Page 38 of Nowhere To Hide
“Well, we wanted you to have one, and sincesomeonegot all wild with their nesting spree, we figured we'd better do it now before he had a chance to buy everything before we could.”Jo shot Axel a look, but he just smiled and shrugged, not the least bit bothered to be called out for his excessive shopping.
“I seriously cannot believe this.This is way too much.”
I felt the panic rising in my throat, but didn’t know why it was there.This was an act of kindness, but my body was reacting as if I were in imminent danger.
Jo stood in front of me, gave me a calming look, and gently placed her hands on my shoulders, holding my gaze.
“It’s okay,” she said, her voice soothing.“Letting people get close to you is okay.Accepting their love for you and your baby is okay.You can let your guard down.I promise.”
I looked around the room, noticing that everyone was now talking amongst themselves to give me space.I loved that I didn’t have to feel uncomfortable for long because they seemed to know how it felt and did whatever they could to fix it.
“You were a total bitch in my dream last night,” I blurted out, not sure why I feltnowwas the time to tell her about it.Her eyebrows rose as a grin tugged across her cheeks.
“Only in your dream?”she teased.“I guess I’m not doing my job because people usually say I’malwaysa bitch.In their dreams and in reality.”
“You cut my baby out of my stomach after you killed Axel.You and Dr.Foster were working together to sell my baby to the people who are after us.”
Her face fell as the color immediately drained from it.I noticed Axel across the room from us as he paused and took note of what was happening.Jo’s features had hardened with anger as she worked her jaw back and forth.Then she let out a deep breath and looked me in the eye when she spoke.
“I used to have nightmares, too.But trust me when I say this, Charlie.I would kill anyone—myself included—before I would allow anyone to hurt you or that baby.I’m so sorry that I betrayed you in your dream.”
I nodded, not having the words to say because what do you say to something like that?It wasn’t her fault my subconscious decided to torture me last night and make me question everyone I thought I trusted.But now wasn’t the time to worry about any of that because I was currently surrounded by a room full of people who wanted to celebrate my baby girl and me, and that was one of the best gifts I’d ever been given.
Twenty-Five
Axel
By the time the surprisebaby shower ended, I got Charlie upstairs to rest while Jo and I brought all of the stuff in from my truck and added it to the stuff to sort through in the morning.It warmed my heart to see how everyone had come together to support Charlie with the shower.She had more than she would ever need, and the gifts went beyond what she might need for the baby and covered things that would make her transition into motherhood more comfortable.
“It looks like it was a productive day,” Jo noted as she set the last few bags down by the table, while I locked up.
“It was.Charlie had so much fun shopping for the baby.However, I would have waited and taken her another time if I knew you guys were going to do this,” I teased, looking around at how much stuff we would have to find a place for.
“We kept it a secret on purpose.Besides, we all knew that you and Charlie would focus on the things she needed now, so we purposely got her things she would need later.”
I nodded, noting the stacks of diapers in sizes larger than I had purchased and all the clothes in older age ranges.I had been so focused on what the baby would need right away that I didn’t even think about the future or how quickly she might grow out of the sizes I had bought her.
