He looked back at her. “Is she okay?”
“Yes, her plane had a mechanical problem and had to land in Charlotte. She’ll call me when she’s ready to board again.”
“That’s good. I’m going to shower, then make some phone calls and go into work early. I have paperwork to do.”
“Don’t you dare leave this room,” Eve said fiercely. “Something’s wrong. I know it, dammit. Tell me.”
“If there’s something wrong, I can handle it by myself. I can fight my own dragons.” Joe’s words were jerky as he strode toward the door. “I don’t need help.”
“Joe, for God’s sake, talk to me.”
He didn’t answer. She watched the bedroom door shut behind him. He was closing her out, mentally as well as physically.
She felt the pain soaring through her. She had known trouble was on the horizon, but she had thought she’d have time to try to work her way through it. What the hell had happened to escalate the situation?
Her cell phone rang. Jane.
She took a few seconds to pull herself together before she answered the call. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon.”
“They managed to fix the other plane. I’m boarding now. Do you want me to get a rental car?”
“Don’t be silly. I’m on my way. I’ll meet you at baggage claim.”
Jane was silent for a moment. “You sound funny. Are you okay?”
“Sure. I’ll be even better when I see you. Bye.” She hung up.
Trust Jane to read her mood even long-distance. She hesitated as she cast a glance at the closed bedroom door. No, she wouldn’t go in and tell Joe she was leaving for the airport. The closing of that door had been firm and final. She would give him time and hope that those dragons he was talking about would slink away into the darkness.
She left the house and ran down the porch steps to the car. But her eyes were stinging with tears, and she had to wait a moment before she pulled out of the driveway. Her hands clenched on the steering wheel as she stared blindly out into the darkness.
Joe’s pain was all about Bonnie and Eve’s obsession with finding her daughter’s murderer. The hunt that had gone on for years. It was hurting him. She couldn’t expect him to have empathy. He had never had a child. They had taken Jane from foster homes when she was ten, and by that time, Jane had been wise beyond her years. She had become their friend, not their child. Joe had never had the wonderful experiences that Eve had known of raising a little girl. That was why he would never understand why Eve couldn’t let it go.
Because the memory of Bonnie would never let go. That night before Bonnie was taken was as fresh tonight as if it had happened yesterday.
Bonnie running into Eve’s bedroom in her yellow pajamas with the orange clowns all over them. Her wild red curls were bouncing, and her face was lit with her luminous smile.
“Mama, Lindsey says her mother is going to let her wear her Goofy T-shirt to the park tomorrow for the school picnic. Can I wear my Bugs Bunny T-shirt?”
Eve looked up from her English Lit book open on the desk in front of her. “It’s not can, it’s may, baby. And yes, you may wear Bugs tomorrow.” She smiled. “We wouldn’t want Lindsey to put you in the shade.”
“I wouldn’t care. She’s my friend. You said we always had to want the best for our friends.”
“Yes, we do. Now run along to bed.”
Bonnie didn’t move. “I know you’re studying for your test, but could you read me a story?” She added coaxingly, “I thought maybe a very, very, short one?”
“Your grandmother loves to read you stories, baby.”
Bonnie came closer and whispered, “I love Grandma. But it’s always special when you read it to me. Just a short one . . .”
Eve glanced at her Lit book. She’d be up until after midnight as it was studying for that exam. She looked at Bonnie’s pleading face. Oh, to hell with it. Bonnie was the reason Eve was working for her degree anyway. She was the reason for every action Eve took in life. Why cheat either one of them? “Run and choose a storybook.” She pushed her textbook aside and stood up. “And it doesn’t have to be a short one.”
Bonnie’s expression could have lit up Times Square. “No, I promise . . .” She ran out of the room. She was back in seconds with a Dr. Seuss book. “This will be quick, and I like the rhymes.”
Eve sat down in the blue-padded rocking chair that she’d used since Bonnie was a newborn. “Climb up. I like Dr. Seuss too.”
“I know you do.” Bonnie scrambled up in her lap and cuddled close. “But since it’s such a short book, can—may I have my song too?”
“I think that’s a reasonable request,” Eve said solemnly. The two of them had their little traditions, and every night since she was a toddler, Bonnie had loved to share a song with Eve. Eve would sing the first line, and Bonnie would sing the next. “What’s it to be tonight?”
“ ‘All the Pretty Little Horses.’ ” She turned around on Eve’s lap and hugged her with all her might. “I love you, Mama.”
Eve’s arms closed around her. Bonnie’s riot of curls was soft and fragrant against her cheek, and her small body was endearingly vital and sturdy against Eve. Lord, she was lucky. “I love you, too, Bonnie.”
Bonnie let her go and flopped back around to cuddle in the curve of her arm. “You start, Mama.”
