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

so many things he would have done differently. He probably wouldn’t be married to Julia now. He kissed her again because he couldn’t imagine a life without her.
    “So you carried that secret all these years?” she said. “Your dad knows—well, obviously. So that’s why your brothers come to you: You were there for them. What happened when your dad came back? You were no longer the man of the house, suddenly a son again.” She said it as if she knew what he’d lived through.
    “Yeah, I was suddenly on the outside looking in.” He rubbed her shoulder as her belly poked into his side. One of her legs was tossed over his. “Go to sleep.”
    She reached up and flattened her palm on his chest. “I love you, Logan, scars and all, you know?” She looked up at him.
    “I know. Now go to sleep.”
    He didn’t know how long they lay there together as he held her, listening to her breathing even out, thinking about that first Christmas without their dad or a full cupboard.

Chapter Four
    The girls pounced onto the bed at 6:30 a.m., and Logan pried his eyes open, feeling a sudden jolt in that split second of not knowing where he was. He felt a weight on him, and he seized and gasped before realizing it was Julia’s head on his chest, her arm tossed across him and leg twisted with his. He breathed a sigh of relief, thankful she was still sound asleep.
    His nightmares were nothing like they once were. It had been months since he’d drowned in one of those cold sweats, pulled into a memory of another time when he’d been under attack. The flashbacks always left him confused and reaching for anything to end his torment. For this morning, and for every morning when he woke with just a jolt and a moment of confusion before clarity sank in, he was grateful. He never wanted to put that look of fear on the twins’ faces again. They frowned as they kneeled beside him on the bed, dark hair tousled by sleep, blue eyes filled with wonder as he popped on the bedside lamp. He pressed his finger to his lips as he glanced down at Julia, sound asleep. The last thing he wanted was to wake her after the little sleep she’d been getting.
    “It’s Christmas, wake up,” Trinity whispered, and she glanced over at Julia and frowned. Logan wiped his tired face, his head foggy. He wondered when he’d managed to drift back to sleep after his conversation with Julia.
    “It’s a little early to be up, isn’t it?” He wanted to tease them, but he felt Julia stir against him and groan.
    “What time is it?” she asked, her voice thick and groggy.
    “Early, six thirty. The munchkins want to open their presents.” He slid one hand over Julia’s hip and the other over the baby, pressing his wife against him. “How do you feel this morning?”
    She yawned and stretched her arms, breathing deep as she glanced over at the girls and reached out to them. “I was having a nice dream, warm and comfortable. Now my back hurts and I have to pee. Logan, can you help me up?”
    “Yeah, come on. Girls, go wake your uncle Jake. Tell him to put on some coffee, and no peeking to see what Santa brought until we get there.” He had barely finished speaking before they bolted off the bed, their feet pounding the floor as they called Jake. He was pretty sure, from the giggles and Jake’s shout, that they’d landed on top of him.
    Logan slid out of bed, wearing only his boxers. It took him a couple steps to work out the stiffness in his leg. He leaned down and helped Julia up, her nightgown slipping to her feet as she waddled to the bathroom. “Julia, I’ll make sure the girls don’t start opening anything until you get out there.”
    “Okay,” she called out from the bathroom as Logan pulled on his jeans and a T-shirt. He walked barefoot into the hallway, over the worn carpeting that was cool on his feet. He adjusted the thermostat in the hall and listened as the furnace kicked in. Jake wandered out of the living room, bare chested, yawning, his