some time to recover . T wo years is practically a reborn virgin.”
She laughed and snuggled closer as she allowed their combined body heat and the activities of the day lull her to sleep.
Chapter Eight
Oliver lifted the bottle of beer up to his lips and glanced out over the backyard where his nieces and nephews played a game of tag. The setting sun had turned the sky into a brilliant blend of oranges and reds. Every few weeks or so, the Young family carved out time in their hectic lives to get together and reconnect over dinner. Today his sister Tanya was the hostess of a backyard barbeque. He nodded as Tanya stepped onto the deck beside him and joined him with a brown bottle of her own. Only two years older, Tanya had always been the sibling he was closest to.
“You know I don’t mean to pry.”
“Of course you do,” he said. He smirked when she scoffed, and shook her head.
“You should be grateful you have such a doting sister.”
“I do appreciate you, but what you call doting, I call nosey, prying…”
“I get the picture, thanks.”
She rolled her eyes and they both laughed at the playful banter that had gotten him through the worst of his grief. Tanya had always been tactful. She knew when to ask questions, and when to back off. It was a skill that had proved invaluable after the accident.
“Seriously, you’ve been different lately, and I mean that in a good way,” she said. “What’s going on?”
He paused for a moment before deciding it was past time to let someone know about Juniper. Things had progressed way beyond the point of no return. The next step was meeting one another’s famil ies . It’d benefit him to soften the blow by telling someone ahead of time.
“I met someone a while back. I didn’t want to say anything at the time because everything was new, and I had no clue where it was headed.” He watched his sister’s eyes light up , and he couldn’t help but smile. Juni was changing him one day at a time. During his waking hours, Hannah’s memory had faded to the background as he focused on the present. He wished he could say the same about the dreams though. If anything they had worsened as his sub conscious worked out the guilt he talked himself out of during the day.
“And now?”
“Now it’s pretty serious. I was a wreck for a long time, and suddenly Juni appears out of thin air like a beacon of light.”
“Juni?”
“Juniper… her last name is Bloom, and her parents fancied themselves comedians.” He felt his lips twitch and curve up at the corners when Tanya snickered.
“It sounds like she’s special to you.”
“She is , T. Juni is like no one I’ve ever known, and just like me she ’ s been through tragedy.”
“So you’ve told her about Hannah?”
Oliver nodded.
“I told her my wife passed in an accident, and I wasn’t ready to go into details about her accident just yet, which she accepted. She had a close brush with death herself, so she understands it’s not an easy topic to speak about in depth.”
“It sounds like she’s the right woman at the right time.”
“I’d like to think so,” he said. There were moments with Juni whe n he felt like he was exactly where he was supposed to be. It was jarring how connected he felt to her at times. It challenged his beliefs. He’d never been on for mystic or overly spiritual things before, but now he wasn’t so sure he felt the same way.
“I’m glad , Oli . I was starting to get worried about you. It was like Hannah had some crazy hold on you that no one would ever break.” Her words made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, and he noticed Tanya shiver. Though neither of them said it out loud, he knew he’d been t ee tering ridiculously close to the edge for a while.
“So, how serious are things between you two?”
“We’re not picking out China pattern s or anything, but I think we’ve arrived at the meet the family
She laughed and snuggled closer as she allowed their combined body heat and the activities of the day lull her to sleep.
Chapter Eight
Oliver lifted the bottle of beer up to his lips and glanced out over the backyard where his nieces and nephews played a game of tag. The setting sun had turned the sky into a brilliant blend of oranges and reds. Every few weeks or so, the Young family carved out time in their hectic lives to get together and reconnect over dinner. Today his sister Tanya was the hostess of a backyard barbeque. He nodded as Tanya stepped onto the deck beside him and joined him with a brown bottle of her own. Only two years older, Tanya had always been the sibling he was closest to.
“You know I don’t mean to pry.”
“Of course you do,” he said. He smirked when she scoffed, and shook her head.
“You should be grateful you have such a doting sister.”
“I do appreciate you, but what you call doting, I call nosey, prying…”
“I get the picture, thanks.”
She rolled her eyes and they both laughed at the playful banter that had gotten him through the worst of his grief. Tanya had always been tactful. She knew when to ask questions, and when to back off. It was a skill that had proved invaluable after the accident.
“Seriously, you’ve been different lately, and I mean that in a good way,” she said. “What’s going on?”
He paused for a moment before deciding it was past time to let someone know about Juniper. Things had progressed way beyond the point of no return. The next step was meeting one another’s famil ies . It’d benefit him to soften the blow by telling someone ahead of time.
“I met someone a while back. I didn’t want to say anything at the time because everything was new, and I had no clue where it was headed.” He watched his sister’s eyes light up , and he couldn’t help but smile. Juni was changing him one day at a time. During his waking hours, Hannah’s memory had faded to the background as he focused on the present. He wished he could say the same about the dreams though. If anything they had worsened as his sub conscious worked out the guilt he talked himself out of during the day.
“And now?”
“Now it’s pretty serious. I was a wreck for a long time, and suddenly Juni appears out of thin air like a beacon of light.”
“Juni?”
“Juniper… her last name is Bloom, and her parents fancied themselves comedians.” He felt his lips twitch and curve up at the corners when Tanya snickered.
“It sounds like she’s special to you.”
“She is , T. Juni is like no one I’ve ever known, and just like me she ’ s been through tragedy.”
“So you’ve told her about Hannah?”
Oliver nodded.
“I told her my wife passed in an accident, and I wasn’t ready to go into details about her accident just yet, which she accepted. She had a close brush with death herself, so she understands it’s not an easy topic to speak about in depth.”
“It sounds like she’s the right woman at the right time.”
“I’d like to think so,” he said. There were moments with Juni whe n he felt like he was exactly where he was supposed to be. It was jarring how connected he felt to her at times. It challenged his beliefs. He’d never been on for mystic or overly spiritual things before, but now he wasn’t so sure he felt the same way.
“I’m glad , Oli . I was starting to get worried about you. It was like Hannah had some crazy hold on you that no one would ever break.” Her words made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, and he noticed Tanya shiver. Though neither of them said it out loud, he knew he’d been t ee tering ridiculously close to the edge for a while.
“So, how serious are things between you two?”
“We’re not picking out China pattern s or anything, but I think we’ve arrived at the meet the family
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