Sisters by Choice (Blackberry Island #4)(28)

“Jaxsen, I’m not spending that money on a tent trailer. If you want to talk about financing, then I guess we’ll have that discussion, but I have to say, I really think it’s not something we can afford.”

“But we can afford it, if you’ll just kick in some money. Why is that unreasonable? I work hard and I pay for all this. I don’t keep part of my paycheck from you, Kristine. I give every penny of it to the family. All I’m asking is that you do the same.”

“I do. All the profits from my business go back into the household. And I do exactly the same when I earn a paycheck in the summer. Every dime goes into our checking account. You know that. Don’t pretend it’s otherwise.”

“You spend a lot of what you make from the cookies on supplies. And you bought a new mixer last year.”

The implied accusation infuriated her. “The old one broke. How am I supposed to make batches of cookies without a mixer? It’s a business. Of course there are expenses.”

She shook her head. “Here’s what I don’t get. You fought me on getting a job. You told me I needed to be here for the boys. So I came up with something I can do from home, that really doesn’t get in the way of anything, and now you’re fighting me on that. At the same time you complain I’m not bringing in any money. There’s no win for me.”

She wanted to say more but knew there was no point. She didn’t know if he genuinely didn’t understand or if he didn’t want to understand.

She waited to see if he would say anything else, but he only turned away from her so she went to go check on the boys. When they were all tucked into bed, she retreated to the basement. The sofa there was plenty comfortable. Not that she would sleep much. She was too upset.

Jaxsen was a great guy and a good father. He loved his family; he was involved with the kids. He didn’t cheat and when he hung out with his friends, it was always at one of their houses where they might have a third round of beers and yell at the TV during a game.

But there were sides of him she couldn’t understand. He could be unreasonable, especially when it came to her working and definitely about the inheritance. No matter how she tried to get him to see her side, to bend just a little, he refused to understand, leaving her to always compromise. She wasn’t sure she had anything else left to offer on the subject.

As she got a pillow and blanket out of the closet in the basement, she thought about the old bakery shop and wondered how many blood vessels he would blow if she wanted to talk about that. It wouldn’t be pretty. Which meant what? That she shouldn’t try? That she should live the small life that he’d assigned her? That wasn’t what she wanted and in her gut, she didn’t think it was what Jaxsen wanted for her, either. Yet, it was how he acted and she genuinely didn’t know how to get him to change or herself to accept. Was she really expected to pretend she didn’t want something beyond what she had? She loved her family more than anything, but it wasn’t enough. Not anymore.



Chapter Eight


“Sophie Lane?”

“Yes.” Sophie pressed the speaker button on her cell phone so she could talk and continue to fill her desk with office supplies. The office furniture had been delivered a couple of days ago, but she hadn’t had time to settle in her office.

She’d left the largest space for a conference room. Not that they had a conference table or even chairs, but they would eventually. Right now meetings happened on the fly. In time things would get more organized but until then, everyone had to make do.

“I’m Jessica from the animal shelter. I’m calling to follow up on your application to foster a pregnant cat.”

“Oh, right. Hi.” Sophie stopped loading pens and paper clips and stared at her phone. “My cousin told me about your organization.” A couple of nights ago, on a whim, Sophie had gone online and filled out the paperwork. “I lost my cat recently. I had CK for nearly sixteen years.” She felt her throat tighten. “She was such a good girl and I miss her. I’m not ready to adopt, but I wanted to do something, you know? I need to have a cat in my life.”

“This sounds like a good way to do that,” Jessica said.

“I’ve never had a pregnant cat before. I’d want an experienced mom who knows what she’s doing.”

“We have plenty of those to offer. You know once the kittens are born, you keep them until they’re ready to be adopted.”

“I can do that. I know about socializing them.”

“Good. We would love your help. It’s kitten season and we simply don’t have room at the shelter for all the pregnant cats that will be brought in. Are you in a house or an apartment?”

“A house. I’m renting. I cleared this with the landlord. I have an extra bedroom.” She hesitated. “I really want to do this.”

“Excellent. We’ll be in touch in a few days to let you know when to expect your mama cat.”

“I look forward to it.”

When she’d hung up, Sophie thought briefly about feline birthing and decided it was better to wait and panic in the moment. She didn’t have a lot of free time these days to worry about an event that wasn’t even on the calendar right now.

She finished loading her desk, confirmed her new landline worked and debated transferring files from her laptop to her new desktop, then decided this wasn’t the time.