their phones. I stepped back, careful not to be included in the pictures.

  The regulars didn’t bother him though; they knew him. The visitors, however, didn’t get that this was his hometown, his safe zone, a place where his privacy mattered. He obliged them with a handsome smile and signed their napkins, graciously thanking them all for their support.

  I laughed because I’d never witnessed this in person. I knew he was famous, but I hadn’t seen him since he’d achieved that status. It was funny to see my childhood friend behave this way. He seemed so professional and grown up, nothing like the boy I’d known.

  Jackson Jacobs, as he was known to the world, was just Jake Lewis to me. We’d been friends since second grade, when some mean boy had pushed me on the playground after school, and skinny little Jake stepped in to defend me. He had followed me home that day, and we’d been friends ever since… Well, until he went to Hollywood after college, at least.

  To be fair, he had asked me to go with him. We’d stayed in touch while in college, even though he’d gotten a scholarship to Yale and me to Auburn. We emailed daily, and that was saying a lot about our friendship. He’d set out to study business but found acting instead. I had wanted to be a doctor and was transferring to University of Alabama Birmingham to begin medical school.

  “Come with me,” he’d said. “UCLA has an excellent medical school. We can be roomies.”

  I might have considered it if I hadn’t met George, but I was in love. Actually, I hadn’t seen Jake since my wedding day seven years ago.

  I’d called him at his one-bedroom apartment in The Valley, which he’d shared with three other guys looking for fame, to tell him that I was getting married. He was so happy for me, but sad that he couldn’t afford to come.

  George had surprised me by flying Jake out. It was his wedding gift to me. George even sprang for Jake to bring a date. I knew George was happy to do so since he’d always questioned my relationship with Jake. He knew how boy crazy I had been in school and couldn’t believe that Jake and I had never been romantic.

  The truth was, Jake was the only guy friend I’d ever had that I hadn’t kissed. I kissed them all! It was like I just had to know what it would be like. I’d ruined many a friendship that way since they all wanted more than just a kiss. When they wanted more, I just cut them off or vice versa. Either way, I didn’t keep male friends long.

  Jake was different though. I had tried to kiss him once, but he totally shut me down; it was awkward, but only for second. Jake and I had never done “awkward.” We laughed about it hysterically, and I didn’t try again. We’d been friends for so long that we just didn’t see each other that way.

  His being here made me all but forget the anger I’d harbored for the past several years. His presence brought back a flood of good memories long forgotten. I had been a different person then, so carefree and naïve…

  “Katie,” he called to me over the small crowd around him, “want to meet for coffee when you get off?”

  “I can’t.” His dark eyebrows drew together in disappointment. I couldn’t say no to him when he did that so I reluctantly caved. “I’m staying at my mom’s old house, so just come by the house around nine and we can catch up.”

  He relaxed his face and flashed a flawless smile before walking out, taking half my customers with him.

  “You never told us you knew Jackson Jacobs.” Lauren gave me a little shove. She was years younger than us so she wouldn’t remember much about Jake from when he lived here.

  She’d been to the bathroom and fluffed her bottle-blonde hair since he’d come in. I wanted to tell her that he would never go for that bleach-blonde, red-lipstick look, but other than what I’d read in the tabloids while standing in line at Walmart, I didn’t really know him anymore.

  “There’s nothing to tell, really. We were friends in school, and his name is not Jackson. Well, it is, but he went by Jake Lewis then.”

  “Spill everything!” she squealed.

  “Seriously, there’s nothing to spill. We were friends. That’s it.”

  She pulled at her bubble gum, making a string of goo from her lipstick-stained teeth to her chipped acrylic nails, making it clear that I was boring her.

  After a long shift filled with questions, I cashed out. I counted my tips as I always did after every shift. A measly forty bucks.

  Super.

  If Jake hadn’t come in, it would have been more, but seeing him again had been worth it. I knew if I’d had it my way, he wouldn’t have come by at all, but I was glad he had.

  I caught a glimpse of myself in the long mirror as I went to walk out. My hair was a mess of brown curls tumbling over my head at every angle in attempts to escape the pencil holding it up. I’d added some caramel highlights in the fall but hadn’t tended to them so, of course, my roots were showing. In addition, I looked ridiculous in the pink uniform.

  I sho
ok my head at my reflection, reminding myself that there were a lot worse things than looking silly. What did I care anyway? It’s not as though I was looking for a man.

  I laughed out loud at the thought. Knowing a man was just exactly the kind of complication I didn’t need at the moment.

  I slid into my beat-up Honda, snagging my pantyhose on the cracked leather. I had to laugh. If I didn’t laugh so much I would cry all the time, and that just wasn’t an option.

  I pulled up to Ty’s school four minutes late, earning me a look from the teacher.

  “He’s been asking for you since naptime,” she said…every single day, as though I should feel guilty for trying to give my child a proper education despite his learning disability. I ignored her when my baby-bug rounded the corner, running toward me with a sparkle in his eye.

  We walked out hand in hand, but before we headed to the car I squatted down. “Did you have a good day?” He made his favorite siren noise in response, but I persisted. “Did you have a good day?”

  When he saw that it was the only way to get by me to the car, he repeated, “Good day.”

  “Good! Good day, good!” I praised him for using his words, but he’d lost interest. He was ready for our daily game, so I obliged. “Ready, set…”

  “Go!” he yelled, and we ran to the car. He had very delayed speech skills, but there was always one thing he never forgot.

  “Nuggets!” he shouted. The child didn’t have a low decibel level either. It was loud or nothing.

  I went through the drive-thru, preparing my whopping six bucks for nuggets and a fruit cup, which was insane. I watched Ty celebrate each nugget with a rocking motion. Subtle but adorable. A tiny dancy-dance.

  “Our house,” he said without prompt. He knew every turn, every curve in the road, but he just didn’t know how to say it. He was very smart yet challenged in his speech, which was why I was so excited that he would get to go to therapy camp.