“Yes, that one.”
“Fancy-pants, prissy name if you ask me.”
Jordan coughed into his hand and she glared at him. “Why is he talking to the press?”
Her mom tried to speak, but her father was on a roll. “Who the hell knows. Looking to cash in on his fifteen-minutes of fame. Not that he should be cashing in on anything. He wasn’t the one who was kidnapped and beaten.”
“Emmard,” her mom admonished.
“Jackass,” he mumbled.
Emme smiled. “It’ll blow over, Dad. How’re Doug and Gilly?”
“They’re good.” Her mom beamed. “They’re going to have a baby!”
She gasped. “I’m going to be an aunt?”
“I’m going to be a grandmother!” Her mom bounced and her dad dropped his arm. “We can go shopping for the baby stuff when you get home.”
“Jeez, you have months to get things for the baby,” her dad said.
“We’re not buying everything at once, Emmard. We can get some of the basics now.”
She smiled as her parents bickered, then let out a huge yawn.
“Oh, honey. We’re sorry.” Concern played across her mom’s face. “You need your rest. We’ll let you go. We can talk again tomorrow. Doug and Gilly are coming over for lunch, so we’ll see if we can get the time right and call when they’re here.”
She yawned again. “Okay. I have no idea what the time difference is. Or what day it is.”
“It’s Saturday evening here,” Jordan said. He raised his voice. “Just let us know what time.”
“We’ll tell them to come a little early so we can call before it gets too late there,” her mom said. “We love you, Emme.”
Another tear fell. “Love you too, Mama.”
“Same here, baby girl.”
“Love you, Daddy.”
Her mom blew kisses while her dad reached toward the camera. The screen went dark and she dropped back onto the pillows.
Jordan took the laptop, closed it, and set it on the table. “You okay?”
She shook her head. She’d never missed home so bad in her life. Not since her first semester at college. The bed moved and she raised her head. Jordan took the bolster from behind her neck and slid his arm under her head. He pulled her into his arms and the floodgates opened. She soaked his shirt.
His hand smoothed up and down her back. For the first time in weeks she was safe and protected. Maybe if she didn’t think about it too hard, she could pretend the person holding her did it out of love as well.
