Sisters by Choice (Blackberry Island #4)(27)

She was still working out the numbers. Once she grew a pair and called the leasing agent about seeing the place, she could figure out what remodeling would be required and get a bid. With that number and the rent information, she could finalize her business plan and figure out if she was going to talk to Jaxsen about the opportunity.

Not that he would be excited about it, she thought sadly. Every time she’d brought up opening a retail store rather than working out of the house, he’d had a dozen reasons why it wouldn’t work. The first time he’d told her the boys were too young. The second time they’d just had to replace the roof and that had set them back financially. Now, well, she didn’t know what he was going to say but regardless, she was determined to stand her ground.

Maybe.

The indecision made her want to slap herself. Either she believed and got going or she needed to stop playing what-if. The kids were older, the old bakery site had promise and if she didn’t do it now, then she was never going to do it. The truth wasn’t pleasant but liking or not liking it didn’t make it any less real.

She heard footsteps in the hall and quickly closed Excel. Jaxsen walked into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed.

“The boys are still watching their movie,” he said, not quite meeting her gaze as he spoke.

She held in a sigh as she wondered what was on his mind. Did he want a newer truck? Another ATV? Not skis—it wasn’t the season, and there was no way she was getting a Jet Ski for Grant. He was way too young.

“The boys and I have been talking about our summer plans,” he said. “We want to do a lot of hiking and camping.”

“That sounds like fun.”

His gaze met hers. “The boys are too big for the tent. JJ’s taller than you and Tommy’s not much behind him.”

Her heart sank as she realized where the conversation was going. “Jaxsen, no.”

He ignored her. “We should buy a tent trailer.”

She thought about all the sports equipment littering the side yard and the camping equipment filling an entire bay of the garage. “Don’t we already have enough?”

“I’d get rid of most of what we have.” His voice quickened with excitement. “Come on, Kristine, it would be great. I found the one I want online. It’s perfect. It has everything, even a shower package.”

She wasn’t sure she wanted to know how much it would cost.

“It’s for the family,” he told her. “Something we can do together. Something the boys will remember for the rest of their lives.”

And there it was. The guilt trip. Because any time Jaxsen talked about something being “for the family” it usually meant it was something for him and the boys and she should agree because there were four of them and only one of her. When that didn’t work, he pulled out “the boys will remember it forever.” The fact that he’d gone there right away warned her there was more bad news coming.

“And?” she asked.

“It’s only twenty thousand dollars.”

“Twenty thousand?” She worked hard to keep her jaw from dropping. “Are you kidding? Where would we get that kind of money?”

“We’d take ten thousand from the house equity line of credit we have. We don’t owe anything on that.”

He was right about that. Seven years ago his parents had insisted they take out a line of credit on the equity in their house. Prices in the area were starting to rise and the older couple had told them it was always a good idea to have a buffer in case of an emergency. They’d followed the advice and had had to use the line of credit twice since then. Kristine always made sure they paid it off as quickly as possible. She didn’t want it to be part of their regular budget. Only now Jaxsen wanted to use it for a tent trailer.

“So you want to finance the rest of it?” she asked, wondering how much that payment would be. Plus the line of credit, she thought grimly. That would be a big blow to their monthly budget. She didn’t think their cash flow could handle that at all.

“There’s the money from your grandmother.”

At first she didn’t understand what he was saying, but as soon as the meaning sank in, she rose to her feet and glared at him.

“No.” Her tone was flat.

“You’re so damned unreasonable.”

“Am I? My grandmother left me that money. It’s mine and you will not use it for a tent trailer.”

“Why not? Why are you keeping it? Why are you so selfish? We’re married. That money should be for the family.”

This wasn’t the first fight over her inheritance and she doubted it would be the last. From the moment they’d found out her maternal grandmother had left her ten thousand dollars, Jaxsen had been itching to spend it. No matter how many times she tried to explain that it was special and she wanted to use it for something significant, something that would make a difference in her life, he insisted it wasn’t a her thing, it was a them thing.

“Why does it bug you so much that I have that?” she asked. “Why can’t I have something of my own? Why do you want to take that from me?”

“I’m not taking it. We’re a family. We work together. But you have to keep something all to yourself. It’s not right.”

He stood as he spoke, looking just as pissed as she felt. She thought about pointing out that legally, the money was solely hers. As long as she kept it in a separate account, it wasn’t community property. Jaxsen hadn’t been happy to find that out.