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He nodded. “Pretty much. And though I had no idea how we’d manage it, I had it in my head to try to find Reilly. The idea was ludicrous, because I had no idea what foster home he’d been placed with, but the thought of finding him kept me going.”
“Anything would be better than life with Larry, is that it?”
“Hell yes. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted, and I thought that maybe, just maybe, Joey and I could start to actually think of our future.”
“What happened after that?”
“That night, we slept together in the living room on some blankets that we’d spread out on the floor. Neither of us wanted to go back into the bedroom. As far as I was concerned, the door to that room would never be opened again. It was closed forever, just like our life with Larry was closed forever.” He shoved a hand through his hair, then stood and paced the room. “The morning dawned early, and the sun streaming through the windows seemed bright and cheerful. I ached all over, but this time it wasn’t from Larry’s fists. When I looked over at Joey, he was still sound asleep. He looked so peaceful. For the first time since I could remember, really. But when I tried to wake him, Joey didn’t respond right away. I started to get really freaked when I called his name and he still didn’t wake up. I shoved the covers back and saw blood all over Joey’s pajama pants between his legs.”
“Oh God,” Jeanette groaned.
“I was so damn relieved when his eyes popped open. Still, Joey needed a doctor and fast. I went to the phone and called for an ambulance. When they came, so did the questions.”
“But you were both alive,” Jeanette said, her voice hopeful. “You saved Joey’s life, right?”
“Yeah, but once the cops started asking questions, things started to come together.”
“And Larry?”
“A hunter found him the next day. He’d gotten himself half untied. By then, the authorities knew everything. The sexual and physical abuse couldn’t be hidden away anymore. Larry went to jail where he belonged. Joey and I were truly free for the first time.”
“And then Wanda and Chet brought you all together and gave you a home you could be proud of.”
“Yeah.”
“What happened to Joey?”
“We keep in touch. We don’t visit each other. It’s too much of a reminder for the both of us, if that makes any sense. Last I heard, he was living in California. married and with a couple of rug rats.”
“Because of you, Joey has a happy ending,” she said in a soft voice. “That doesn’t always happen in cases like that.”
“No, they don’t, but don’t go thinking I’m some kind of hero. I was a scared kid. We both were. Like I said, if Larry had been dead, if I had killed him, I
wouldn’t have been sorry. The world would be better off without that piece of shit.”
Jeanette went to him, placed her palms on his cheeks and murmured, “I agree.”
The statement surprised him. “You do?”
Her gaze hardened. “I have no sympathy for child molesters, River. None whatsoever.”
He wrapped her in his arms and held on tight. “God, Jeanette, I love you so damn much it hurts. You’ve always been the light in my world.” He thought of his mom’s wise words. “I no longer want to live in the past, because you are my present and future. I can’t stand the thought of losing you.”
“I love you, River,” she whispered. “I’ve always been yours.”
“Tell me you want to spend the rest of your life with me,” he urged. “I don’t deserve you, but I don’t care. Fuck it.”
“As long as I breathe, you will never wake from another nightmare alone. I will always be here to take away the monsters,” she promised. “And River?”
“Yeah, sunshine?”
“I’m pregnant.”
His heart tripped a beat. “Seriously?”
Jeanette’s eyes welled up, but she refused to let the tears spill over. “Yes.” Guilt washed over her. “In the all the craziness of moving in with you plus the other meds I was taking, I messed up and missed a few days of my birth control pills. When I missed my period, I went to the doctor yesterday. He confirmed it.”
“I’m going to be a dad?”
