Shadow on the Sun Ch.9: Moira by Nils Durban

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Having digested that, the brothers very quickly realised that there was nothing whatsoever superficial about her. She was intelligent, witty and more than capable of coping with their combined attempts at working their charms upon her.

Inevitably, it was Sky who received the privilege of Moira's attentions, somewhat understandably, as she was a physiotherapist and he was in recovery after suffering multiple fractures.

Having met her upon a couple of occasions, however, Sleet found himself arranging his visits to his Mother's house to coincide with his brother's physiotherapy sessions. Even to himself, he asserted that this was purely coincidental, and not at all connected with Moira's presence in the household.

Upon one occasion, however, Sky revealed that he had picked up on his brother's preoccupation with Moira.

"No offence, bro," he had commented, with a cheeky wink, "but three's a crowd, know what I mean? Come back a bit later, and bring some booze with you, why don't you?"

"What about your pain-killers?" Sleet had replied.

"Ah, don't need those anymore. I've got all the medicine I need, right here! See ya later."

Sleet had found himself staring at a closed door and, even though he didn't want to admit it, he had to concede that he felt somewhat jealous of the attentions that Moira lavished upon his brother.

Her visits, originally scheduled as twice weekly, soon became three and then four times per week. And the half hour sessions pretty quickly became hour long. Sky's rehabilitation, meanwhile, showed no signs of being problematic. With the aid of crutches he was soon hobbling about the house. It was pretty obvious to Sleet and, of course, their Mother, that the continuing visits were concerned with far more than Sky's medical condition. Moira was soon popping around for tea, and then, once Sky was even more mobile, was accompanying him down to their local on a regular basis.

Sleet had always, especially since their Father's death, spent a fair amount of time round at their Mother's house. This continued to be the case and, inevitably, he had struck up a rapport with Moira himself. It would have been impossible not to, as she was eminently likable as a person, kind and caring and, in a particularly attractive way, she was a vulnerable individual. She wore her heart on her sleeve and didn't appear to have a malicious bone in her body. She was, to Sleet, his idea of the perfect woman, the ideal companion. But his brother had beaten him to it, even if it was solely down to his reckless shenanigans on a pair of skis and a terrible hangover. Life was certainly far from fair. Having said that, Sleet would not have met her himself had it not been for his brother's broken bones. Perhaps he should be grateful for that, but to bear witness to their blossoming romance was almost more than he could take.

Eventually, Sky's treatment was concluded and he was well on his way to a full and complete recovery. He moved back to his own apartment. Moira's attentions, of course, were not diminished.