“You did?” Trinity’s eyes got big. “How?”
“I taught at her school before I retired.” His mother helped Trinity crawl between the covers.
“You taught Jazzy?” Roan folded his arms. While his mother had taught school in Twilight, Roan and his sister, Rio, had gone to school in Jubilee because they’d lived on the east side of the Hood-Parker county line.
“I wasn’t her teacher,” Mom said. “But I knew about her situation and despite everything she’d been through, that child was so full of joy. She’s irrepressible. No one can keep her down for long. Not even her lifelong rival, Andi Browning.”
“Jazzy and Andi have a rivalry?” Roan had trained a cutting horse for Andi Browning, and while the woman was a bit full of herself, she was also an excellent horsewoman.
“You haven’t heard? Everyone in town knows about Jazzy and Andi.”
“Mom, I’m not into gossip.”
“Learning about your neighbors isn’t gossip, it’s called taking an interest. In fourth grade, Andi beat Jazzy out for the school Christmas pageant.Although she was a fan-favorite, because of her asthma, Jazzy couldn’t handle the long-winded monologues and she lost the part. Then there was the whole Girl Scout cookie kerfuffle.”
He didn’t want to indulge his mother’s tendency to spread stories, but damn if he wasn’t intrigued. “What happened?”
Mom waved a hand. “I don’t know the exact details, but Jazzy and Andi were neck and neck in cookie sales, with Jazzy pulling ahead in the final few days, and then out of the blue, Andi gets a bulk sale that sunk Jazzy’s chances. Rumor has it Andi’s mom bought a big batch to ensure her daughter’s win.”
Roan shifted his weight. “Jazzy doesn’t seem the type to let petty childhood rivalries get to her.”
“Jazzy is more competitive than you’d think. The rivalry didn’t stop with plays and Girl Scout cookies. When Andi and Jazzy were in nursing school together, Andi slept with Jazzy’s boyfriend, Danny Garza. Danny broke off his four-year relationship with Jazzy to be with Andi. I’ve heard Jazzy hasn’t dated since...” Mom tapped her chin with an index finger and looked lost in thought. “My goodness, that was almost two years ago. Not too long after you lost Claire.”
“This conversation is making me uncomfortable. I don’t enjoy talking about people behind their backs.”
His mother looked hurt. “I wasn’t trying to badmouth Andi or Danny.”
“No?”
“Don’t look at me like that. In my book, Jazzy and Danny were never a good match. I was just telling you what happened.”
Roan angled his head at Trinity. “Little pitchers. We don’t want her thinking we make a sport of judging other people.”
“You’re right. Guilty as charged. What can I say? I’m team Jazzy, especially after the excellent care she’s given our Trinity, and I got carried away.”
“Let’s make amends by not discussing Jazzy, or anyone else for that matter, when they’re not present,” Roan said.
“You get your sense of honor from your dad. I’m ashamed of myself.”
“I don’t mean to judge you either, Mom.”
Kindahypocritical, Sullivan. Don’t pretend you aren’t curious about Jazzy.
Okay, fine. He was human and wondering why his mother thought Danny and Jazzy hadn’t been a good match. Or why Jazzy gave up on love.
Damn, man, are you shooting for the hypocrite trifecta?
Because he hadn’t dated either. Not since Claire died. And until tonight, when he’d stared into Jazzy’s big blue eyes at the Recovery Room and she asked him to the Christmas pageant, he’d thought his love life was over.
At least until Trinity was grown.
But now, he couldn’t stop himself from wondering,what if?
Chapter 3
Jazzy was on her second candy cane martini gearing up for the karaoke contest. Normally, she was a one-drink-on-a-Friday-or-Saturday-night kind of gal, but Andi and Danny had just walked into the bar and she was distracting herself. She’d wanted to bolt, but Charlie wouldn’t let her.
“Don’t give them the satisfaction.”