Page 11 of A Wilde Christmas

“What if I can’t do it?” The question burst out of Davey almost without his permission.

When Jude looked at him in stunned surprise, he bit the inside of his cheek to keep from spilling more of his insecurities. He’d always been the responsible son. The steady one. The reasonable one. The reliable one. Admitting that he didn’t feel like any of those things right now contradicted all his claims that he was okay. He couldn’t admit, even to his dad, that he felt like both a personal and professional failure.

Jude said nothing for a beat. “See, this is why I worry. The Davey I know doesn’t understand the wordcan’t. From the moment you opened your eyes, you’ve been a warrior. Stubborn, determined… completely undaunted by any challenge thrown at you. You were fearless. You’re the reason your mother has to dye her hair.”

He released his breath in a huff of laughter. “No, c’mon, you can’t lay that on me. We both know that was Dominic’s doing.”

“Yeah, that kid gave us both plenty of gray hairs.” Chuckling, Jude paused to clean up after the dog. “Greer says Dominic is karma finally biting me in the ass for that wayward youth I said I wouldn’t talk about.”

“You were annoying as hell, weren’t you?”

“Oh, yeah. Still am. Ask my brothers.” He dumped the poop bag in a nearby trashcan, and they turned together to go back to the house. “But I’ve toned it down. Guess everyone grows up eventually. Dom will, too.”

“You know, I hope not,” Davey decided. “I hope he keeps that annoying cheerfulness and doesn’t become jaded like the rest of us.”

“Yeah, me too.”

They walked in silence until they reached the driveway, and Jude let Luka off the leash to run in the yard. He watched the dog for a moment with a smile. “You have a good dog.”

“The best.”

“I’m glad you’re not alone.”

Davey didn’t know what to say to that, so he dug his car keys out of his pocket. “I’ll come back in the morning for gifts. Elliot and Dom said they would, too. Give my love to mom.”

“Hey.” Jude grabbed him and pulled him in for a tight hug. “Something’s happened to our family over the last few years. We’re splintering, and that’s a problem because we Wildes work better as a team. Greer has faith in you, but Iknowyou. You’re worried you’re not good enough and will let everyone down. You’re terrified of failing, which is how I know you won’t fail. I know you’re the only man for this job, and you will not rest until you’ve solved all of the family’s problems. But remember to take care of yourself, too. Lean on your brothers and cousins when you need to. Talk to me or your uncles when you need to. You don’t have to shoulder the world alone.”

Davey returned the hug. “Thanks, Dad.”

Jude pulled back and cupped his face. “Somehow, you got all the best parts of your mother and me—and none of my many flaws. I’m unbelievably proud of the man you’ve become, and I’m so happy you’re home with us.”

“I’m glad to be home,” he said around the sudden hard knot in his throat and realized he actually meant it. He’d fought against it, but he’d needed to come home. He’d needed to be with his family, despite how loud and crazy and fragmented they were.

And now, he needed to piece them back together.

Hecoulddo this.

He waited until his dad was safely inside the house, then called Luka. Happy and covered in snow, the dog bolted into the passenger seat.

Davey shut the door and circled the hood, climbing behind the wheel. He smirked at Luka’s snow-crusted muzzle and grabbed a towel from the backseat to knock some of the snowballs out of his fur. “Found a snowbank to jump in, did ya? You look like you had fun.”

Luka wagged.

“At least one of us did.” He tossed the towel back into the backseat and cranked on the car’s engine, blasting the heat on high.

Only then did he remember the email.

As the car heated, he pulled out his phone and accessed his company account again. Since he never used this address, the inbox was empty, save for a bunch of company-wide announcements and one with a subject line that instantly snagged his attention.

New Personal Protection Client: Bristow, Gabe.

What?

Why would Gabe Bristow need protection? He was one of Uncle Vaughn’s old SEAL teammates and ran an elite mercenary team specializing in hostage recovery. He was the king of badasses and one of the most intimidating people Davey had ever met.

He opened the email, and his stomach dropped. Gabe didn’t need protection. He was just the client hiring Wilde Security to protect?—

His daughter.

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