He sipped more cocoa, licked his lips, and set the mug back down before settling against the comfortable cushions of the sofa. “Yeah. One of my brothers and one of my sisters live with their families next to her, so I knew they’d keep an eye on her.”
“How many brothers and sisters do you have?”
“Two brothers and three sisters.”
She startled, her head jerking. “Oh, my God! I was an only child so I can’t imagine what six kids in the family would be like!”
“Total chaos is the best I can tell you.”
She patted her tummy. “Well, I used to want to have a brother or sister and knew I didn’t want Rosie to have that kind of loneliness.”
“How far along are you?”
“Afraid I’ll pop right here?” she quipped, laughing.
He chuckled in return. “Maybe. I thought you were shifting over to the passenger side to give yourself more room when I first saw you. I guess technically you were but only to get to Rosie.”
“I’m eight months. Don’t worry… I’ve got four weeks to go.”
They were silent again for another moment, and he had so many questions he wanted to ask but wasn’t sure what would be intrusive or not. She surprised him when she looked over and cocked her head to the side, saying, “I suppose you want to know what on earth I was doing on the road, traveling in a hurricane with a child, pregnant, and a trailer full of my possessions behind me.”
“I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t interested.”
Smiling, she asked, “Do you want the short version or the longer one that gives more explanation?”
Staring at her beautiful, expressive face, it struck him how interested he was in learning more about her. “Truthfully, I’d love to know anything about you that you want to tell me. And since we're in the middle of a hurricane and can’t go anywhere, you can make it as detailed as you’d like it to be.”
She shifted around in her seat. “As I said earlier, I was born and raised in Ohio. My parents were hard workers, but while we were always comfortable, we didn’t have a lot of money. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to go to college but was surprised when I started getting letters from out-of-state universities because of my test scores. One of them was from a college in Virginia, and when I looked at their brochure, I thought it was beautiful. Their offer was for a full ride, including room and board. My parents hated for me to be gone for four years, only coming home for holidays and summers, but they were very excited for me to have the opportunity. So, I came, and that’s where I met Tori. While I loved being in Virginia, it was always my plan to go back and settle in Ohio to be near my parents.”
He nodded his agreement. “I can understand that. I joined the Army after I graduated from high school. Did a tour as an MP… um, military police. I came back home into the area as soon as I got out of the Army and finished my civilian police academy training. I wanted to serve close to home and wanted to be near my family.”
She licked her lips, her gaze dropping to her hands that had slowly been rubbing her pregnant belly. He remembered her saying that she’d gotten in contact with Tori after having some difficulties and was now wondering if she was going to share what those difficulties were. Obviously, one must have been losing her husband.
As though she could hear his thoughts, she lifted her face and sadness moved through her blue eyes. “Sometimes, I feel as though a lifetime has happened in the past six years. When I got home from college, my parents informed me that my mom had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. There was nothing I could have done so they didn’t want to worry me, interrupting my education. She died a few months later, and I’ve always regretted not having those extra years with her. Two years later, my dad died of a heart attack. I was alone and lonely when I met my husband. We were married and had Rosie, but I’d just found out I was pregnant again when I lost him.”
“Shit, Amy.” His heart clenched at her words, not being able to imagine how her heart ached. Fuck, if I lost my mom and didn’t have my siblings… I can’t imagine. It was hard enough when I lost my dad. “I’m so sorry.”
“It sounds horrible when I say it all at once… Well, it is horrible. I had a job in Ohio but no family. My husband had been in foster care, so he had no family.”
“So, nothing to hold you to Ohio.” He thought of his deep ties to the Eastern Shore and couldn’t imagine having nothing as an anchor.
Her lips curved slightly. “I needed a change. I didn’t handle things well when my husband died. Not for the reasons you might expect. But… well, anyway, I wanted to make a life change.”
They were quiet for another moment, and he wondered if she was finished sharing. She leaned her head back and held his gaze. The intensity in her stare was fierce. Finally, she sucked in a deep breath before letting it out slowly.
“I met my husband at a time when I was very lonely. I normally don’t hang out at bars, but some of the women I worked with at the time wanted to go, so I went. There was a group of firefighters there. I saw Marty and thought he was cute. Acting goofy, hogging for attention as he talked loudly while playing pool, but as it turns out, he saw me, too. We flirted, danced, and he asked me out. We dated for a while, and even though we were opposites in personalities, he was fun. Then, I’m embarrassed to admit, I got pregnant. I thought we’d been careful, but, well…” Her voice grew soft, her lips curving. “I’d never call Rosie a mistake; more like a happy little unplanned surprise. But I never expected to get married. If there was one thing I knew about Marty, he liked to have a good time.”
“What changed?”
She shrugged, a little snort slipping out. “He was excited about having a baby. Insisted we get married. I think perhaps the fact that he didn’t have a family while growing up made him happy about the idea of having one. The problem was that he didn’t really know how to.” She sighed. “He was just as much of a hotdog as a firefighter, always needing attention. For a long time, I thought he was just extroverted and enjoyed having fun. It was a while before I realized he craved being the center of attention—to the detriment of everyone else around. I even overheard a few of his friends say that he’d been warned by their Captain on more than one occasion to be more careful. He’d take risks, and that put the rest of them at risk, also. I think he was also an adrenaline junkie. Loved to go rock climbing, racing motorcycles. He was desperately looking for something that he never found, whether with his friends, or at a fire, or in our marriage.”
He leaned forward, his attention riveted on her. “That doesn’t sound much like a partnership.”
Her head moved back and forth slowly. “No, it wasn’t. I mean, he was a nice man, a kind man. As far as I know, he was faithful, but we were more friends and roommates than deeply committed lovers and partners. As a father, he loved Rosie but spent little time playing with her, not so much caring for her. One night, he was at the station when a call came in. Big industrial fire at a warehouse. I remember all night staying awake because something didn’t feel right. I can’t explain it, but the next morning, the station Chaplain and Captain came to see me. He’d been killed when wooden beams fell on him. It was a few days later that I found out he’d gone in when he shouldn’t have—before the area was cleared. He just charged in, acting like a fool, and look what happened.”