Falling For You - January Cove Book 3 by Rachel Hanna Read Free Book Online

But I really need to take care of myself right now. I hope you can understand that. And please make up something to tell mother so that she's not worried about me. I can't take the guilt of her having another stroke just because she's worried about me."
     
    "Alright. I hate lying to Mom, but I know it's for the best in this case. I'll tell her that something came up with Jim's job, and that finances are a little tight right now. I'll just tell her that you guys are too proud to ask for money to travel, so you're staying closer to home."
     
    "Sounds like a good cover story. That will work. Thanks, Jackson."
     
    "And, Addison, just know that I love you," Jackson said.
     
    "I know. And I love you too. I'll be home soon. See you at Christmas," she said with her voice cracking before she hung up. Jackson sat there for a moment wondering if there was anything else that he could do, but Addison was a grown married woman who had made her requests clear. And he understood that himself because he didn't like people interfering in his life either. But as her older brother and stand-in father for most of her life, he was used to taking care of things for his little sister. Feeling like his hands were tied, he set his cell phone down on the dresser and started to get ready for the Thanksgiving festivities.
     
    ***
     
    Rebecca wasn't sure that she had ever been more nervous in her life. It was silly really, after all that she and Leo had been through in their lives, but going to a Thanksgiving festivity with such a well-known family was making her a little more than jittery. Of course, being a coffee shop owner, she'd had more than her share of espresso this morning. That probably wasn't the best idea given the fact that she was already anxious.
     
    "I don't get it. Why can't we just have sandwiches on the beach like we said we would?" Leo whined. Sometimes she wondered if he was two years old or fourteen years old.
     
    "Because I'm trying to make a name for myself in this town, and my best customer invited us. So you will act right and be kind to these people. You will say thank you and you will be polite. You hear me?" She said putting her hands on his shoulders. She really hated this part of being a parent. Sometimes she was kind and meek like her mother was, and other times she had to be rough and tough like her father was. It was a very hard balancing act. She was never really sure that she was doing it right. It was times like this that she really missed having her husband there.
     
    "Fine. Is it time to leave yet?" he asked looking down his cell phone.
     
    "Actually, yes it is. We're going to walk there because it's just a couple of blocks over."
     
    "Walk? Why can't we drive a car like normal people?" he said throwing his hands up in the air.
     
    "Because it's one of the perks of small-town life, Leo. Get over it." She was tired of being so rough on him this morning, but he had started with his whining first thing in the morning. She just didn't understand him anymore. He had gone from being a sweet young boy to a hormonal teenage mass. She sure couldn't remember acting that way to her parents, although her father never would've allowed it. Again, she felt a momentary sense of loss when she thought about her husband. How he could've changed Leo's life. Would Leo be a better kid right now if his father was still alive? Was it even his fault that he was so angry right now?
     
    She had tried a couple of times to talk to him about his anger issues lately, but he just went inward and started playing video games or texting on his phone. Maybe every parent of a teenager went through this at some point, but she was quite sure that she had seen parents out in public with their teenagers having a good time and interacting. That had stopped with Leo over the last year or so. She missed their close relationship, but she had absolutely no idea how to get it back.
     
    Rebecca packed up the muffins that she had made to take to the