Autumn Awakening Read Online Free

down. I picture hanging Christmas garland from the railing and teaching Jett how to make little tiny parachutes for dolls that we can toss over the ledge.
    Jace picks up our son and follows along as I meander through the construction scene. I am so unbelievably grateful that this crazy dream I’ve had for two years is now becoming a reality. My cheeks hurt from how much I’m smiling. We have a kitchen with an open space that will be the island with black granite countertops and white cabinets. There’s a wide hallway with an opening for the bathroom and then for Jace’s future office. There’s a guestroom in the back corner.
    I walk back into the hallway and look up. “There’s our room,” I say, wishing we had stairs and a floor to go up there and experience it.
    “One day,” Jace says, placing a hand on my lower back. “The foreman said that if it doesn’t rain, it should be finished in about two and a half months.”
    My heart leaps with a kind of joy I can’t quite place. This house, this land, this life. I spent most of my life living with Mom in low-rent houses and eating the cheapest food found in the grocery store. We didn’t have granite countertops or second floor balconies or curved edges in the walls. And now I am married to the greatest man and we’re building the most beautiful house. Our son will have everything I didn’t have, including a loving father.
    “Babe?” Jace says tentatively. I realize a tear is rolling down my cheek and I wipe it off.
    “I’m fine.” I force a smile. “I’m just really happy to see our house becoming a real house.”
    “I’ll be glad to get out of that apartment,” Jace says. “I love it because it’s our first place, but it’s small and outdated and—”
    “Trust me, I know,” I say, interrupting him. “Hey, do you still have that Sharpie in your truck’s cup holder?”
    His brows draw together. “I think so, why?”
    I reach for the baby and he jumps into my arms. “Can you go get it please?” I say, giving him a cheesy grin.
    When he returns with the marker, I walk around the living room looking for the perfect place. Then, I come back to the square area of the foyer, realizing that the welcoming area of our house will be the perfect place for this. Jace watches me curiously as I uncap the marker and choose a wooden beam by the front door. My lips press together while I think of the perfect thing to write, and then finally, it comes to me.
    Our first home I write in cursive. Then, underneath it: Jace, Bayleigh and Jett.
    I look back at Jace, who watches me with curiosity. “We won’t be able to see it when the walls are done, but we’ll know it’s there,” I say.
    He nods. “I like it.”
    Jett reaches for my hand and I give him the marker and point him toward the same wooden beam, just lower where he can reach. He scribbles all over the wood, just like he does with his crayons at home. When he’s finished, I write his name underneath it, along with the date.
    “We’ve officially marked this house as ours,” I say with a smile.
    “That, and the miles of paperwork we had to sign to get it,” Jace says sarcastically. He smiles and wraps his arm around my shoulders as I hold Jett in my arms. We stand here staring at our new home for a few minutes. Even Jett seems to get how monumental it is that his parents have made it this far. Against all of the odds of young families trying to make it in this harsh world, we’ve done it. We succeeded.

Chapter 4
     
    For the longest time, I had no idea what I wanted to do in life. While my friends were stressing over college applications and planning futures full of keg parties and colleges abroad, I was stuck. I didn’t really have a career in mind and nothing stuck out to me as something I’d be passionate about. I felt like I was falling into this dark abyss of nothingness while everyone around me had their goals locked and loaded, ready to be carried out.
    Then I met Jace.
    And I know it