Lined With Flannel Instead of Fleece: Then and Now: Book Two

By R.J. Oliver

"Hey," Dustin clicked his tongue, softly, pulling Deacon's attention back over to where he stood by the bathroom door with both his and Hunter's boots dangling from his fingers. "Shoes, please.""'Sorry," Deacon apologized, reflexively, popping up onto his toes to make his way around the puddles that had collected on the floor in all of their moving. "Where do you want them?""In here," Dustin pointed to a little shelf in front of the porthole-sized window over the toilet. He took the decorative picture down and arranged his and Hunter's first, steel toes pointed forward towards the window so as much of the fabric would be in the sun as possible. Deacon worried over where he was supposed to put his own for a second but settled for balancing them on their toes between the outer-most of Hunter's and Dustin's with their heels rested against the walls."Is that okay?""Perfect," Dustin set the picture onto the sink behind them, threading the end of one of his laces into itself. "I'll rotate them around or put them out in the driveway to finish drying when I get up in the morning.""'Sounds like a good plan to me," Deacon turned to lead the way back out into the foyer."--Look, he'll call you back, later tonight, alright?" Hunter was still on the phone with Mom, one arm crossed over the defined wet spot that the sock had left on his chest as he stood in the corner in nothing but his damp t-shirt and a pair of camouflage boxers. "It's been a long day and regardless of whether you want to talk to him or not, he needs a minute to shower the river away and get changed into a dry set of pajamas...Rafting, Mom. We were rafting. Of course, he's wet--""You need to get dried off," Dustin cut Hunter off mid-huff and Hunter stifled his temper with an agitated sigh, jaw flexed and fingers white around his own bicep."You know what? I need to get off of here--the agreement is very clear. Call Deacon back after you get off of work and he can talk to you, then. Dustin or I will let Clarke know when we're planning to leave, tomorrow evening."Hunter hung up the phone without further ado and brandished it through the air."I miss the days when you still had a way to slam cell phones without breaking them.""We all do," Dustin took the device from Hunter's hand and plucked Deacon's hat off of the floor with his socks. "Did she just want to chat?""Yeah," Hunter bent down to gather the rest and his shorts, his irritation already subsiding to something more subdued. "She had to get back to work, anyway, but you need to call her after she gets home, tonight, Deaks. I told her that you would, and I think more than anything, she'd like to make sure you're alright.""That's fine," Deacon had already surmised that he would be doing so based on the conversation. "I just want to shower before the lightning starts.""You and me both, kid. You and me both."-Chapter FiveSpring has faded to summer and it is time for Deacon, Hunter, and Dustin to head down to Lake Miranda to enjoy their vacation with one another. All parties involved are excited to see what the week will have in store for them, if a little wary of what exactly they've gotten themselves into. Picking right up at the Epilogue to Slipped-Together-Roundeds, purchase the second book of the five-part Then and Now Series to come along with the Richardsons (and Gardner-Richardson) as they explore new opportunities, learn more about their pasts, and struggle to overcome the consequences of their negligent mother's decisions.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1698148259
• ISBN13: 9781698148250
• Release Date: December 2019
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 197 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.5" x 5.0"