Free Trusting Jake (Blueprint To Love Book 1) by Lauren Giordano

hadn't even known they were taking.
    Tears sparking in her eyes, she thumped the pillow, relinquishing the illusion of  sleep. Her parents had never learned how much she'd regretted her careless decision. They'd never known they were about to become grandparents. Burrowing under the quilt, she tried to distance herself from the memory. But the hollow regret had become a part of her . . . like a chain dragging behind her. Even now, Jen would catch a flash of her mom's expression in Megan's laughing smile. And be lanced with guilt.
    Forcing herself to think of something more pleasant, Jen concentrated on the reassuring sounds of her silent house. The furnace clicked on, followed by the comforting warmth of heated air, the little creaks soothing in their familiarity. Megan slept soundly in her room down the hall. The only thing to spoil the cozy well-being was missing Alex.   
    "He's safe. That's all that matters." She'd checked on him around eleven, Jake's gruff voice catching her by surprise. With a flash of guilt, she realized he'd probably been half asleep when he told her Alex had finally fallen sleep.
    She smiled in the dark. Earlier in the evening, an orderly had delivered a cot for Jake. She tried to imagine her boss's large frame folded up on the little bed and failed. Laughter bubbled up when she pictured him wrestling with the flimsy mattress. Alex had been alert then, even enthusiastic about the prospect of spending the night with him. He'd called it camping. Camping out with Jake. Hearing him brag about their plans for the evening, she'd recognized the exuberant little boy she loved. Al was definitely on the road to recovery.
    "Poor Jake," she whispered. He'd have his hands full.
    Rolling to her side, she tugged her hair free from the blankets. Pinned up so often, she hadn't realized how long it was getting. Rick had loved her long, unruly hair. When her husband's friends commented on her appearance, he'd laughed right along with them. Jen had tried not to let his attitude bother her. So– he wasn't as protective as she'd always imagined a husband should be. It was all in fun, right?
    Fun, it wasn't. Degrading, maybe. Rick's crowd offered lewd comments to any woman who drew a breath. With no one to confide in, Jen had learned to take it– hiding her humiliation behind a smile. After learning she was pregnant, his criticism increased. As the pregnancy progressed, her husband's main concern had centered around when she would regain her shape.  
    He'd given the phrase 'single-parenting' new meaning. After Megan was born, it was Jen walking the floors with a sick baby at night and going to work the next morning. On the rare occasions Rick was home, he pretended not to hear Megan's plaintive cries.
    By the time she became pregnant again, Jen harbored no illusions. Her discovery that Rick was cheating had been the catalyst to concede defeat on her disastrous marriage. Without him, life could only get better.
    "Yeah, right," she muttered, grimacing at the memory. Giving up on sleep, Jenna crept downstairs. By the glow of the kitchen nightlight, she drifted to the sink. She hadn't known life was about to get drastically worse.
    When the managing partner of Whitney Group had buzzed her desk a few months later, Jen assumed she'd scored the promotion she'd applied for. Six years of paying dues and biting her tongue in the tough, male-dominated construction company. Expectantly, she'd walked into his office.
    "Jenny. . . I've received serious allegations about your conduct."
    No commendation of her long hours and stellar work, only her alleged sexual performance with Steve Baldwin. In lieu of a promotion, an ugly accusation from the slimy manager who'd been hitting on her since Rick left. A meager severance check instead of a raise.
    Scrubbing the goose bumps on her arms, Jen suppressed a shiver. For shattering her reputation, Steve Baldwin won her promotion. Suddenly exhausted, Jen trudged upstairs and climbed into bed,