Next Door Neighbors by Frances Hoelsema Page B

about going to a home with assisted living either. Jill understood to some extent that the available care right on site was probably a comfort to Elena, as was the lack of home ownership responsibilities. But having her leave and someone new living in her house was a funny feeling to Jill. Life as she knew of the last couple of years almost seemed to be crumbling little by little.
                  Suddenly she wondered how Brian might be processing everything. After all, it was his mom; his childhood home.
                  I think he comes back soon!
                  The last few months Brian had come and gone a couple of times, each time Jill taking his place in watching Elena and helping her with whatever needed to get done. Usually Jill didn’t know exactly how long he would be gone for, but based on past experiences, it had to be within a day or two that he would arrive back in town.
                  She didn’t know where she stood on Brian. Excited for him to come back? Yes. Attractive? Most definitely. A good man? Absolutely. Could she see herself with him? This is where it got tricky.
                  A part of her wanted to maybe pursue a relationship because he was definitely different than Mark, and her dad for that matter.
                  But she was scared. Scared to give all of herself to only be hurt in the end once again.
                  I definitely can’t risk going through that again.
                  Closing in on another lap helped her decide that she was for sure set in remaining single the rest of her life. The risks far outweighed the rewards in her opinion. Realizing that once everything with Elena was said and done that Brian would more than likely be gone from her life for good just proved her whole stance.
                  Out of nowhere a dog came running up to Jill, nearly tripping her. “Whoa!”
                  Immediately Jill stopped. She crouched down to pet the golden retriever who seemed to be very friendly. Enjoying the attention, the dog sat down and began licking Jill’s hand.
                  “Nice boy,” Jill began, now scratching behind the dog’s ears. “Where’s your mommy or daddy?” Knowing the dog couldn’t actually respond, she looked in all directions to see if anyone was searching for what they lost. Right behind her was a man jogging towards her who must have been the dog’s owner.
                  Brian?
                  “I see he found someone he likes,” Brian said a little louder than normal, as he was yet some distance from where Jill and the golden retriever waited.
                  “Hey, Brian! Is the dog yours?” Jill asked, confused. Not once in all the conversations that she’s had with him or with Elena has anyone mentioned there being a dog.
                  “Yep!”
                  Brian finally reached them and crouched down to the dog’s level. Immediately the dog licked Brian’s face, which didn’t seem to bother him one bit.
                  “Oh, I didn’t know you had a dog.”
                  “Yeah, I guess it just never got brought up.”
                  “How long have you had him?” Jill questioned.
                  “Um, about three years. I think anyway. He was a stray puppy at the time I got him. One day I found him in my yard and I couldn’t get rid of him. No one claimed him either so here we are a few years later.”
                  “Wow. Where has he been while you were gone?”
                  “I had a friend watch him, but this time around I decided just to bring him. My mom loves this dog to pieces.”
                  Brian started rubbing behind both of the dog’s ears and talking to him in a different voice. It reminded Jill of how someone would