Christmas With The Houstons (Acceptance #4) Read Online Free PDF Page B

pissed, but I don’t blame him. He is April’s best friend.
    Mike falls into his chair and reaches for a coffee. After grabbing the ibuprofen from the cabinet, I also get two bottles of water from the refrigerator. We both take the pills, fix our coffee, and grab food. Mike is eating away but my stomach is still a little uneasy.
    “You know if you don’t eat you’re going to feel worse,” Daniel snaps, and he’s right. After taking three bites of a breakfast sandwich, I push it away. It’s enough for now.
    “Talk to your wife yet?” The way he’s sneering at me is really grating on my last fucking nerve this morning, but it also makes me realize I have no clue if April has been trying to call. My hands are still a little shaky from the tequila and lack of sleep, but I manage to eventually get my phone out of my pocket.
    When I swipe my screen, I see there are no missed calls or missed texts. That’s odd. After double-checking my text to her went through, I sink down into my chair and slam my phone onto the table.
    “Fuck.”
    “You need to fix this,” Daniel states firmly.
    “I know.”
    “No, Jake, I don’t think you do know. Do you remember how I explained what happened to April in high school to you at your wedding?”
    I nod slightly because anymore movement than that hurts.
    “The damage you caused last night is the worst I’ve ever seen with her. If you don’t think your wife is sexy anymore, there are plenty of men who will.”
    Wait, what?
    “If you’d rather be hooking up with the neighborhood stroller patrol, no one is stopping you.”
    What the fuck?
    “But if you ever, and I mean ever, insinuate April won’t or can’t be the mother her children need because she chooses to have a career, a career which focuses on innocent kids who have no one in the world in their corner but her, we’re going to have a serious fucking problem. Are we clear on that?”
    “Back the fuck up. You lost me at not thinking my wife is attractive anymore. My wife is the sexiest goddamned woman I’ve ever laid fucking eyes on. Why the hell would you think otherwise?”
    “Because of Malibu Barbie,” Mike answers through a bite of food.
    “Is that really what April thinks, Daniel? Does she really think I would leave her for one of the stroller patrol?”
    Finally, he sits down and takes a drink of his own coffee. He looks tired. Either he was up with Haven all night, or April, or both.
    “This is your mess, Jake. I shouldn’t have to play interpreter for either of you. How could you leave her in the middle of a fight while she’s seven months pregnant?”
    He’s trying to piece this together; I can tell from the way he’s pinching the bridge of his nose.
    With a frustrated sigh, I answer him.
    “Daniel, I haven’t slept a full night in months. I’ve been working twelve-hour days at the office most days, and yesterday was the first full day I’ve had off since Connor came to work with us. I was tired and pissed off about that cop she works with and I let it go too far.”
    “Ya think?”
    “He was touching her in places only I should be touching her.”
    “And you gave the neighborhood wives a show. Call it even. Your wife only has eyes for you. Go home, Jake. Make her feel loved. Show her she’s the only one you want. She’s sad, lonely, and absolutely hates your house.”
    His words dig a knife straight through my heart. April and I worked hard for that house. She refused to let me buy it. We started putting money into an account when we were freshmen in college to save for a down payment. We’ve got a mortgage just like most everyone else, and we decorated it from top to bottom together. Our home is my sanctuary. How long has April been unhappy there?
    My heart feels damaged and I don’t know how to fix it. I don’t understand what is going on with the two of us, but we’ve never been the kind of people who fight over stupid things. My issue is when I’m angry, I lash out. April is usually