The Reckoning, A Wilde Brothers Christmas (The Wilde Brothers Book 4) Read Online Free

sleep before the girls were bouncing into their room in the morning, waking them up to dig into their stockings and rip open their presents. He wanted to see their faces and enjoy this first Christmas with his new family, the girls and Julia.
    He groaned as he slid out of bed and went into the bathroom for the antacid. He grabbed the container and took out two tablets before wandering in the dark back to where Julia was sitting. Her belly was so round with his child, he was in awe of the miracle. “Here, take these.” He slid the tablets into her hand, and she tossed them in her mouth and chewed. Logan grabbed two of the pillows sitting on the chair and added them to the stack Julia already slept on. “Let’s see if this will help.”
    “You know, I can’t wait to have this baby so I can sleep on my back again and breathe.” She slid over onto her side, propped up by all the pillows.
    Logan pulled the quilt up and went around to his side. “Better?” he asked.
    “I’m sorry, Logan. I keep waking you.”
    He scooted in beside her and slipped his hand under her nightgown to rub her back. “Don’t apologize, honey. You need some sleep.”
    Julia sighed as he rubbed.
    “How does that feel?”
    “Better, thank you.” She reached around and squeezed his hand, then pulled it around over her swollen belly. “So tell me, what’s going on with your brother?”
    He wondered how she had picked up on it, because he hadn’t shared what Jake had dumped on him. No, he planned to have it out with his brothers tomorrow so there was no chance of any tension or fights happening around his wife or the twins. This was a big day, the first in years that the Wildes were all together, and he wanted everyone to get along.
    “Just something between Jake and Samuel. I hope it won’t become a problem.”
    Julia had long since lost the ability to move gracefully, so when she shimmied around in the bed, the mattress bounced and she bumped Logan until she faced him. “What problem?” she asked.
    Why had he said anything? “Julia, go to sleep. It’s Christmas tomorrow. We have a full house, and you’re going to be exhausted as it is.”
    But she didn’t let it go. She reached out and shook his arm, then ran her hand over his chest. “I can’t go back to sleep, so you may as well tell me.” She was tapping her fingers on his chest now, so he covered her hand with his, feeling the small diamond ring he’d slipped on her finger when he married her.
    “Jake proposed to a girl named Jill. Apparently she was dating Samuel, and then he did something to push her away. Evidently, my baby brother was there to pick up the pieces, and she went right into his arms. She turned him down, though, which was a good thing, I think.” He didn’t know what to make of it, but he wasn’t entirely comfortable with Jill jumping from one brother to the next.
    “Logan, why do all your brothers come to you when something’s wrong?” She sounded worried about something—and far too awake.
    “They always have. It’s just…” He had never told her what his dad had done, leaving them as kids. Logan had been just a teenager, having to step in and keep everyone together.
    “What is it? There’s a lot you don’t share, Logan, and I haven’t pushed. Your time in Iraq I know you won’t talk about, but family, whatever stuff this is, why won’t you share it?” She sounded almost hurt.
    “Julia, honey, it’s the past. It’s done.” He hoped that would be enough and she’d leave it alone, but when she started to get up, he said, “What are you doing?”
    “I asked you what was wrong. You should feel comfortable sharing, but you keep brushing me off. I know your brothers always come to you, and I just want to know why. I didn’t think much of it until now, but when you’re evading and not wanting to tell me what’s going on, I know I’m not part of this family.”
    Here we go. In a minute she’d start crying, he was sure. “Come on. Lie