She normally did it early when the sun wasn’t so high, and it wasn’t so hot out.“I got a late start today.”She was not about to tell her brother it was because she had been in a sex-induced coma and catching up on no sleep from the past week with one of the girls out on vacation.
“How far did you make it?”That was his age-old question he’d asked since she’d taken up running.She knew she would never hit his ridiculous number of twenty miles, nor did she want to.
“Three miles.”
“That’s awesome.”
“Thanks.How are things at home?”
“Great, I…ah…actually have something to tell you,” he said nervously.
Uh oh, this couldn’t be good.“What’s that?”
“Cora’s pregnant.”
“That’s awesome.I’m going to be an aunt.Does this mean you’ll finally set a date for the wedding, or will that be in a few years?Maybe your kiddo can be your ring bearer or flower girl depending on what you have.”They had only been dating for five years.By common law, they were married, but Cora wanted the big white wedding.June already considered her a sister though.She didn’t need a piece of paper to prove it.
“Ha ha,” he replied dryly.“We haven’t set a date.I’ve actually suggested we just elope and come out to Vegas.See you and get married at the same time.”
“It’s the place to do it, but I don’t think Cora would agree.That’s why you’ve held off for so long.She wants the big wedding.”
“I think she’s coming to realize the timing will never be perfect.Our schedules just don’t always collaborate to make it work.Now there will be a baby to fill in our time.I’m thinking I’ll be retired by the time we get around to doing the wedding.”
“You might need to hold off on retiring, big guy, to save up for college.”
“Ugh,” Liam groaned.
“Are you excited?”June had never heard of Liam or Cora mentioning kids.June had assumed that one day they would have them, but she’d figured it would have been long before her brother was inching closer to forty.
“I am.I’m also scared as well.Which is funny considering what I do for a living.”
“Those are situations you’re prepared for.Kids are a different ball game.”
“Tell me about it.I don’t know what I’m doing,” Liam commented, almost sounding panicked.
“You’re going to be a great dad, Liam.You’ll figure it out like you have everything else in life.”She had nicknamed him Golden Midas long ago because there wasn’t anything he tried that he hadn’t succeeded at almost on the first try.
“Thanks, June bug.Enough about me, what’s going on with you?”
“Well, I’m seeing someone.”A smile crossed her face as she thought about Rob.
“What?When?That’s awesome,” Liam said, sounding just as excited as she was.It was the first time she’d had a boyfriend.Like Liam, she was excited but nervous.Relationships were new to her.
“It’s very new, so don’t get too excited.”Already after their first night together, she hadn’t heard from him.She hoped that wasn’t a sign of bad karma.
“How can I not be, my little sister has finally found someone.Tell me about him.”
“His name is Rob; he used to be Special Forces.”
“I like him already.What does he do now?”
“He does contract work.”June hoped Liam didn’t press her for more details because she didn’t know.He was more hush-hush about his job than her brother.
“Nice, how did you two meet?”
“We met through my work.He’s a patient there with Dr.Shane.”It wasn’t a complete lie, but she wasn’t about to tell her brother that she was being assaulted in an alley when Rob rescued her.Liam would be on a plane this afternoon to drag her back to Fort Irwin.
“A patient?”Liam sounded shocked.
