Page 2 of Rush

A few weeks later, Nora’s world had tilted, yet again, but this time into a whole different kind of tailspin when she found a shoebox full of old papers. Thumbing through them, she nearly tossed out the lot when a seven-letter word written in bold font caught her attention, spelling out the incriminating evidence of her father’s former life—Divorce. The revelation had hit Nora like a sucker punch to the solar plexus, completely knocking the wind from her. And if that hadn’t been bad enough, not only had her father been married before, but he'd also had a son with his first wife, a boy by the name of Oz Olson.

Her mother had been in no condition to answer her questions—not that Nora thought after twenty-one years of deceit she’d get any straight ones—so she’d done the only other thing she could think to do—she hit the computer. Turned out, her sibling was pretty easy to find. She knew something was up when the search engine had predicted her request after she’d typed out the Z in Oz. Seeing his photo cinched it. The resemblance to their mutual father had been uncanny, making Nora certain Oz was her brother. But her confidence wavered when nearly two months passed without any response to the letter she'd sent. Though she supposed when one claimed to be the sister of a man who happened to be a famous footballplayer and current Super Bowl champ, a delay was inevitable—not that his fame mattered to Nora. If she may have been a bit disappointed when a DNA test arrived via Oz's agent instead of a more personal response, she hadn't balked, just stuck it back in the mail and waited another couple of agonizing weeks. The next call had been from Oz himself, and to her relief, he'd seemed as pleased by the idea of having a baby sister as she was of having a big brother.

Even after seven months of shared phone conversations, she still couldn't wrap her head around the fact they were finally meeting. Taking a deep breath, she placed a hand over her churning stomach, hoping to calm the nerves. What if she didn't like him, or worse, he didn't like her? No, if there was one thing she could be sure of, it was that Oz was a great guy. She knew some people were good on the phone or via text yet sucked in real life, but Oz wasn't one of them. He didn't have a fake bone in his entire body. So, all that was left was if he didn't like her. Nora shook her head, mumbling a resoundingnounder her breath loud enough the woman sitting next to her turned her head to give her a puzzled look. Nora tried another smile that only managed to encourage the woman to scoot further away. Whatever. She was too wrapped up in her own thoughts to even try to guess at someone else’s. Oz would like her. She wasn't saying she was perfect, but she was a nice person too. Her parents had given her a stable upbringing, and while she might not have had everything she wanted, she certainly had everything she needed. She was fairly intelligent evidenced by her good grades, and she made her friends laugh all the time so she must have a good sense of humor. She didn’t think she was annoying. All in all, she had a likable personality. She dipped her head in a short nod. Yes, Oz would like her.

But could heloveher?

The wheels of the plane touched the ground with a little bump and a high-pitched whine filled the cabin as the plane decelerated across the runway before coming to a stop. The seatbelt light turned off and the captain said a few words that Nora paid zero attention to as she continued her inner pep talk-slash-freak out.

This was it.

The moment of truth.

Her stomach gurgled and saliva filled her mouth. Swallowing hard, she took a few deep breaths, patting herself on the back for having the forethought to skimp on breakfast that morning.

The woman sitting beside her gave her one last curious glance before standing to move out into the aisle. Nora stayed planted in her seat, unable to move.

It wasn’t until there were only a few stragglers left still needing to deplane that she finally got over herself. She would grab her bag from under her seat, march down the aisle, breeze through the sky bridge, and find her brother.

Any minute now.

Five tops.

The glare from one of the flight crew was what got Nora’s butt in gear and by the time she finally made it off the plane, the terminal was mostly thinned out. But even if the area had been packed, her brother still would’ve been hard to miss. He’d stand out in any size crowd.

Nora spotted Oz first. He was glancing around, most likely worried he’d missed noticing her amid the sea of arriving passengers. She was just about to raise an arm and wave to get his attention when his eyes found hers and locked.

She swallowed past the lump in her throat and just stared back, blinking away the sting in her eyes. They’d shared many pictures over the last few months while getting to know each other but actually seeing him in the flesh brought a wave of emotion she hadn’t been expecting.

Her feet started moving before she could stop them. Slowly at first then picking up speed until she was right in front of Oz and throwing her arms around him.

His whole body stiffened before gradually relaxing. After which, hesitant arms hugged her back.

Feeling all kinds of awkwardness, she untangled herself and took a step back. She looked up—way up because he was tall with a capital T and she was short with a lowercase S—and stammered, “Sorry, sorry. I’m a hugger and my excitement to meet you got the best of me. I got a little carried away.”

His eyes turned soft. “It was unexpected,” a smile curved his lips, forming little lines around his eyes, “but nice.”

She smiled back, her heart filling at what she hoped was the first of many brother-sister bonding moments.

***

When Nora walked into Emerson’s pub, The Parting Glass, she’d felt right at home, and that was mainly due to the woman herself. Oz’s wife had greeted her with open arms, literally—apparently, Emerson was a hugger too—before ushering her to a corner booth where she plopped a plate of food down in front of her, promising a nice, long chat as soon as the lunch rush ended.

Now, she sat across from Oz, eating the weirdest—though thoroughly delicious—burger she could ever imagine, wondering why she’d been so anxious to meet her brother and sister-in-law in the first place. Oz was trying very hard to make her feel right at home.

And it was working until he asked, “So are you planning on going back to school for the fall semester?”

She took her time chewing, stalling for time because, just like when her mom had asked the same question, she wasn’t sure of her answer.

Oz’s expression turned sheepish, and his lips quirked in a gentle smile. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. I just know you quit school to take care of your mom after…”

They’d been careful to avoid the subject of their mutual dad after an awkward, and thankfully brief, conversation where they’d agreed that their parents’ issues had nothing to do with them and the relationship they were trying to build. Maybe one day they’d be able to talk about it without hurt feelings, but for now, Nora would honor their silent pact and dance around the topic. “Yeah, I’m not sure what my plans are yet. I kind of destroyed my scholarship leaving school like I did.”

“You know, we have a great University here. If you decide you want to go back, I can… you know… help pay for it,” he offered hesitantly.

His kindness hit her straight in the heart. “Thank you. That’s very generous, but I can’t accept something like that. I came here to get to know you, not use you.”

His cheeks turned pink. “I know that. I also know it wasn’t your choice to leave school.” He raised a hand when she was about to refuse him further. “But I get it. I suggested it too soon. Let’s set it aside for now. You’ll be here a while so you haveplenty of time to think about it. Just remember my offer stands if you change your mind later.”

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