Page 21

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Jo

H er phone rang at exactly four p.m., as it had every Saturday since Jo had moved overseas.

“Mom?” Jo croaked.

“It’s so good to hear your voice, sweetie. I’m at the library, two towns away from us,” her mom said. The conversation always started the same, with her mother telling her where she’d driven that day. Sometimes she just drove up the highway to a faraway gas station. Other times, she called from a coffee shop or public library, one or two towns away, sometimes even from a university—never from the same place twice. To be even safer, she didn’t even decide where she was going until that very morning.

Jo hated that this was the way things had to be. It’s only until they catch Horns . She’d been telling herself that for months, but it was getting harder and harder to hold on to hope. What if they never caught him? What if she never saw her parents again? Then Horns would really have stolen everything from them.

“I’ve missed, you, Mom. How’s Dad?” Her father was ten years older than her mother.

“He’s doing great. He sends his love.” There was a pregnant pause. Sharon Hills, nee Marsh, was nothing if not perceptive. “Are you okay, sweetie?”

Jo wasn’t about to tell her mother about the morning’s adventure, or the time she’d spent at the hospital until her core temperature had gone back to normal. If she just stayed still, she could still hear the car crash in her mind. She could still see herself back in that moment, after Hugo had asked her to stay put on the bridge—could still remember the fear, a strong, sour taste in her mouth, spreading to the rest of her body.

Another day, another car crash, that same sound of metal being ripped to pieces. But it hadn’t been the same. This time, she’d known she was safe, up on that bridge. Hugo would never have left her there, otherwise. But she’d also known—even though she couldn’t see anything, dammit—that he was risking his life to get to those people, so she couldn’t simply stay put. She’d done her best to help, and she told herself there wasn’t much more she could have done as a sighted person. She would never have been able to swim against the current, time and time again, to get the entire family out of the crash, as Hugo had done.

“Sweetie?” Her mother’s question was sharper this time.

Jo pulled herself back together. If her mom knew she’d only just been discharged from the hospital, she would be on the first flight over. And she didn’t want that. She didn’t want to do anything that would put her parents at risk.

She also had another bit of important news to share. Something that couldn’t wait. Jo placed her hand on her belly, which wasn’t completely flat anymore. The doctor at the hospital had assured her the baby was fine—that, safely nestled inside Jo’s body, she wouldn’t even have noticed the cold. The thought warmed Jo inside, that she could protect her little one. She could and would protect her little one.

“I have something to tell you, Mom.” Jo went on, her voice steady but her heart racing. “I’m pregnant.”

This time, it was Sharon who paused. “You’re … pregnant?” There was surprise in her tone, but none of the sharpness Jo had expected. “Are you … are you happy, sweetie?”

Jo thought of the one-night stand that had resulted in the baby, but it was Hugo that came to mind, instead. She thought of Hugo’s strong, muscled body, of the rough planes of his face, softened by that rare, genuine smile which she’d traced with her fingers. A haze of emotions filled her. “Yes. I think I am. The father’s not in the picture, Mom. But I’ve met somebody else.”

Once upon a time, news like that might have fazed her mother. But not anymore. “Is he a good man?”

Jo sighed. “He is. The best man.” She wished her baby was Hugo’s baby. It felt like Hugo’s baby. But it wasn’t a conversation the two of them had ever had. “I’m happy about the baby, Mom. I’m … as happy as I’ve been in a long time. I just miss you.”

“Oh, sweetie. Your dad and I miss you, too. So much. But you’re going to be an amazing mom, Jolene.” Her mom rarely used her full name anymore, out of fear their conversation might be overheard, so hearing it now was doubly poignant. “I just hope … I hope I get to be there when the baby’s born.” Something harsh fell against the receiver—it sounded like her mother’s palm, which didn’t even come close to covering the sob that came next. Jo’s heart broke—again—as she thought of everything Horns has stolen from their parents.

“It’s going to be okay, Mom,” Jo said. “The baby won’t be born until Christmas. So a lot could change between now and then.” Horns could be caught.

“Yes,” Sharon said, her voice overly bright. “You’ve always been so strong, so determined, Jolene. This baby is lucky to have you.”

“Strong?” Jo let out a small laugh. “I don’t feel very strong right now.”

“Jo, you’ve faced more challenges than most people ever will, and you’ve come through all of them.” Sharon’s voice was full of pride. “And if this man is as you say, you’re not doing this alone, right?”

Jo hesitated, her fingers brushing the edge of the table in front of her. “Yeah. I’ve got him.” And he was a good man—the best. But this arrangement between the two of them was just that—an arrangement—and she couldn’t ask more of Hugo than he was already providing. But she wasn’t going to tell her mother that. And she could sense her mother wanted to know more about Hugo, but she wasn’t ready to share more. Not yet. “I should go, Mom. We’ve been on the phone for a while.” They always tried to keep their conversations short, like the FBI agent had instructed.

“I’ll call again next Saturday, sweetie.”

Jo blinked back the sting of tears. She’d never cried easily, but now she was having to make a real effort to hold them back. “I love you, Mom.”