The Reckoning, A Wilde Brothers Christmas (The Wilde Brothers Book 4)

by Lorhainne Eckhart

  “Just in case everyone didn’t know, Margaret is pregnant,” he chipped in, sliding his arm around her shoulder. Margaret leaned into her husband.

  Everyone yelled out congratulations, and Samuel and Jake both teased Joe as Ben slid around, slipping his arm around Carrie, his face taking on a teasing hint as he congratulated Joe and Margaret.

  Logan slid his hand around Julia’s shoulder and rubbed his other hand over her belly. She gave him one of her looks, raising her eyebrows. She, too, was wondering what was up with his mom.

  She leaned closer. “Can you do something so we can eat soon?”

  He pressed a kiss to her forehead when he heard a glass clink again.

  “I’m not finished yet,” Olivia said. She cleared her throat.

  What was up with her? Ben turned to Logan again, his expression curious. He, too, couldn’t figure out why their mom was so interested in dredging things up now, of all times.

  “Samuel and Jake, you two are my youngest. You’ve always been close, but this last while, something’s happened. Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you haven’t been speaking. You’ve gone out of your way to avoid each other. Both of you were supposed to come to our place first, and then we’d drive down to Logan’s. Your father and I were looking forward to having time with you two boys. I’m just grateful Ben decided to change his plans and come.”

  “Way to go, Ben,” Joe called out, and Margaret slapped his shoulder. When he reached for the turkey, she slapped his hand. “Hey, I’m hungry,” he said. She whispered something to him, and he rolled his eyes.

  “Mom, seriously, the girls are hungry. How about saying grace so we can eat?” Logan said, wishing someone would say grace and be done with it.

  “Logan, I’m going to say this now that you’re all here sitting around the table. I thought a lot about this when you had to call me and tell me that both Samuel and Jake weren’t coming.” She turned her gaze, which could at times be shrewd, on both Samuel and Jake. “You are both grown men, and I’ve taught you better. Your father has, too. You both have your own lives, but when you make plans, you stick to them. You don’t just blow people off, especially your parents. We deserve better.” His mom really appeared bothered. Logan knew it hadn’t been okay for Jake and Samuel not to show, and he’d said so to them both.

  Jake propped his elbow on the table, rubbing his chin. “Look, Mom, I’m sorry. Something came up, and I needed to talk to Logan.”

  “I couldn’t get away. I, too, had something come up at the last minute,” Samuel said, but Logan didn’t miss that neither Jake nor Samuel would look at the other.

  “More like avoiding each other!” Olivia said. “After all these years, I know you boys are so used to going to Logan—”

  “Olivia, that’s enough,” Raymond said. He eased forward in his chair, touching Olivia’s arm. His fingers were long and narrow, and his gold wedding band glinted in the light.

  “No, Raymond, it’s not. It’s time this was said. We’ve ignored this for too long. Logan, you were in an impossible position when you were young, and your father feels horrible, but he has paid for it over and over for years. It was a slap in the face to him that you boys always sought out Logan when you were in trouble after he came home, and you still do.”

  Why was his mom bringing this up? Logan could feel Julia tensing beside him. He wanted his mom to move on, to stop this nonsense. This wasn’t the time to bring anything up. He didn’t miss Carrie as she glanced around the table, her face pink, picking up on the tension and complete dysfunction of this family. She probably wished she’d gone to her father’s or was anywhere else but here.

  “Mom, you’re making everyone uncomfortable,” Logan said. “Could we please just have dinner? Whatever this is you need to address, can we do it after, when little ears aren’t glued to everything you’re saying?”

  His mom glanced at the girls and took a breath, picking up her napkin and putting it in her lap. “Fair enough,” she said. “Let’s eat. Pass the potatoes, Raymond.”

  So what had happened to grace? Logan was about to reach for his glass to make another toast when Julia squeezed his leg.

  “Don’t,” she whispered.

  Chapter Ten

  As he followed his brothers into the living room, Logan couldn’t remember ever having been so full. Jake was lounging in the easy chair that Logan always sat in. He could hear Julia’s sweet voice directing Olivia, Margaret, and Carrie in the kitchen as they put away the leftovers and cleaned the mounds of dishes. The girls and Ryan were playing some board game they’d been given, and Logan popped on another Christmas CD. The strains of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” filled the room.

  Logan sat on the loveseat, and Samuel sat down beside him, rubbing his hand over his stomach. “It’s hot in here, or I ate too much. Probably both,” he said.

  Ben groaned and sat on the sofa. Joe was laughing at something one of the women had said in the kitchen, and then he, too, came into the living room with Raymond. Everyone walked as if they’d eaten way too much. Joe was holding a beer, and his dad was carrying a steaming coffee in one of Julia’s pink mugs.

  “Julia still in there, getting in the way?” Logan looked to Joe, who joined Ben on the sofa. Raymond stood in the middle of the room, looking at Logan, his left hand shoved in his pocket as he rocked forward on his toes.

  “She wants to help, but your mother won’t let her do too much,” Raymond said. “Don’t worry yourself. Julia’s in good hands with your mom here.”

  Joe shrugged at what his dad had said and lifted the bottle of beer to his lips. He swallowed before saying, “Margaret’s talking about setting up a practice in Post Falls.” He stretched out his leg, wiggling his white socked foot.

  “She’s getting back into medicine?” Logan asked. He’d thought Margaret would never get back into her career again after what happened.

  “I don’t know why. We’ve got a baby coming.” The way Joe said it, Logan was pretty sure he didn’t want his wife working. Joe’s ego was getting in the way again.

  “Thought she killed someone?” Raymond said, frowning.

  “Really, Dad?” Logan snapped. He glanced to the doorway, hoping Margaret hadn’t heard from the kitchen. He was glad he’d put on the CD.

  Joe was shaking his head, his expression dark. Margaret was a good woman with a good heart, and Joe was lucky to have found her. “She didn’t kill anyone, Dad. She was a surgeon. Something went wrong in surgery. Doctors screw up all the time. She just happened to get fired over it. She beat herself up for a long time and hid out at her grandfather’s place for months. She still carries the grief over what she did. She has a conscience, Dad, and she’s a damn good doctor. If it wasn’t for her, Ryan wouldn’t even be here. You don’t know this, but she saved him when he was injured on that damn horse we used to have.”

  Joe stopped as a smile crept over his father’s lips. Raymond lifted his coffee to his mouth and took a swallow. “Nice, Dad,” Joe said, shaking his head.

  Logan couldn’t help wondering what his dad’s game was.

  “Well, it was starting to sound like you want Margaret home, or is it that she has a better job than you?” Raymond said. Well, that was right to the point—and what Logan had been thinking. But his dad had said it first.

  “I’m just a feller, sell lumber, pick up jobs where I can to make ends meet. I don’t have a college degree, and I’m not interested in being supported by my wife,” Joe said, then waved his hand in front of his face. “Besides, we’re having a baby. This isn’t the time to be starting some high-stress career around a bunch of sick people.”

  “Sounds to me like the problem is your ego, Joe,” Ben said. “She’s a doctor. I say good for her for getting back on her feet after being kicked in the head.” He turned to Jake and Samuel. “And you two, what’s up with you? Don’t think I didn’t notice how you’ve avoided each other.” He glanced between them. Both had been unusually quiet. Only Logan knew the whole sordid stor
y.

  “I asked Jill to marry me,” Jake said. He cleared his throat, and both Ben and Joe looked at each other and frowned.

  “Who’s Jill?” Ben asked, looking to Logan. Of course Raymond didn’t miss the gesture, and this time he appeared annoyed.

  “You asked Jill, my girlfriend, to marry you?” Samuel snapped. He had leaned forward and was now sitting at the edge of the sofa, his fists flexing.

  “Excuse me, Samuel,” Joe said. “Aren’t you with Deena, remember, the girl of your dreams? Or is she the one who threw you out?”

  Logan hoped the women couldn’t hear over the music, as Jake and Samuel were starting to get loud.

  “No, she’s the broad he picked up in the bar in front of Jill, the dipshit’s way of blowing her off because he was getting cold feet,” Jake snapped, jabbing his finger at Samuel.

  “Hey, you two, knock it off.” Logan put his hand on Samuel’s arm. For a minute, he wondered whether his brother was going to shrug him off.

  “I was scared, is all. It didn’t mean I didn’t care. I made a mistake. Jill knows that.”

  “How the hell does Jill know? She knows you hurt her.” Jake was now standing, and the last thing Logan wanted was for his living room to be turned into an arena where Jake and Samuel would start throwing punches.

  “Jake, I told you you were playing with fire. And, Samuel, with what you did to Jill, you lost any right to have a say in who she sees.” Logan was standing between them as Samuel rose to his feet.

  “Well, you see, that’s where you’re wrong. Jill came to me and told me you asked her to marry you, but, brother, you’ll never have her—because it’s me she’s in love with.”

  Logan never saw it coming. Jake’s fist blew right past him and hit Samuel in the jaw, knocking him backwards over the coffee table, sending a lamp flying. The wood splintered, the lamp shattered, and then Jake was on top of Samuel, hitting his brother in the face over and over. There was yelling and shouting and craziness as Logan reached down at the same time Ben did, both of them pulling Jake off Samuel. Jake wasn’t an easy man to hold back, though. With all that muscle and rage, it took everything Logan and Ben had to keep him from knocking them over. Joe was helping Samuel up. He had blood coming from his mouth and a red mark around his eye, which was about to turn into a nice shiner.

  This was exactly what Logan had been afraid of: a woman playing one brother against the other.

  “Enough!” Olivia yelled, and Logan turned to see Julia wide eyed, her mouth open as she took in the broken lamp and table. Margaret, Carrie, and the kids had appeared, too. The girls gasped, and Ryan had a look of shock on his face but nodded as if he thought this Christmas brawl was something to be proud of.

  “Let me go.” Jake shrugged off Ben’s hand.

  “Only if you’re going to cool it,” Ben said, stepping in front of Jake so he couldn’t lunge at Samuel again. Jake shrugged off Logan’s hand, as well, and then stepped back, shaking out his fist, which already appeared to be swelling.

  “Oh no,” Julia said, and Logan glanced over to where she was standing. Her hand on her belly, she said, “My water just broke.” She glanced down at the floor, where a puddle pooled at her feet.

  Chapter Eleven

  “I don’t understand, honey. Why can’t we go to the hospital now?” Logan said. Julia was lying on her side on their bed, and he was rubbing her back.

  “Logan,” Margaret said. She was standing beside him, and she reached down and touched Julia’s shoulder. “I called her doctor in Arco, but there’s a weather advisory for more snow. It’s best to wait until morning. Besides, I don’t think you should be on the road this time of night. Everyone’s been drinking but me, and Julia’s contractions are close together. You could be delivering on the side of the road—or rather, I would be, and I’d rather not in this cold.”

  “I heard that, Margaret,” Julia said as she blew out another breath and groaned. “I don’t want to have my baby at home. I want a hospital where there are drugs for the pain.” She groaned again and squeezed the quilt when another contraction hit her.

  “Are you able to deliver the baby?” Logan looked up to Margaret. Of course she could. Stupid question. She was a surgeon, a neurologist—or had been.

  “She’ll be fine,” Margaret said. “Your mom’s here, too, but I need supplies. Does your sheriff’s department have a paramedic’s kit?”

  “Yeah, I’ll call Stevens. He’s a part-time paramedic and fireman, and he’s got a trauma bag. There’s one at the sheriff’s office, too.” Logan ran his hand over his head, worried about Julia, who lay there groaning as she rode through the pain of another contraction.

  “Margaret, I really need something. This really hurts!” Julia cried out.

  “Hey, it’s okay. I’m here,” Logan said as he knelt beside her.

  “Logan, I need that kit now,” Margaret said.

  “Margaret, I have some towels here,” Olivia said as she came into the bedroom. The door was open, and Logan could hear his family’s voices outside. “How’re you doing, honey?” Olivia asked, rubbing Julia’s arm.

  “Logan, kit, now,” Margaret urged him again.

  Maybe his mom knew, as she patted his arm. “Go, Logan. I’ll stay with Julia. Not much you can do but get in the way right now.”

  He could hear Julia crying out when another contraction hit, and he paused for a second as he stepped into the hall. Trinity and Dawn were lingering at the door to their room, wide eyed and panicked. He pulled the bedroom door closed, put his hands to their backs, and guided them into the living room. “Hey, you stay in here with your uncles,” he told them.

  Carrie was perched on Ben’s lap, and Joe was standing off to the side, talking to Samuel.

  “How’s Julia doing?” Raymond asked.

  “She’s having the baby—here, apparently. Jake, can you keep the girls here and distract them?”

  “You know, Logan, I’m capable of making sure they stay here,” Raymond said. “Honestly, I’m tired of you pushing me out of your lives. Ever since you were young, you’ve been doing this. I’m your father! You’re not Jake, Samuel, Ben, and Joe’s father—I am.”

  Logan couldn’t believe his dad was pulling this now.

  “Did you think I didn’t know you boys call Logan every time you’re in a jam?” Raymond continued. “Your mother knows, too, and it bothers her. It bothers me! I’ve looked the other way time after time. I’m your father, and I did the best I could, but we all make mistakes.”

  “Yeah, but you made one of the biggest when you cheated on mom and left us to starve. You made your bed—”

  “Enough, Logan. This isn’t the time,” Ben snapped. He glanced to the girls, still standing beside him.

  Maybe it wasn’t the time, but Logan had had it. He couldn’t believe his dad had the nerve to call him out now, of all times. It was damn selfish of him. “No, it isn’t the time, Dad. My wife is having a baby.”

  “You cheated on Mom?” Joe said, his expression filled with disbelief.

  Logan hadn’t wanted his brothers to know. “I’ve got to make a call,” he said quickly, and he turned around and froze when he saw his mother standing there, watching. Her face was pale and filled with hardness and hurt. Logan couldn’t help but feel lower than dung. How could he have said it?

  “Logan, Margaret is asking for that kit,” Olivia said slowly, looking at him but nowhere else.

  “Mom,” he started, but she held up her hand and shut her eyes.

  “No, Logan. Get the kit for Margaret. She needs it.”

  It didn’t take Logan long to call Stevens, who lived a few blocks away. He knew he would be here in ten to fifteen minutes, and as he listened to Julia cry out, Logan knew the only place he needed to be right now was in the bedroom with her. But the way he’d left things with his family, the hurt in his mother’s eyes that he’d never meant to put there…he’d done a lot of things he was ashamed of. He should have just let things be.

  He ste
pped back into the living room, and everyone turned and fell quiet. The tension in the air was pretty darn thick. His brothers’ faces flashed with a lot of emotion. Thankfully, the girls were distracted, playing cards with Ryan. What a mess this was.

  “Stevens is on his way with the trauma kit,” Logan said. “Can one of you let him in?”

  Ben nodded and started across the room after whispering something to Carrie. Their fingers touched, and he leaned in and kissed her. “Logan, I’ve always looked up to you,” he said quietly. “You know that, after what we’ve been through.” He glanced over his shoulder at Raymond, who was talking to Olivia. Her arms were crossed, her lips pressed tight.

  Then his mom reached out and patted Raymond’s shoulder before starting out of the living room. She stopped beside Ben, looking up first at him and then at Logan. “That wasn’t the time, Logan,” she said. “This was one of the things I wanted to clear the air about. The timing never seems to be right with this sort of thing. I knew your dad was seeing someone else. I’m not a fool, Logan. Small-town people talk. Your dad and I had separated.” She glanced down and then back up at Logan.

  “It’s was partly my fault, Logan—all this. I put way too much pressure on you. You were just a boy who suddenly had to be a man and look after your brothers. I guess it was wishful thinking on my part that when your dad and I decided to give it another try, everything could go back to the way it was. But you were never going to allow your dad to be a father to you again. I saw it but couldn’t accept it. I kept telling myself you’d come around eventually, but then you up and enlisted as soon as you were old enough. It was then I realized it was too late.” A tear slid down his mom’s cheek.

  “It’s my fault, Logan. Don’t put it all on your dad. We were just two young fools doing the best we could, and, like most parents, we hope we didn’t screw things up too badly.” She patted his arm. “Please, Logan, you need to make peace with your dad.”