Page 12 of The Bear's Second Chance Mate
Over the years, she’d felt more and more isolated.
And that isolation had left her wounded in a way she couldn’t easily explain.
But today, with Stanley, those wounds had felt a little less raw.
Her mind drifted to the backyard. The rabbit. The sun shone through the grapevines. The way Stanley had crouched beside Oli and spoken to him, not in the clipped, over-explaining tones so many adults used, but like he was someone worth listening to.
And Oli had listened.
June’s hand tightened on the spoon. She wasn’t used to that kind of gentleness. Certainly not from men. Oli’s father had never understood him. Hadn’t tried. Meltdowns were met with shouting. Quiet moments were dismissed as sulking. Even when she’d explained, again and again, that their son’s world moved at a different pace, he’d rolled his eyes and left the room.
Until one day, he’d left for good.
But Stanley had stayed.
She glanced back at Oli, who was now drawing whiskers on Herbert’s face with small, deliberate strokes.
The sound of a key in the door broke June’s thoughts as the door opened and her Aunt Barb let herself in.
“Smells like soup,” Barb announced, setting her canvas tote on the bench near the door.
June arched a brow. “And it should taste like soup. Carrot and coriander. I also bought a fresh loaf from the bakery this morning.”
“I knew there was a reason I agreed to you and your boy moving in.” Barb didn’t smile, but her eyes twinkled faintly as she stepped into the kitchen. Her gaze landed on Oli at the table with a fondness that made June’s heart tighten in her chest. Despite her often-gruff demeanor, Aunt Barb accepted Oli for exactly who he was, something for which June would be eternally grateful.
That, and for letting them stay rent-free while June got herself back on her feet. Retraining for a new career had zapped most of her savings, and Barb’s offer of somewhere to stay until she found a new job had been an unexpected and much-needed lifeline.
“What’s this?” Barb asked, leaning over to get a better look at his drawing. “Not bad, kid. You got the ears just right.”
Oli glanced up, pleased by the praise but not enough to pause his careful shading. “They’re long and soft. Rabbits can turn them all the way around.”
Barb gave a soft grunt of approval and sank into the chair opposite him, patting the seat beside her. “You joining me, or still hiding behind your ladle?”
June gave the soup one last stir, turned off the heat, and brought two glasses of apple spritzer to the table. “How was your day?”
“Same as usual,” Barb said as she took a sip. “And you?” She turned her gaze to June. “I’m guessing it involved a rabbit.”
“We helped rescue one,” Oli said without looking up.
Barb’s eyebrows lifted. “That right?”
“We did,” June confirmed.
“We helped Stanley Thornberg catch a stray rabbit,” Oli said. “He owns the local pet store.”
Barb’s glass paused mid-air, then she blinked and shuffled in her seat. “Thornberg?” she echoed slowly, then took a longer sip than necessary. She set the glass down with deliberate care. “Well now. Fancy that.”
June frowned. “You know him?”
“Know, knew his father, Hugo,” Barb said, voice smooth but tinged with something unreadable. “Went to school with him, once upon a time.”
June watched her aunt’s expression closely. “And Stanley?”
Barb’s lips pressed together for a beat. “Nice enough. But don’t get your hopes up.”
“I...I wasn’t,” June said quickly.
“Hopes about what?” Oli finally looked up. “Keeping the rabbit?”
