If anything, he said something right, more right than he can even guess at, the kind of right that all but takes the wind out sails right, but sometimes that's a lot harder to tell with Jo. Wrong can go balls to the wall, caterwauling profanity and dangerousness sharpness in seconds. But this was quiet. This was something she hadn't expected. Not in this one or other ones. That was the kind of comment if took people a good while to realize. Because.


Because Jo made a mask of it. The ease with which managed all of this. The necessity. The aloofness. Putting it out there.
Talking about it like it was old hat. Because it was old hat. It was years on years of this. But it didn't mean she didn't miss it.



Home.


(Her mother.




She considered the offer and while she'd been about to shake her head, it turned one way as though starting and then stopped. Her head cocked to the second. Thinking better of the refusal. "I don't at the moment. Not that I can think of. But I'll could keep it in mind in case something comes up? I mean, those houses are crazy old. Something's bound to break on me when I least expect it, right?"

Plus, having favors in her back pocket for bigger emergencies? Well, that wasn't a terrible plan either.