Read Online Heart and Snow (Texas Highlanders Ice Hockey) by Suzan Butler - Free Book Online Page A

your father off the caffeine six months ago. It was messing with his sleep.”
    “That’s okay,” Jo smiled. It was probably better. Wasn’t caffeine bad for pregnant women? Or was that alcohol? God, she really was clueless when it came to children, wasn’t she? This was why she needed her mother, but she just wasn’t brave enough to tell her.
    “Joey…” Cherry frowned and set her cup down. She put her hands on Jo’s shoulders so she could look her in the eyes. “I didn’t mean to upset you last night with the talk about grandchildren. I... I overreacted, and I’m sorry.”
    “Mom, it’s okay. It’s just…” Jo stopped. How did she explain how she was feeling about this? “Cody and I… we didn’t ever think that we would be parents.”
    “Why not?”
    “I don’t know. Kids just never factored into the plans.”
    “Oh, honey.” Cherry stepped away and grabbed her cup. “They never do. You just get better at planning with them around.”
    Jo didn’t respond immediately. She wanted to tell her mother about the baby, but it just wouldn’t leave her mouth. They were stuck in her throat, hard lumps against her voice box every time she tried. Instead, she asked the other question niggling at the back of her mind. “Mom, why did you quit modeling? Was it because of us?”
    “Well, not really.” Cherry leaned on her elbows, adding a loaded sigh. “I just got old, honey.”
    “What?”
    Cherry smiled, a wistful expression on her face. “You can only model for so long. It was something fun to do for money for a few years, but it was never my long term career plan. I’d have been foolish to think so.” She laughed. “Unless I wanted a plastic face.”
    Jo smiled at her mother. Her mother had classic beauty that never got old. High cheekbones highlighted the clear blue eyes Jo shared with her mother. There was a natural rose tint to her cheeks. Her lips were full and pink. She was into her upper sixties now, but didn’t look a day over forty. “I think you’re still gorgeous, Mom.”
    “Well, of course I am.” Cherry grinned. “But we’re not supposed to be talking about me.”
    “We’re not?”
    “No,” Cherry said. “We’re talking about why you’re scared to have children.”
    “I’m not scared.”
    “Joey, honey. You practically barfed at the table when I mentioned grandchildren.”
    “Okay, I might be a little apprehensive about it,” she admitted. “It’s a big step. It changes everything.” It already had, but Jo didn’t say that part.
    “You’re right.” Cherry nodded and smiled. “But it is one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life.”
    “I’m not you, Mom. I don’t know what I’m doing with children.”
    “Pfft,” she waved her hand. “Neither did I. I made a ton of mistakes with you. And then I fixed them for Doug and Michele.”
    “Mom!”
    “What? It’s true. But that’s just part of parenting. There’s no rulebook. There’s no manual. And the return policy… well, that’s just outrageous.”
    “Did you just compare a child to an appliance?”
    Cherry chuckled and patted Jo’s hand. “I respect that you’re not ready for children. I respect that you don’t feel like you want any at all. That’s perfectly fine. I guess I’ll have to rely on single Michele and Divorcing Doug to give me grandchildren.” She heaved out an obviously dramatic sigh, followed by the world’s best pout.
    “Mom!” The two started laughing at the sheer ridiculous manner Cherry put on.
    Talking with her mother didn’t change anything. She was still pregnant, still unsure she could be a mother. But she felt good, because she knew her mother would be in her corner no matter what. Yet even with that, she couldn’t bring herself to say the words.
    *~*~*
    Cody zipped up his jacket and shoved his hands into his pockets. The snow was coming down harder, blanketing the hard frozen ground with a fresh layer of white. As Jo was fond of saying, he was a city boy,