Read Falling For You - January Cove Book 3 for Free Online

Jackson. Sorry. I didn't see you there."
     
    "Apparently not," Jackson said raising an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"
     
    "Sure. Just thinking about all the things I need to make for Thanksgiving … "
     
    "Mom, it's me. I know you better than anyone else, and something is going on. Out with it," Jackson said. He was right. He had helped her raise his siblings much like a husband would, and he knew her better than anyone else in the world. He knew her facial expressions, her tone of voice and a multitude of other pieces of body language that would tell him when something was really wrong. In fact, sometimes it made him feel guilty that he didn't live close by anymore so that he could make sure to keep an eye on his mother. Maybe that was why she had a mild stroke last summer. Maybe it was because he wasn't around enough to watch out for her. Shrugging off the guilt as best he could, Jackson went back to trying to figure out what was wrong with his mother.
     
    "It's nothing, really. There's nothing to worry about, Jackson. I'm fine. Sometimes mothers just get lost in thought." She turned around and went back to rolling the dough for the yeast rolls, and Jackson knew for sure that something was wrong. He thought for a moment about her mention of being a mother and realized that she had to be talking about her only missing child, Addison.
     
    "This is about Addison, isn't it?" he asked.
     
    Adele didn't say anything or turn around, and he could see that she was hanging her head a little bit lower, a sure sign that he had hit the nail right on the head.
     
    "Mom, turn around and look at me." he said. Adele slowly turned around, and he could tell that she had tears in her eyes. Adele was a woman who didn't cry a lot. She never had time to cry with all that she had to do to raise five children, so when she teared up he knew that she was really worried about his sister.
     
    "Okay, fine. It's just that Addison doesn't sound right when I talk to her on the phone or even when she texts me. I feel like something might be wrong, but she's not telling me what it is. I just hope that she's okay. It worries me," she said in a whisper. She didn't want to worry the other kids or cause a darkness over Thanksgiving for everyone else.
     
    "Don't worry, Mom, I will talk to Addison," Jackson said. He was always taking control of situations, and this was no exception.
     
    "No, don't. Really, Jackson. I don't want her to feel like we're all talking about her behind her back."
     
    "Okay, fine. How about I just make a normal phone call between brother and sister and see what I think? If it sounds like she's not herself, maybe I can do a little digging around in our conversation to see what's wrong. Addison and I were always close when she was growing up, so maybe she will tell me something that she hasn't told you." Adele nodded and swiped at her eyes, brushing away a stray hair that had fallen in her face. She reached out and hugged her son tightly as if she was so appreciative of his presence back in the house. Jackson felt a pang of guilt again that he hadn't been around enough in recent years.
     
    It was like he'd escaped from his family in January Cove, but there was nothing there that was horrible. A lot of people ran away from their lives because they wanted to get away from toxic family or areas of the country that gave the bad memories, but that wasn't the case for Jackson. His sole reason for being away from home was simply that he was alone and a failure at love so far. Maybe he was jealous of his brothers' good fortune in the relationship department, or maybe being in January Cove just reminded him that he hadn't progressed very far in his personal life since he was thirteen years old.
     
    He couldn't quite put his finger on why he'd run away. It was like he was trying to prove something to himself and everyone else. He wanted to prove that he was the most successful brother in the family since he was the oldest. He had to excel