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Hannah moved to the front porch and found Bruce outside. He was putting his phone in his pocket, then getting another bag from the car. Who had he been talking to? She didn’t even want to ask.
She walked out to him, gave him a kiss instead of an interrogation.
“I just forgot my laptop, love,” he said. “Let’s go in.”
It reminded her that she had to get her phone.
“I’m just going to give Lou and Gigi a quick call.”
“Give them my love,” he said, heading toward the door.
It wasn’t disconnected. But the statement carried the very male assumption that everything was fine unless you heard otherwise, that a simple expression of love was enough. Again, an ease she wasn’t sure she’d experienced since before Gigi was born. Why was it so different for him? He cared. But he wasn’t hooked into Gigi’s well-being in the same way.
Hannah was grateful to find a strong signal when before it had been poor. Wonky, Mako had said.
She checked the time. 7:00 p.m., story time. She dialed Lou.
“Mama,” said Gigi, when Lou put her on the phone. “Nighty night?”
It might not have been intelligible to anyone else, but Hannah spoke fluent Gigi.
“Yes, bunny,” she said. “Having fun with Lulu?”
“Yes. Story now,” said Gigi, sounding sleepy. “Lulu reads.”
“Sleep well, sweet baby,” she said. “I’ll call you in the morning.”
“Sleep sweet, Mama.”
Hannah’s heart hurt a little.
“We’re all good here,” said Lou coming back on. “You guys got there safe and sound?”
“Yes,” she said. “All good here. Did you track us?”
“I did,” said Lou. “Did you watch us on the camera?”
“I did.”
“Well, thank goodness for technology,” Lou said with a chuckle. “Back in my day there was none of that. You just had to trust that everything was all right and that you’d only hear if the news was bad. Simpler times.”
Better or worse? Hannah couldn’t say.
“You two relax and have fun. Remember that one of the best things you can do for your daughter is take care of each other.”
Truth.
Hannah heard Gigi chirping happily in the background as Lou ended the call. She stood a moment, breathed, took in the cool night air. She looked back at the house, to see Mako with his arm around Bruce, Cricket laughing.
She was about to go join them when a movement in the trees caught her attention, the rustling of leaves, a shifting of branches. She turned on her phone flashlight and shined the light.
Nothing there. No glowing eyes in the dark.
She thought of the bear head mounted over the mantel, the sculpture of bones, and backed toward the open door. When she turned to jog up the porch steps, she felt a tingle on the back of her neck.
A final turn around revealed that there was nothing—no one—there.
11
