Christmas With The Houstons (Acceptance #4) (11 page)

“That’s amazing! I’m so happy for you. How did that happen?”

“Connor is brilliant. He’s secured so much funding we could run this location for the next fifteen years without fundraising another penny.”

“Wow, Jake said Connor was amazing but I had no idea. Why not hire him on full-time?”

She hesitates; I’m pretty sure she’s on to me now.

“I’ve tried, actually, more than once. He feels like he owes it to Brian to stay where he is.”

“Oh.” My disappointed response doesn’t escape her.

“Do you think Connor would be happier working for me?” she asks with an easy smile.

Yup, she gets it.

“I’m not sure, but I have a feeling it’s where his heart and mind are most of the time.”

With a sigh, she gives me her own confession. “Honestly, I’m worried about him. The drive to work is killing
him.
He’s burning the candle at three ends, if that’s even possible. Between Jess, the twins, work, and working for me, he’s going to lose it. Something has to give, but without something pushing him in my direction, I’m not sure how much I can do.”

“Have you mentioned it to Linda?”

“Has Jake mentioned it to Brian?” she asks, matching my questioning glance.

“No, he doesn’t want to be a tattletale.”

She responds with a long laugh. “Me, either. Connor is a grown man and unfortunately, he’s going to have to come to this choice on his own. I can continue to wave freedom under his nose, but it’s up to
him
to accept it.”

“I know, and in the meantime, Jake is going to continue to drown and be stressed out. Instead of going to his boss, like he would at any other job, he’s covering and doing all the work. It’s so frustrating to see him work himself so hard.”

“Are you still fighting?”

“No, we made up, but he’s got a short fuse and almost anything sets him off. He’s not sleeping, and he’s constantly worried about work or me and the baby. Something has to give. I can’t sacrifice what’s supposed to be the happiest time of my life because Connor can’t keep up. But I also understand Jake is doing this to himself. I’m sure Brian would fix it if he could.”

“My suggestion is to wait it out. You’ve got a short time left before the baby comes and then Jake will take his leave. Once he starts spending time with you and the baby, he’ll realize he doesn’t want to be missing out on precious time.”

“I don’t know, Kate. He’s already saying he may not even be able to take leave because of all of this.”

“Oh, that’s just nonsense. Of course he will. There’s nothing in this world more important than you and the baby to Jake. Give it time, it will all work out.”

“I sure hope so.”

“Okay, so tell me about Mia. How does this work?”

As I fill Kate in on everything Mia and how we get to see her today, Jake texts me and I realize I forgot to tell him we’re going to see her today, too. I was so excited after talking to Marie, I got lost in my own head for a while.

After reading his text, I’m ecstatic. “Jake said he’s going to meet me at your house at noon, I hope that’s okay. There’s a house by your park for sale we’re going to look at.”

“That’s incredible, April! I know exactly which house it is, and you’ll love it. And of course it’s okay! You
never
have to ask to come over. You’re family, and family is always welcome. Besides, it will give you the chance to spend some time with the kids.  I’ll text Mike and have him bring the kids over, too.”

Half an hour later, Kate and I are parking our cars when Hailey bolts out of the house laughing like crazy with Mike chasing after her. She jumps into Kate’s arms and tattles on Mike.

“Auntie Kate, Daddy said a bad word. Do you have a swear jar? He won’t let me go home and get ours.”

Mike’s shaking his head and trying so hard not to laugh.

“Poop isn’t a bad word, Hailey,” he chastises.

“But you didn’t say poop, Daddy, you said sh—” Kate clasps her hand over Hailey’s mouth before she can finish her sentence, and now
I’m
the one trying not to laugh.

“We don’t have a swear jar, Hails, but I happen to know for a fact if you make your daddy pinky swear, he’ll put the money in the jar when he gets home.”

“What’s a pinky swear?”

This little girl could not be any more adorable if she tried. While Kate shows her what a pinky swear is, Mike and I watch the two of them together. It’s pretty great the way things are now; even though they aren’t together, they are still the best of friends. Mike’s life really wasn’t complete without Kate, and neither was Daniel’s.

“Okay, Daddy, pinky swear you’ll put the dollar in the jar?” Hailey asks him sweetly, holding out her pinky.

“Pinky swear, Hailey Mae,” Mike says, wrapping their pinkies together. This is such a precious moment and Kate’s eyes are already misting up. Typical Kate.

When we walk into the house, the sight before us is beautiful. Daniel is sitting on the couch feeding Haven and Lucas is right next to him, making funny faces and playing with Grant’s feet while he sits in the bouncer.

“Mommy, Grant’s not laughing,” Lucas says, pouting. “Is he broken?”

Oh boy, these kids are going to kill me today; they’re so cute and innocent.

“No, baby, he’s not broken,” Kate tells him as she scoops Lucas into her lap. “He’s still too little to laugh at silly faces.”

“Haven’s not too little,” he says proudly

“Nope. Haven’s just right,” Kate says, tickling him.

“Like the porridge,” he answers, laughing and gasping for air.

“
Exactly
like the porridge,” Kate beams. Forget Daniel, that little boy is
the
love of her life.

Mike bumps up against me and gives me a kiss on the cheek.

“How are you doing today?” I know what he’s asking but I can’t resist teasing him first.

“I’m thoroughly enjoying watching your daughter do what no woman before her could.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“She’s taming you, Mike, and it’s a beautiful thing to see.”

“She can do anything to me she wants, she has me wrapped tightly around her finger. Her mom on the other hand…”

“Her mom what?” Misty asks, walking in the front door behind us.

Flawlessly, Mike turns and smiles. “Her mom is the most beautiful woman in the world but she’s too stubborn for her own good. When are you finally going to marry me, Misty?”

Ohh… I got here for the good part. I heard he’s been giving her hell about getting married but so far, she’s been putting him off.

“Mommy, can I be a flower girl again? I want another pretty dress.”

Misty scowls at Mike and smiles at Hailey. “Daddy will take you shopping later today and buy you all the pretty dresses you want. Won’t you, Mike?” she says sweetly, daring him with her tone to say no.

“It’s Sunday.”

“And?” Misty taunts

“You know it’s football day,” he whines while Misty smiles at his discomfort. She can be pretty ruthless at times, but it’s good for Mike to have that in his life.

“Yay!” Hailey yells and takes off her sweatshirt to reveal a pink Chargers jersey. Mike’s jaw drops to the floor. He’s a Packer’s fan through and through.

“Dresses tomorrow, okay, Daddy? Today is football!” Daniel is grinning from ear to ear, he’s enjoying this so much.

“Where did you get that, Hailey?” Mike asks, shooting a pointed look directly at Daniel.

“Uncle Daniel gave it to me. He said it was your surprise for football! Isn’t it pretty? It’s pink! Go Chargers!”

“Go Packers, Hailey, not Chargers. They aren’t our team.”

“Don’t be silly, Daddy. Uncle Daniel said they made this pink just for me so we have to cheer for the Chargers really loudly.”

Misty and Kate have disappeared into the kitchen, leaving laughter in their wake.

“Payback is a bitch, McCormick. Just wait until I corrupt one or
both
of your kids.”

“Daddy, another pinky swear for the jar,” Hailey demands, and Mike leans down and swears with her.

This is the kind of stuff I don’t want to lose another minute of if I can help it. My adorable nieces and nephews growing up and giving their parents hell is priceless.

Mike turns his back on Daniel’s snickers and pulls me into a hug. “You doing okay?”

“I’m doing great, Mike. Actually, better than great. Jake and I are looking at a house today, right by the park.”

“
This
park? You’re moving here?”

I nod and he picks me up and spins me around.

“This is the best news ever! Your house is way too damn far away. I’m so glad you realized now that you’re adding to the gene pool, they all need to grow up on the same block.”

“It’s a great house and you’re going to pay a premium price for it,” Daniel cautions. He knows how I feel about spending Jake’s money. For the first time ever, I’m not letting money guide my choices. It actually feels pretty good.

“For once, Daniel, I don’t care. I need my family and there’s no premium too high for that.”

“Well, it’s about fucking time,” Jake’s voice booms behind me.

“Uncle Jake!” Hailey runs into his arms “You owe money to the swear jar. You said a bad word.” She sticks her bottom lip out for a pouting effect. Jake pulls out a twenty and her eyes grow wide.

“That’s like a million dollars!” she tells him excitedly.

“It is, and that means I don’t have to pay again until Auntie April has the baby. Deal?” She nods her head in complete agreement and runs off to show her mom.

“You know you just completely lied to her and you need to fix that, don’t you?” I ask him amazed he would try and cheat her.

“Relax, babe. I’ll keep count on my phone and when I get to twenty, I’ll give her more money. I wouldn’t cheat my beautiful niece.”

“Come on, we have a house to go see. We’ll be back before the game,” he tells everyone as he pulls me by the hand and out the door. I suddenly feel bad; I forgot about the game when I scheduled the visit with Mia.

As we walk to the house, I apologize. “I’m sorry, Jake. I forgot about the game.”

He pulls me close and kisses me softly. “It’s okay, babe. Meeting Mia is more important than any game.”

“You almost seem happy about it.”

“I’m not unhappy about it, April, but I’d probably be ecstatic about this if things weren’t so upside-down at work. You’ll never have to convince me to have kids with you. That’s been the goal all along.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yup, the second I laid eyes on you, I thought to my fifteen-year-old self ‘those hips were meant to birth your children’ and here we are thirteen years later. I was totally right.”

“You’re so stupid and unbelievably sweet, but Mia isn’t coming from these hips,” I remind him.

“Eh, she might as well be because once she’s ours,
if
she becomes ours, she’ll be family forever.”

How is it possible to continuously fall in love with him?

“I love you, Jake.”

“I love you, too.”

A few short minutes later, we’re standing in front of one of the most amazing houses I’ve ever seen. When I glance at the price on the information sheet, I think I’m going to be sick. It’s
really
expensive. I knew it would be but I’m not used to seeing that many zeros.

“Relax, April. We can more than afford this.”

“Maybe this was a bad idea.”

“No, it’s not. It’s the best idea you’ve had in a long time. We need to buy this house for our family.”

Our family.

“Okay,” I whisper on a sigh.

“Okay,” he repeats back to me softly.

The massive oak door opens up and an older woman steps out, greeting us with a warm smile. “You must be Mr. and Mrs. Houston. Welcome.”

As we tour the home, she runs her spiel but I’m not really paying attention. Instead, I’m absorbing all the details of this home. It’s absolutely amazing—two stories, gated pool, more bathrooms than bedrooms, crown moldings, warm welcoming colors, high-tech kitchen—I’m in love.

“Now, as I explained to you on the phone, Mr. Houston, this house is in high demand. The sellers have decided today is the last day they will be accepting offers on the house. I was able to confirm there are already five offers in at
above
asking price.”

“Could you give us a minute to discuss it?” he asks her.

“Of course. I’ll be in the backyard if you need me, it’s gorgeous out there.”

Jake turns to me and pulls me close. “Is this what you want, April?”

It’s everything I could have ever dreamed of, but I know it’s going to cost a lot of money. Biting my lip softly, I nod my head. Jake is my forever and this will be our forever home. I have to be okay with spending the money for our happiness.

“Me, too. So this is what I’m going to do… I’m going to write a number down for her to present to the owners. You can choose to look, or you can remain blissfully ignorant at what I’m about to offer, but I
am
getting us this house.
Today
,” he states firmly, leaving no room for discussion.

“I choose to stay unaware for now.”

“I figured as much.” He pulls a business card out of his pocket and writes down what I know is going to be an obscene amount over the asking price. When Jake wants something, he gets it.