For Nevermore Season 1

tackling this as a family.”
    Wow.
    In all the arguments they’d ever had, Randy had never been able to admit he might need help with his anger. Not even close. Josie could hardly believe he was agreeing to therapy without her even having to bring it up. He must be feeling even guiltier than usual over how things had grown so out of hand.
    “Do you mean it?” Josie said, not wanting to sound too hopeful, needy, or nagging. It was a narrow line to walk, being a strong woman, but also supportive of someone like Randy, who most strong women would have given up on long before.
    “Yes,” he said, reaching across the table and taking her hands, then wrapping them in his. “You were right. I’ve tried to handle my issues myself, not wanting to admit my problems were bigger than me. But they are.” He looked down at the table, then back up at Josie. “It’s time to admit my weakness.”
    At the final word, Randy squeezed his eyes shut, and it looked as though he was about to cry. Josie had never seen him so free with his emotions; had never seen him so vulnerable.
    He squeezed her hands tighter. Josie wanted to pull away, get up, and hug him, but wanted to give Randy the space to finish what he was saying first.
    “As a cop . . . as a man , we’re always told we’re not supposed to have weaknesses, or at least not show them. We’re supposed to be strong. So I’ve been trying to handle this all myself, and every time things go to crap, I just get madder at myself. After last night, I had time to think . . . to really think, and I finally realized you were right. There’s no shame in getting help. But there’s plenty of shame if I ever did anything stupid enough to lose you.”
    Randy’s head dipped toward the table, as if the effort of holding it high was simply too much. Josie gave in to her urge, stood from the table, then went to his side. He stood, then pulled her into an embrace as he surrendered to tears.
    Oh my God, he’s crying!
    Josie had never seen him cry.
    She squeezed him tighter, feeling like he — and they — were finally making genuine progress. They hugged for a long minute, then Randy pulled from the embrace, eyes red, then went to the counter and pulled a paper towel from the roll and blew his nose. Josie did the same.
    It was odd to watch Randy cry — both a relief to see him admit a weakness, and a lingering fear that he might turn on a dime, angry that she’d seen him vulnerable. But it was worth working past her expectations and giving him the space he needed to grow. If he was serious about counseling, she would commit to standing by his side and helping him.
    Josie suspected that Randy had some serious abuse issues with his father, though he’d always avoided that particular line of questioning. But it wasn’t hard to tell from the way Randy reacted to certain things, or from the patches of scars that scattered his back, his father must have been a monster.
    Josie felt suddenly guilty for hating him as much as she had the night before.
    She moved closer and hugged him again. “I love you,” she said.
    “I love you, too,” he grinned. Hey, are you doing anything now?”
    “I was gonna head back over to Jen’s. Why?”
    “You think it can wait a bit? I want to show you something I did for you. For all of us, actually.”
    “What?” Josie’s face broke into a smile as she wondered what Randy was up to.
    “Something I’ve been working on for a while, a big surprise.” Randy was smiling ear to ear. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him smile.
    “How long will it take? I don’t want to leave Jen alone,” she said, stepping into the living room and looking out the window across the street at the two squad cars still in her driveway.
    Randy shook his head. “Not long at all — maybe 20 minutes. I don’t have that long before I have to be back on the road, anyway. I’ll get you right back.”
    Her eyes met his and she couldn’t stand the thought of letting him down, not after he’d let her see him so raw. And he seemed so happy and eager to share whatever it was he had done.
    “Okay, lemme just get my purse.”
    Josie grabbed her purse from the dining room table, then headed toward the door with Randy a step behind. When she opened the door, Sam was standing on the porch, a second from knocking.
    “Sam?” she said, surprised to see him.
    “Hi, Miss Snow. Is Noella home?”
    “No, she’s in school,” Josie said, turning to Randy.