What the Heart Knows (4 page)

She closed her laptop and rose to walk away across the living room to answer the door. A glance out the peephole revealed the solid six foot three figure of her brother. She unlocked the door and swung it open.

“Hey
,
Leo.”

“Hey sis, you busy?”

“No, come on in,” she said.

She stepped back to allow him to ent
e
r and mentally counted to three. Her older brother tested her patience on a weekly basis. He’d been over the top, since she moved out on her own for the first time six months ago. Never mind the fact that her apartment was ten minutes away from Cupa, and she saw her family
at least
four days out of the week at work, and every Sunday for dinner. Juni locked the door behind him, and rolled her eyes.
Just keep telling yourself he means well.

“Do you want anything to drink?”

“Yeah, do you have swe
e
t
tea?”

“Of course.”

She headed to the kitchen with Leo close on her heels. At six foot three, he always seemed to hover
, t
hough she knew he didn’t mean to. He took a seat at the table, and she poured them both glasses of tea before she took her seat across from him.

“What brings you by?”

“Do I need a reason to visit my baby sister?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“Come on
,
Juni.”

She laughed at his frown and shook her head.

“I’m teasing
,
Leo, ease up.”

“I talked to Jen today. Who’s the guy you left with the other night?”

Way to sell me out
,
Jen.

“How did I know you were going to ask me that question?”

“Juniper
,
I’m serious.”

“Wow, breaking out the full name? Is that really necessary?”

“Knock it off! I’m not in the mood to play games right now.”  His voice had dropped an octave.  The tone coupled with the serious look on his face made her pause.

“What do you want me to say
,
Leo? He’s a guy I met at Cupa. I am old enough to date.”

“You just left with some stranger?  Are you out of your mind? You have to be more careful than that
,
Juni! What if something happened to you—”

“Stop you right there. I’m not stupid
,
Leo. We went three stores up to Pete’s and he walked me back to Cupa when we were done. He doesn’t know where I live, and I texted Jen when we got to the restaurant and when I made it home. I was perfectly safe.” 

“I just want you to be cautious. You’re a beautiful woman, and men are bastards.  There are plenty of people out there just waiting for an opportunity to take advantage of others.”

“I know that Leo.”

           
“No, you don’t. You have no idea how harsh and ugly t
he world can be.”  His flippant
words struck a chord.

She’d let him have his say
.
N
ow it was time to put him in his place.  He forgot she was no longer that sick girl who depended on him to help her with all the things she couldn’t do for herself.

“I was sick
,
Leo, not blind and oblivious to what was going on in the world around me.”

“I know, you’re a smart woman, you always have been.  It wasn’t your fault you were handled with kid gloves, but you have to admit you were sheltered to a point for a long time.”

“That’s exactly why I’m going to do as I please now. I’ve done enough of not living to last me a lifetime, Leo! By a miraculous turn of events I found myself no longer at death’s door, and I promised then and there I’d make up for lost time. In order to do that I’m going to have to risk getting hurt and step out of my comfort zone.”

She reached across the table to grasp his hands between her own.

“You can’t wrap me up in bubble wrap
,
big brother.”

“Why not?”  His voice was low and filled with gravel as he shot her a petulant look across the table.

He was the best big brother a girl could ask for. Four years her senior, he’d spent a large portion of his life being her protector and taking care of all the things she was unable to do. Her recovery had freed him to fully live as well. She always felt as if she’d stolen his childhood from him.  It was an issue she’d always felt guilty about growing up. Even his decision to attend a college in-state had directly correlated to her need for assistance beyond what her Mother and Father could provide while running a business. The joy drained from her momentarily as she thought of what she
had
believed were her last moments, two years prior.

****

St. Luke’s hospital room, 2010

She smiled up at her parents as she lay propped up in the hospital bed. They didn’t need to tell her the odds of ever leaving this room were slim to none. She’d felt her body grow weaker every month, and right now, her very spirit was threadbare. It took an incredible effort just to keep her eyelids open enough to see them right now.

“Hey Juniper, how are you feeling?” her mom asked. The waver in her voice tore at her heart so she forced a shaky smile.

“Not too bad.”   It wasn’t a lie. They had her so doped up she couldn’t feel much. It looked like the time had come to give up the ghost.

“That’s good
,
baby. Is there anything you want us to bring you?” She stroked her hair back from her face
,
and Juni reveled in the comfort she provided with the light touch.

“No, I’m just happy to spend time with you.” The words
before I go
echoed through the room, though they went unspoken.

“Do you want to rest?” her
f
ather asked. His kind face was drawn tight and he appeared haggard and worn down from all the worry and stress.

“No, why don’t you guys take a seat, and tell me about everything I’ve missed.”

She smiled when they took the seats on either side of her bed and began to fill her in on progress on Cupa and their tight knit circle of family and friends. It was in mid conversation she felt herself start to slip away into the black against her own will. It felt like drowning.  Her eyes closed, her breath slowed and she wondered if it was the last thing she’d ever do.

*
***

“Juni, are you okay?”  Her brother’s words snapped her back into the present, and she nodded.

“Yeah, sorry
.
I drifted off for a second there.”

“I could tell
,
space cadet. Listen, I know you’re old enough to make your own decisions, but I’m always going to worry about you.  Just promise me you’ll be careful, and I’ll do my best to back off.”

“I’ll be careful,” she said.  
I’m guessing now isn’t the best time to tell you Oliver is ten years my senior.

“So we’re good?” he asked.

“We’re good
,
Le
.
Y
ou know I love you.”

“Love you too
,
little sis. Now since I’m over here, how about you make me dinner?”

“Smooth.”

He flashed her the boyish grin that never failed to charm everyone and she mocked annoyance as she stood.

“Steak, baked potatoes and broccoli sound good?”

“You are a goddess among women.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

She smirked as she moved about the kitchen
,
defrosted steak and prepped the baked potatoes. Things were settled between them for now.

“Since we’re being intrusive, what’s going on with you and Jen? You’ve been dating for over a year now.”

Leo cleared his throat and she smirked as the look of discomfort that crossed his face. It wasn’t fun to have the shoe on the other foot.

“We’re good.”

“Just good.”

“Umm… yes?”

“Come on, you don’t have any plans to move in together, or ask her to marry you
?
”

If possible her brother’s caramel
-
colored skin seemed to blanch.

“M-marry, did she say she wanted to do that?”

“No, but doesn’t every woman?”

“I-I don’t know… Juni, you’re freaking me out here.”

“Not a nice feeling
,
is it?”

“Panic?”

“No, interrogation.”

“Okay, brat, message received loud and clear.”

She smirked, but bit her tongue as they fell into a familiar banter.

It took him a full week to work up the courage to call Juni, but here he was on his way to meet her at the local aquarium. There was an irresistible spark of joy that attracted him to the younger woman, and he knew if he let her get away he’d go to the grave a saddened old widow
er
. It would sound dramatic if he voiced his concerns out loud, yet it rang true to him. After two miserable years of mourning his wife, no other woman had caught his eye, until now.  Not that he’d forgotten Hannah; he was just… ready to live again. Or at least attempt it. Some days he had his doubts he would ever be a fully functioning man again. He buried the thoughts of his sleepless nights in the back of his brain and made his way inside the glass building.

He walked in and smiled when he spotted the woman in question seated on a bench with an e-reader in her hand. 

“Am I late, or are you early?”   He was careful to keep his voice light as he stood in front of her.

“You’re on time. I just got here a bit early to finish up some reading I was doing.”  She closed the e-reader, and stood. He blinked rapidly when her once chocolate brown eyes appeared to have a turned green.  How could he have missed the fact that they were hazel?

“You okay?”

“Yeah, just an eyelash.”

Oliver felt foolish when a closer look showed they were the same rich hue they’d been when he first meet her. Maybe the lack of sleep was affecting him more than he wanted to admit.
Time to start taking those sleeping pills more often.

“Are you ready to go in?” he asked.

“Definitely.”

She stood from the bench and he led them over to the ticket booth.

“I asked you out on the date, so it’s my treat.”

“I won’t argue. I appreciate a bit of old-fashioned thinking in my men.”

“Oh, so I’ve moved to being one of your men. Do you have a harem I’m not aware of?”

She snorted and shook her head.

“You could not be further from the truth. The ‘my men’ statement was a generalization.”

“I don’t know about that
,
Ms. Bloom
.
Y
ou have an air of mystery about you.” 

He turned to face the ticket seller and smiled.

“Two adults, please.” 

“That’ll be twenty dollars even.”   He dug into his back pocket, pulled out his wallet, and handed her a crisp twenty
-
dollar bill. She printed out the tickets and pushed them across the desk.

“Here you are
,
sir. Enjoy your visit.”

Oliver nodded his thanks and offered his arm to Juni.

“Are you laying it on thick now that I mentioned old-fashioned values?”

“You wound me.” He glanced down at the woman at his side and felt his heart skip a beat.

“So you’re telling me this is just your natural inclination?”

“My
m
other raised a gentleman.” 
And Hannah had never been one to stand for anything less than respect and adoration. She’d made it clear from the start if he wasn’t willing to step up his game and be the man she’d envisioned spending her life with, he could just find some other girl to date.

“We’ll see about that
,
Mr. Young.”

Juni glanced up at him coyly from beneath impossibly long eyelashes. She was dressed in an ankle length, light pink dress covered in tiny pink roses. The bodice was modest. It fit her upper body snug enough to hint at the curves that lay beneath, but covered her completely. The concealment was more erotic than any of the scantily clad bodies he’d viewed recently, both on television and in real life. This was odd, given that he was more attracted to the punk rock, alternative woman.

Nothing about Juni matched what he’d come to think of as his type.  Maybe that was what
he
needed. He forced his gaze away from her as they rounded a hallway and the aquarium displays began.

“Ooh
,
look at the sea horses,” she said.