LINGERING CLOUDS

Julie Murphy gave up on love a long time ago. She keeps busy with friends, family, and countless DIY projects. After her divorce, she made up her mind to carve out a simple life, one free of entanglements.

Just as life has smoothed out, her ex-husband, Andrew, shows up unexpectedly at Christmas and gives Julie a gift that she can’t deny is both touching and alarming. Things didn’t end well between them and Julie can’t help but suspect Andrew has an ulterior motive. As she ponders the timing of the gift, Julie learns that Andrew’s cancer, once in remission, is back for one more vengeful appearance.

In a ridiculously impulsive move, Julie, not wanting her adult kids to be saddled with his care, offers to move in with him and commits to caring for him until the bitter end. In her mind, it checks the boxes. She put in over thirty years with this miserable man, is accustomed to his mood swings, and her compassionate underpinnings won’t allow her another option.

Julie knows that the job will be physically demanding. The rigors of chemotherapy leave behind all kinds of messes. It’s going to be awful. What Julie neglects to realize is the emotional upheaval being with Andrew will cause. It takes her only a moment after she moves in with him to confirm this, and as much as she’d like to back away, Julie never goes back on a promise.

To further complicate matters, Andrew’s neighbor, Sam Waters, is a friend who has been helping with incidentals. Whenever he’s around, Julie can’t turn off the furnace that he ignites in her.

Can Julie juggle feelings for two men at once? Can she find lasting love while in the midst of a heart-wrenching loss?

Lingering Clouds delves into complex issues of the heart and the often devastating cost of love and loss.