Pokrewne

Start
Chelsea Handler Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang (epub
Brit Brinson [Dia of the Dead Dia of the Dead (epub)
Cody Goodfellow [Radiant Dawn Radiant Dawn (epub)
Cate Tiernan [Immortal Belove Immortal Beloved (epub)
C J Busby [Deep Amber 01] Deep Amber (retail) (epub)
Carl Ashmore [Time Hunters 01 The Time Hunters (epub)
Drew Hayes [Super Powereds 02 Super Powereds Year 2 (epub) i
Beth Harbison [Shoe Addict 02 Secrets of a Shoe Addict (epub)
Cara Lynn Shultz [Dark World The Dark World (retail) (epub)
BURGESS ANTHONY Mechaniczna pom

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.’” She made quotation marks with her fingers to emphasize the words.“But your business hasn't.” She shrugged her shoulders, letting her sentence go unfinished.Her voice dropped.“When, Jake? When are you going to get this thing off the ground? I need to know.”He continued to stare into the fire, not saying a word.The silence between them filled with the sounds of the wilderness at night; scrabbling little claws in the scrub brush around the perimeter of their site, the rustle in the trees above as life hurried by in the shadows.There was the whup-whup-whup of a set of large wings; perhaps an owl, or even a bat, she didn’t know.Finally she stood up, leaving the warmth of the blanket still draped around his shoulders.“I need a little hope, Jake.I need to know what you’re thinking, what you’re planning for our future.I don’t even need specific answers right now, but I do need to know what the plan is, if it’s changed.I can’t keep going at this pace.”When he still didn’t speak, she sighed heavily.“I’m tired.We’ve got a full day tomorrow; I think I’ll turn in.You take care of the fire, okay?”“I thought you liked your job.” He blurted out the words without looking up at her.“You're so good at what you do.And how can you argue being paid so well for doing something you like doing?”“Like my job? I love my job, Jake.And it’s not about the money.” With her booted toe, she nudged one of the blackened logs jutting from the fire’s stone ring, making sparks shoot up into the sky.A balloon cloud of smoke gusted up toward her face, making her eyes burn.“I love my clients.I love helping people get their homes in order.” She wrapped her arms around her chilled body, hunching her shoulders up to her ears.“But I love being a mom even more,” she said, her words throbbing with longing as she continued.“And I miss it.I love being a wife, and I miss that, too.I love being a friend, but I feel guilty for spending any more time away from home than I already do, so I don't have many of those left, either.I’m too busy for any of it.” She looked sideways at him, holding her hands out to the fire.Even in May, the nights were cold in the Sierras once the sun went down.“Don’t say that, Nor.You're a great mom, and a great wife.We couldn't ask for any better.” He rose and came to stand behind her, wrapping the blanket around them both.She didn’t pull away from the heat his body offered.“I wouldn't mind if you spent an evening or two out with your friends.I know I’ll still be the one you come home to at the end of the day.” He bent and planted a kiss in the curve of her neck, nuzzling her ear in a way that made her shiver with pleasure.“Come back to the blanket, baby.I’ll help you warm up.”They lay on their backs, close together beneath their cover, gazing up at the brilliant stars twinkling in the canopy above their heads.She tried to relax, to simply enjoy their time away from the busyness of life.She tried.But she couldn’t.He just didn't get it.Finally, she sat up again and looked down at him.Her voice was quiet, but firm.“You've got to get yourself some work, Jake.Call your brother; he’s always hiring.Drive a forklift.Get an office job.I don't care.Just do something, so I feel like we're still a team.”“Can I ask you something?” He stared off over her left shoulder, and it bothered her that he didn’t look her in the eye.She nodded.“How would you feel if the tables were turned? What if you were, as you put it, a kept woman, and I was the primary bread winner?”She'd asked herself this same question many times.It was one of the reasons she'd let things go on so long.But she’d worked their whole marriage.Even after leaving her receptionist job when Leslie was born, she’d turned her stay-at-home status into a work-from-home career, successfully launching SoNora Décor with a baby on her hip.She’d always contributed financially.She couldn’t imagine what it would be like not to.Besides, the question didn't seem fair in these circumstances, and she responded with a flippant rebuttal.“I wouldn't know.Unlike you, I've never had the chance to find out, have I?”“Ah.Is that what this is about? You want your turn to stay home in your robe and slippers?” He propped his elbows up underneath him.Now he did meet her gaze, and his was slightly hostile.Even with her thigh still pressed against his, she felt the chasm of unaddressed frustration widening between them.What kind of man asked his wife a question like that? She brought her knees up, wrapping her arms around them, her voice tight.“You’ve always said the man should be the provider.I’m happy to contribute to our finances, but that’s not what I’m doing anymore.I’m providing, Jake.And I’m doing so with very little help from you.”“That’s not true,” he declared.He was sitting up now, absently snapping a twig into tiny pieces and flicking each one into the fire.“We wouldn’t be where we are today if I wasn’t providing in one way or another.It may not be financially right now, but I still provide my services.The house is clean, dinner is cooked, dishes are washed, the kids are happy.And I certainly don’t hear any complaints in the bedroom.If I'm a kept man, then I'm doing a pretty good job earning my keep.”Nora sighed.She didn't want to play tit-for-tat.She pushed up to her feet and put distance between them again, standing so she could hold her hands out over the fire and still look at him; making certain he could see her face.“Actually, Jake, I finish the dishes at the end of the night, so you have a clean slate to work with every day.I sort the whites, because you stubbornly refuse to pair the right socks together.” Her head begin to bobble, emphasizing her words like a teenage drama queen, and she tried to control it.“And I fold the towels, since no matter how many times I've shown you how to fold them so they fit in the bathroom cupboard, you fold them wrong, and the cupboard door won't close.” Now she was jabbing her chest with every I.“And speaking of the bathroom, it’s clean because I clean it.Have you ever, even once in our entire marriage, cleaned the bathtub? Or the toilet, for that matter?” Her cheeks felt hot against the cool caress of the mountain breeze.She had to stop, get her emotions under control, or he would just glaze over.She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, took a deep breath, and spoke quietly to soften the blow of her words.“Jake, you need to remember that you’re supposed to be working from home, not just staying home.You’re at the house because that’s where your office is, not so you can be our housekeeper.”“What about the kids? I'm a great dad.” He was understandably defensive, and now he was on his feet as well.He didn’t come near her, but stood on the other side of the fire from her, their communal blanket abandoned on the ground.“Yes, you are!” She nodded emphatically.“You’re a great dad, Jake [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]