Heart and Snow (Texas Highlanders Ice Hockey) Read Free

thing.”
    “No.” Val shook her head. “It never was for my girls either.” The teen girls that came to the outreach center where she had worked generally didn’t have much in the way of a support system or money. Joey had both, and yet, she still felt so lost. She couldn’t even fathom what a sixteen year old girl would feel.
    “I bet you think that I’m really spoiled, don’t you?”
    “Why would I think that?”
    “Because it’s true. I am spoiled.” Joey sighed heavily. “I have money, I have a home. I have a husband that loves me. I’ve never had to want for anything. I shouldn’t have anything to complain about, right?”
    “You don’t sound like you’re complaining at all.”
    “How do you manage your relationship so well, Val?”
    “Manage?”
    “You and Darren. You two make it look so easy, so… happy.”
    “Do we?” Val chortled. “I don’t see it being easy. He’s stubborn and won’t take no for an answer. I’m stubborn, and whiny and always want my way. I’m so very on and off that it probably drives him insane. It’s amazing that he puts up with my bitchery.”
    “Is that a word?”
    “It could be.”
    More silence fell. Jo’s thoughts were plagued with everything from trying to figure out what night contributed to the conception of this child to how she’d learn how to change a diaper or breastfeed.
    “I had thought that Cody and I would be set in our lives by now, especially after he joined the Highlanders.” Jo sighed and flopped in the chair across from Val’s desk. “Children were never part of this life we’ve built here.”
    “Is being a parent so bad?”
    “No… I don’t think so. But it just wasn’t in the plan.”
    “God, if only everything went according to plan,” Val laughed. Then the smile faded. “But if it had, I would not have Darren now. So, I can’t really say I’m a fan of good plans anymore.”
    “Cody and I… we talked about kids early on. We agreed before we got married that kids weren’t for us.” Jo’s throat felt like she was being choked. “Look at me, Val. I’m not a mother. Cody even calls me a Barbie doll. I… I wear high heels and go to tanning salons and drink fine wines and run the other direction when people bring their children around… How could I ever be a mother?”
    “You remind me of my mother,” Val said. “Unlike me, she’s tall, skinny, former beauty pageant winner, and she did all the girly things I never did. At the outreach center, I saw younger versions of her, sixteen year old girls who had no idea what to do with their lives because they made a mistake. They had to reevaluate themselves.” Val came around the desk and pulled up another chair so she sat directly across from Jo. “You and Cody have a good foundation in your relationship. You should trust yourself. And each other.”
    “Cody doesn’t trust me.”
    “Sure he does. Cody’s issue isn’t trust. He’s not angry. He’s scared.”
    Jo stared at Val. “Scared? Did he say that?”
    The thought of Cody being frightened of anything was laughable. He was her brave hero. He was the one who always knew what to do. He handled the money. He handled the big home purchases. He fixed the sink and if he couldn’t, he was the one who hired the guy to fix the sink. He rescued her on the side of the road when her car crapped out. God… now that she thought of it, she didn’t really do much of anything, did she? What was her function in this relationship?
    “No.” Val admitted. “But this is my job, to read people. And in Cody, I see fear in him. He loves you, but he’s scared.”
    “So what do I do? Let him run? I’m not cut out for single parenthood.”
    “I’m not going to tell you what to do, Joey. Especially not with something as important as a child. Besides, that’s not what I do.” She sighed. “I can tell you this. There are hundreds of babies out there, all waiting for adoption, that will never know the impact of love like what