Christmas With The Houstons (Acceptance #4) (14 page)

“Yes, that’s his name.”
“It’s cute. Can I see him when he’s born?”

April looks to me for guidance.

“I think we can arrange something if you’d like to see him.” I tell her just as Hannah bounces out of the house looking cute as a button. She’s wearing a pink and white dress and has ribbons holding her hair in pigtails.

“Hannah! I get to see Jake and April’s baby when he’s born!” Mia shrieks.

“Do I get to see him, too?” she asks softly. April looks at me and nods.

“Sure, you both can see Jaxson after he’s born,” April answers and the two of them begin jumping around excitedly. Who would have ever guessed even little girls get excited over babies? It must be something in their genetic make-up for sure.

“What if we’re adopted by then?” Hannah asks suddenly.

“I don’t want to be adopted. I like it here,” Mia replies stubbornly.

“You can’t stay here forever, Mia. Mrs. Robinson told you that. One day, a family is going to want to adopt you and give you a forever home.”

“But then we won’t be sister-friends anymore,” Mia states sadly.

“Hey, you two, come here for a minute.” April waves them over to the porch and they sit next to her.

“Look, if you guys are adopted by the time the baby is born, we’ll make arrangements for you to see him. I promise. I have a feeling the two of you will always be friends and always be close like sisters.”

“You really think so?” Mia asks with a small smile.

“I really do. What you have to realize is being adopted isn’t a bad thing. It’s a really
great
thing. There are so many people in the world who want to grow their families and who have so much love to give. Being adopted is a good thing, too. I promise.”

With a few beautifully spoken words, my wife has calmed these two down. Taking a step back, I survey the scene before me. April is chatting and playing with the girls as if they were her own. Now what I need to figure out is what’s next. Is this what I want? Because giving one or both of these little girls false hope is not something I can have resting on my conscience.

We’ve spent three hours with the girls—hanging out, playing, and even had dinner with them. Watching the three of them help Mrs. Robinson cook dinner for us all was my favorite part of the day until now.

As we say our goodbyes, Hannah gives me another hug and as she pulls away, she places a kiss on my cheek. “I hope someday I get adopted by a family as nice as you guys.”

“Me, too,” Mia chimes in after she hugs April goodbye.

“Thanks for playing with Tank and for watching over the Barbies while we made dinner. You’re going to be a good daddy. You didn’t let anything bad happen to them and that’s what good daddies do.”

I’m seriously choked up at this point as she hugs me goodbye.

“You’re welcome,” I tell her, swallowing over the lump in my throat. “You don’t ever have to worry when you’re around me.”

“I’ll be back in a few days to check in,” April tells them, but she can’t keep checking in and Mrs. Robinson knows that. She’s saying that for the benefit of the girls.

The hour-long ride home is spent in complete silence as both of us process how our day went. Between the house, Connor, and the girls, my mind is on overload. I keep seeing Hannah’s face in my mind. I know Mia imprinted on April, as she did me, but Hannah stole my heart.

We’ve been gone for so long, but I’m glad we decided to try keeping Luvbug out of the crate. I’m sure he’s had an accident by now, but April put down the puppy pads right by the sliding glass door, hoping he would use those if he felt the urge.

When we open the door to the house, he immediately comes running to us, excited as can be. Slowly, I survey the area, making sure I’m not going to step on any of his bodily functions. I don’t see anything. As we make our way to the back door, it’s obvious he used the puppy pads.

“Good boy, Luvbug!” April cries out, reaching over and scratching behind his ears. He continues his excited dance until I open the door and then he darts outside to relieve himself.

April begins to squat down to clean up the mess but I stop her. She doesn’t need to be cleaning the floor in her condition.

“I’ve got this. Why don’t you get us something to drink and meet me on the couch?”

“Okay. Your usual?”

I nod in agreement and take care of the mess at hand. Once everything is cleaned up and Luvbug is back inside and snuggled up in his bed, I join April in the living room.

Good thing she brought the bottle to the table because I down the whiskey she poured in one gulp and desperately need another glass. One of the downsides of her being pregnant is she can’t drink with me. Somehow, I don’t think her bottle of water is helping her nearly as much as this whiskey is helping me.

“We’ve got a lot to discuss, don’t we?” she asks softly as she curls into my side.

“We really do.”

With a sigh, she readjusts herself so her head is on my chest and my free hand is resting on her belly. Jaxson is swimming around safe inside of her where the outside world doesn’t affect him yet, although the decisions we make tonight will affect him forever.

“So… that was unexpected,” I start off taking another sip of whiskey.

“Yeah, it was, I didn’t think… I honestly didn’t think you would bond with Hannah like that.”

“Me, either. There’s something about that little girl. The fact her father died a hero and she’s in foster care kills me.”

“Me, too.”

“It’s not that I didn’t bond with Mia… She’s incredible, they’re
both
incredible. But we can’t separate them. Is there anyone interested in taking both of them?”

She shakes her head. “No one is even looking at them. Mia has only been in the system a few days so that could easily change, but Hannah has been there a year and no prospective families have even come by to see her.”

“Why not?” She’s adorable; everyone who’s looking should be fighting for her.

“Probably her age, that’s usually what holds people back. People love to adopt children who can become theirs and not easily remember their past. At five years old, you’re going to remember you had a life before foster care and your world isn’t what it was before. For some kids that’s a good thing, and for others not so much.”

“I won’t be a part of separating those two girls, April. I just can’t, it would tear me up inside.”

“So it’s a no? Just like that? No discussion?” she snaps, and I down the rest of my glass.

“I’m a crazy son of a bitch for even saying this. Things are so crazy… Jaxson is coming, Luvbug is a handful, we both have full-time jobs, and I don’t even know how in the world it would work. But I’m not saying no, April. On the contrary, I’m saying let’s adopt them
both
. Let’s be the change we want to see in the world. Let’s give those girls the family they deserve.”

She sits up and leans against the other side of the couch, rubbing her belly as she faces me. “You’re serious?”

Am I?

Or am I fucking insane?

Probably both.

“I’m serious. The new house is perfect and I’ve been thinking I’ll have to start telecommuting because that drive is insane. Connor needs to be telecommuting, too. It’s ridiculous he isn’t already.”

“You’re going to work from home? Full-time?”

“Actually, no. Well, maybe… I’m hoping I can go into the office one day a week and work from home sixteen hours a week. I was thinking about my dad earlier and he never missed out on what we were doing as kids, and I don’t think he’d want us to miss out, either. So I’m going to propose four-hour work days from home and one day a week in the office, with the addition of two new employees.”

“Do you think he’d go for that?”

“Yeah, I do, but it’s not his choice. He can do this or lose me. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking the past few days and I realize I’ve been putting ridiculous expectations on you.”

“How so?”

“Mostly about kids and your job. You’re right, you
can
work and be a parent. Your job is important, April. I see that now more than I ever did before. The reality is your job fulfills you and nothing should take that away from you.”

“Wow.”

“My job fulfills me, too, in a way. I love what I do because I’m good at it and it affords us a guaranteed lifestyle. But the fact of the matter is, I’m not passionate about it and I don’t need my job to live the life we’re accustomed to. Working from home won’t be a big deal, I know it. But if it becomes an issue, my family comes first. The only difference will be you having to be okay with our income coming from my savings,
our savings
, instead of my job.”

“You’re serious? This isn’t the liquor talking?”

“I’ve only had two glasses in ten minutes.  It hasn’t even hit me yet.”

“Before this talk goes any further, I should tell you something. Something I actually talked to Kate about this morning.”

“I’m listening.”

April grabs a couch pillow and holds it over her stomach, playing with the tassels at the end of it. She’s obviously nervous, but why?

“I never wanted to be a bad mom to Jaxson but I thought, and still
do
think, I could be a good mom to him and continue to work.”

We’ve been over this a million times; I’m pretty sure I know this already.

“The thing is… Well, when I started thinking about bringing Mia into the family, I didn’t feel the same way. I don’t think I can work, at least not full-time, maybe not even part-time, if we brought her into the family.”

“But you love your job. Wasn’t that the point?”

“I do, but I would love her more.”

“And not Jaxson?”

“No, no… God, this is coming out all wrong.
Of course
I would love Jaxson. He’s the essence of my heart and soul. Mia has had nothing in her life but loss. Both parents are dead, her grandmother is dead, and there are no other known living relatives. Her start in life has been rough and she deserves to go to a home where she is going to be put first. A place where her needs come before a job, where a parent can stop whatever they are doing at the drop of a hat and pick her up from school if she were to get sick.”

Now I understand where she’s going with this.

“You see, Jaxson has us, and we’ll do anything for him, but if we aren’t there he has backups. He’ll have a huge family there to support him if we’re unable. Sadly, families aren’t always as accepting of adopted or foster children. It’s even more important I be able to be available whenever she might need me.”

“I see what you’re saying, but you’re wrong about one thing. There is no one on either side of our families who wouldn’t drop everything if one of our kids needed it. Mia wouldn’t be just our foster daughter. She’s coming into this house
with
Hannah and they will be our
daughters
. Waiting for the adoption is just a formality. Those girls are going to be family and our families will always have their back.”

“So…”

“Wait. Before we go any further I need to say something.” I pull April over so she’s close to me and then flip her so she’s now straddling me. With our foreheads pressed together and my hands on her belly, I give her a quick kiss.

“I’m going to support you no matter what you decide to do about work. If you want to quit tomorrow and focus on the baby and the move, I’m all for it. Whether or not we bring these girls into this house, I support your decision. If you want to drop to part-time, or stay until Jaxson comes and decide later, I support you. The choice is yours, April.”

“Thank you, Jake.”

“Now it’s my turn. Is this something you want? To take both girls?”

“I do,” she whispers breathlessly as her lips meet mine.

My fingers work their way through her hair and I pull her closer by the back of her head. Our tongues greet each other seductively and as she feels me growing beneath her, she whimpers.

My hands make their way quickly to the button on my pants and April lifts herself up as I free my cock. Hiking her skirt up slightly, I use my fingers to move her panties to the side. She’s already wet and when I slide my cock inside of her, she slowly exhales my name.

“Jake. Oh god, Jake, yes.”

I don’t give a fuck what anyone says; hearing a woman cry out your name while you’re buried balls-deep inside of her is the biggest fucking turn on there is. Knowing you make her hot and wet, that you’re the one who can bring her to orgasm where she’s screaming your name and clenching your cock so tightly you explode in ecstasy… there’s nothing better in the world.

Except knowing you can do this to her every single night if you want to.

April begins riding me faster, harder, and she’s becoming increasingly wetter. Quickly, I remove her shirt and bra, pull her breasts to my face, and flick her nipples with my tongue. April fucking loves breast play and can orgasm just by me sucking on her tits.

“Oh, Jake… yes… I’m coming, baby.” She doesn’t have to tell me; I can feel when she’s about to come. Her pussy drenches me, her muscles clench me, and her whimpers bring me with her every single time.

She leans against me and doesn’t even attempt to move. She knows I like to stay inside of her as long as possible.