Page 28 of Finding Hope

When she pulled into the driveway, Josie jumped out of the car and ran up to Mary’s door. A minute later, Mary and Josie returned. Her sister gave Shannon a quick kiss on the cheek and they made their way to Kasey’s.

Kasey was disappointed that Henry was with his daddy. Since the accident, she’d lightened up about her anger at Jonathon. Would they ever be best friends? Probably not, but at least Kasey had stopped glaring at him when he was around. Josie smiled at Shannon from the backseat right before she pulled out of the driveway at Kasey’s apartment complex.

They reached the mall a short time later and started coming up with a list of things that Josie would need for her costume. First stop was a store for young girls. They found a pair of skinny jeans on clearance that Shannon planned to distress, giving them a rock star look. After digging through the racks, they found her a long sleeved lace shirt and a vest to go over it.

Shannon wanted to look in a record store and see if she could find some patches for the vest. “What do you think of all of this stuff, Josie? Does it look like a rock star’s outfit to you? We’ll find you some lace gloves and a fake microphone too.”

Josie hopped up and down. “I love it! Can I pick Henry’s costume?”

“Of course.” They walked around the Halloween store.

While Josie looked through all of the costumes, Mary wrapped her arm around Shannon’s waist. “So, how are you feeling? Mom said Jonathon finally got you to sleep and eat.”

“I feel better and Jonathon’s been amazing.”

“No more headaches?” She had been plagued with terrible headaches after the accident.

“Nope. I hate the bald spot, though. Well, it’s not bald. The hair is starting to grow again, but it’s just peach fuzz.” Mary lifted up Shannon’s hair to look at the scar, which of course Shannon couldn’t see without a mirror.

“It’s still red, but it’s looking better, not so angry looking. I can’t believe it took ten staples to close it up.” Mary let her hair go and when she turned around to look at her sister, she noticed Josie staring at her with tears in her eyes and a pale face.

“Josie? Are you okay?” Shannon handed her bags to Kasey and moved slowly toward Josie. “Honey, what is it?”

A tear slid down her cheek as Shannon reached her. She held out her hand until Josie took it. The poor thing was trembling. “Sweetheart, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”

“I…I d-don’t want you to die.” Josie began to cry in earnest. Shannon wrapped her arms around the girl.

“Honey, what brought this on? Was it seeing my scar from when I fell?” Josie nodded. “Oh, baby, that was just an accident. I’m okay, your brother’s okay. We’re all okay.”

“What if something else happens? What if Daddy gets hurt, or Aunt Tessa and Uncle Cash? What’ll happen to us?”

Shannon didn’t know how to answer any of that or if Jonathon would even want her to. The poor girl had her mother die when she was small and then witnessed her aunt get beaten by her own grandfather, and then Shannon ended up in the hospital and Henry too. Maybe Jonathon needed to get her to talk to someone, a counselor who specialized in trauma.

“I can’t predict the future, but we all plan on being here for a long time.” Shannon’s eyes started filling with tears that threatened to spill over. “Let’s go home, okay? I think you should tell your daddy what’s on your mind. Can you do that for me? Pretty girl, I don’t like to see you sad.”

Josie held on tightly to Shannon’s hand as they made their way out of the store. Mary and Kasey were waiting for them and both gave Josie a smile. Silence surrounded them as they made their way out of the mall and into the parking lot. They dropped both women off and made their way toward home.

How was Jonathon going to react? Would he think she was overstepping boundaries? Question after question flew through her head. When she pulled into the driveway, her heart rate sped up. She left the bags in the car and grabbed Josie’s hand and led her inside. The sight that greeted Shannon warmed her deep inside. Jonathon was lying on the floor and Henry was smiling up at his daddy.

“Hey, ladies, how was shopping?” Jonathon sat up with Henry in his arms.

“Josie, why don’t you go get something to drink while I talk to your dad real quick.” She watched her walk into the kitchen and then turned back to Jonathon, who was looking at her with a raised brow. “We had a little incident at the mall…”

Chapter Fourteen

Jonathon

His stomach turned violently as he listened to her tell him about his daughter’s breakdown. Jonathon knew things with Josie had been too easy considering everything they’d gone through. Scrubbing his face with his hands, he continued to listen. “I just didn’t know what to tell her, but she was crying and I was worried.”

He pulled Shannon into his arms, hugging her tight to his chest. “What do I do, Shan?”

“I don’t know, but I think she needs to talk to someone. She’s been through a lot. They could at least help her process it all. I hope it’s okay that I talked to her.” Shannon worried her lower lip as she looked up at him. He stroked her cheek.

“Of course it’s okay. She loves you. I’m just thankful you were there for her.” He wanted to tell her that he loved her, but he didn’t. Instead he let her go and watched her pick up their boy and disappear down the hall. Taking a deep breath, he went into the kitchen where Josie was sitting with a glass of juice in front of her. “Hey, baby girl. It sounds like you had a rough day. What happened?”

“I saw Shannon show Mary the scar from when she fell.” Her voice wobbled, but she tried to fight it. “She can’t leave us. Shannon can’t leave us like Mommy did.” His heart shattered into a million pieces. “Please don’t let her leave us.”

“Baby, Mommy didn’t want to leave, but it was her time. Shannon’s not going anywhere. She’s okay. Henry’s okay, I’m okay.” He grabbed Josie’s hand and pulled her into his lap. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she buried her face in his neck as she began to cry.

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