Finding June (21 page)

I opened the door to find him standing there, looking delicious. He was wearing dark jeans and a button up shirt in a deep navy color. It did wonders for his toned chest. His shirt was rolled up to his elbows and his beautiful scripted tattoo was showing. This time I was able to see what it said. Three words: Let it Be. Fitting for Reece.

“Reece … you look … great.” I had wanted to say things like amazing, delectable, fuckable … but I settled for adjectives you could say in public and wouldn’t get people staring at you. Boring.

Reece’s eyes lit up and he smiled as he took in my outfit, blatantly checking me out. “You look beautiful, June. A vision.” I blushed at his words and closed my door.

He was a complete gentleman as he opened the door for me. He got into the driver’s side and we were off to the country.

It took about thirty minutes to get to his parents’ house, but it was worth the drive. His parents lived in a big old white farmhouse and you could see for miles around it; the farmlands were endless. Reece parked his Jeep in the gravel driveway and we walked to the back.

The backyard was huge and there were tables of food and golden lights strung up between the old trees in the yard. I spotted Hannah as she rushed toward us. She grabbed Reece and gave him a fierce hug. I stood to the side as I watched their embrace. I was friendly enough with my siblings, but Reece and Hannah seemed to be pretty tight. After Hannah let go of Reece, she was suddenly giving me a hug just as fierce. I was caught off guard, but I returned the embrace, not knowing what else to do.

“I’m so happy to see you! Reece never brings girls home. Oh, right, Reece never comes home, so I guess it’s rare for both instances,” Hannah said as she hugged me. Man, this girl was sunshine and rainbows. I let go as I heard another voice behind me.

“Reece …” came from a woman behind me. I turned around to see an older lady with blonde hair swept up in a twisted bun. She was beautiful for an older woman, and I could see Hannah in her. This must have been Reece’s mom. She was carrying a bowl of food, which she quickly set down on the nearest table. She walked over to Reece and almost tackled him as she hugged him. Reece held the small woman tight as they embrace for the first time in what could have been years, I wasn’t sure.

I saw tears in her eyes as she pulled back and took in the sight of her son. I could see a range of emotions on Reece’s face: faith, love, hope, and fear were shining through. Reece smiled at his mother, a timid smile like he wasn’t sure exactly what to do. There was love between them; there was no doubt in my mind about that. I was actually shocked by how much love you could instantly see, but I couldn’t understand why Reece hadn’t seen his parents. They must be the most understanding people in the world.

“I can’t express how happy I am. You’re here Reece, in my arms. I have missed my boy.” His mom cleared away the tears from her eyes. She looked to where I was standing, slightly looking shocked. “You brought a girl? Oh my, this really is a great day.”

Reece’s mother walked over to me and hugged me. This was a hugging family I was finding out. She let me go and grabbed my hand, patting it. “I’m Gwen Day, and I must say I am thrilled Reece brought you. Hannah mentioned Reece was seeing a lovely girl, but she didn’t tell me how beautiful you were.”

I didn’t know what to say. A statement like that from Reece’s mom, when I had just met her, was a bit overwhelming. I smiled the best just-met-the-parents smile I could find. Reece saved me and said, “Mom, you’re overwhelming her. Let her breathe.” It was almost creepy how Reece could read my thoughts.

Gwen Day turned around and looked at her son. “I must grab your dad, he will be ecstatic you are here.” Gwen walked past Reece, giving him a quick peck on his cheek, and rushed back into the farmhouse.

Reece walked over to me and put his hand on the small of my back. “Sorry, my mom gets excited about things …” Reece said as he leaned into me.

I put my hand on his chest and looked at him. “Like seeing her son for the first time in …”

Reece coughed and turned away. “Three years.”

I wasn’t in any place to give him shit about when he saw his parents last, so I just nodded my head. If someone were to look at us they would have seen a couple who were wrapped up in each other, but what I saw was me giving Reece the strength he needed to get through this night. I was hoping my proximity was helping. I glanced up into his green eyes and tried to mentally tell him I was here for him. I gave him my most reassuring smile and he gave me a light kiss on the top of my head.

“My boy! My boy has come home!” I heard from a loud, deep voice behind me. I turned to see a handsome older gentleman that had many of Reece’s qualities. The stance, build, and green eyes led me to believe that this man could only be Reece’s dad. He came out of the house and gave Reece and I a giant bear hug as we were both still standing close to each other.

After about ten seconds of the life being squeezed out of me as I was in a Day Man sandwich, I was finally released.

“Tom Day,” Reece’s dad said as he shook my hand. “You must be June. Gwen and I are pleased to see Reece finally settle down and find a good woman.”
Settle down?
I felt Reece tense next to me. I know he hadn’t talked to his parents, so that only left Hannah. I zeroed in on her and she knew she was in trouble. She mouthed
sorry
to me as she turned around and started to talk to someone else.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Day.” I wasn’t sure exactly what to say to his dad, so that seemed like a safe bet.

“Oh, please, call me Tom. I’m not old enough to be called Mr. Day.”

Reece’s mom chirped in and said, “Yes, and please call me Gwen. We’re over the moon you and Reece are here. Reece, have you said hello to everyone? I’m sure they are excited to see you, it has been years. They’ve missed you.”

“We barely got here, Mom, but yes I will make sure to say hello to everyone.”

Reece then proceeded for the next hour to introduce me to a lot of people I would never remember. When he had walked away from his parents, he had grabbed my hand and hadn’t let it go. When meeting some people he had a tight grip on my hand, but I wasn’t going to get it bother me. The carefree Reece I was familiar with wasn’t as bright tonight. He made small talk and smiled politely with these people, but he wasn’t himself.

I made sure to be in close contact to him at all times. I held his hand, and sometimes brushed my thumb along his hand as he did to me that night at the cabin. We eventually were able to grab food and find an empty place to sit down.

“You doing okay?” I asked.

“Usually that’s my line,” Reece said as he stabbed his salad with gusto. I was going to take that as a no.

Hannah sat down next to us with her bubbly cheer. “Hey guys!” I looked at her with a glare that said I hadn’t forgotten what Reece’s dad had said earlier and she knew exactly. “I’m sorry! I really didn’t tell Mom or Dad you had a girlfriend. I told them you had a girl you couldn’t stop talking about. There is a difference. They just made their own assumptions from there,” Hannah said to both of us. She shrugged a shoulder, and I intensified my glare.

Reece rolled his eyes as he continued to attack his food. I felt bad for his meal as it took the brunt of his frustrations, but mostly I felt bad for Reece. We sat there and ate in silence; Reece lost in his own thoughts, myself not sure exactly how I fit in this picture, and Hannah not trying to stir the pot any more.

I looked up to see a middle-aged couple walking toward us. Hannah saw them as well, and I heard a barely audible gasp come from her. I turned toward her to see panic in her eyes, her face paling slightly. The couple walked straight to the table and called out Reece’s name. He looked up, and the hand he had on my thigh clenched as I watched the color drain from his face. The strong give-no-shit Reece was gone, and in all reality he looked a bit younger as the couple sat down.

“Reece,” the woman started, “how have you been?”

A simple question for any person had left Reece speechless. I had no idea what was going on. The man sitting next to what I assumed was his wife looked everywhere except at the three of us sitting at the table. He was almost as uncomfortable as Reece. I felt Hannah nudge me, and I glanced over to her as she slid her phone secretly in front of me. I quickly looked down to see she had typed
Rachel’s parents.

My heart broke when I read that, to see Reece face his demons head on and unexpectedly. I moved my hand to Reece’s back as I started to rub it lightly. The woman shot a look between Reece and I, but I ignored her and only looked at Reece. I smiled at him and gave him a small nod, one only he could see. I was trying to tell him it was okay, he could do this. The same thing he had said to me so many times.

Reece finally looked at the couple. “Well, I’m home and this time it looks like I might stay.”

The woman smiled at him and patted his hand, which was sitting on the table.

“That’s good to hear, Reece. I hate knowing what happened played a part in you not coming home. Your parents and sister have missed you. I have been waiting years to see you, and I have to say this before I don’t have another chance. We don’t blame you. I know we have told you that before, but I don’t know at barely eighteen you believed us. I’m hoping now, as a grown man, you will believe us. Rachel was sick. If anything, Reece, you kept her alive longer with the joy you gave her. You gave us more time with our daughter, and I have to thank you for that.”

I could see tears in Reece’s eyes and in this woman’s. The dad was still not able to look at us; he was staring off in the distance with a dark look, lost in the black hole that had consumed their lives with the loss of their daughter. While the woman was speaking these words she believed, I wasn’t sold on the man. I moved my hand down to Reece’s and intertwined our hands together. He couldn’t say anything, but nodded his head.

“Anyways, I had to tell you that, Reece. I hope to see you more around here, your parents are really just tickled you are home.” The couple stood up and walked away. Reece also got up and pulled me up with him.

“Let’s go say good-bye to my parents and head out.”

I wasn’t going to argue, so I grabbed our plates and threw them away. As Reece got stopped once again to talk to someone, Hannah grabbed my arm and gave me yet another hug. So many hugs.

“Thank you,” Hannah whispered.

“For what?”

“June, I knew when my brother came home it wouldn’t be long. He likes to wander, and while he says he is over the whole Rachel thing, it will be something that will always be with him. But the way you are with Reece, I really think he can truly be happy, find where he belongs.”

Hannah’s words echoed my thoughts. I was trying to find where I belonged. In many ways Reece was, too. I was trying to be there for Reece, but I had never thought I would help him find where he belonged. Could two lost people find home?

The ride back was quiet. Reece had put on some soothing music and the farmlands were blanketed in dark as we drove back, the city lights guiding us home. Reece was lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t said a word since we had left. Our hands were intertwined, and I wasn’t letting go.

The calming dark let me drift in my thoughts. After more Day family hugs and a promise to visit again, Reece and I were able to leave. His whole family was welcome and loving, a family anyone would be proud to call their own. It was different than mine, in which I only had a warm relationship with Daniel. There was so much love between the four of them and it had to take a lot for parents to let their kid find their own way. Reece joked about Hannah being the only successful one, but I saw it differently. Reece had the drive and determination to be good at whatever he wanted. I could sense the same about Hannah and it came from the support and love of their parents. They didn’t get mad at Reece for not seeing them for three years, they only embraced him and supported him. Even Hannah, young as she was, understood what her brother needed to do to heal from Rachel’s death. His family had to have something special to be that loving and understanding. My family loved me, but we were never as close as the Day family. But my poor Reece, even with such a supportive loving family, it had to be hard to deal with his past, the parts that made up his story.