Christmas Secrets Collection. Laura Iding

the master bedroom.

      Because he cared about her? Or was starting to love her?

      Swallowing hard, she simply nodded, knowing she still wanted to share a bedroom with him, badly.

      “So this is what you were working on while I was in the hospital,” she guessed, changing the subject to something safer. No wonder he’d looked so awful those few days, as if he hadn’t had any sleep. By the extent of the completed nursery, he couldn’t have slept much if at all. “Not just the Christmas decorations, but the nursery, too.”

      “Yeah. I wanted it all to be a surprise.” He looked uncomfortable for a few moments, then said, “I’m going to take a short nap as I’m working tonight.”

      “Of course. Use the bedroom. Don’t argue,” she interjected, as he opened his mouth to do just that. “It’s going to be difficult enough for you to sleep in the middle of the day, especially with how sunny it is, without trying to do that in the middle of the living room.”

      He hesitated, but then acquiesced, murmuring, “Thanks,” as he headed into the bedroom, gently closing the door behind him.

      Alyssa felt curiously lonely without Jadon’s presence. In fact, suddenly she felt very much like the guest and not someone who belonged here. She tried to rest for a bit in the living room, thrilled at the festive atmosphere, but then found herself going back into the nursery and picking up one of the matching pink elephants as she settled into the rocking chair. It was all too easy to imagine how cozy things would be once the girls came home.

      But this arrangement was only temporary, wasn’t it?

      They couldn’t just simply share parenting duties and nothing else. A family in name only? No, it would never work.

      She loved him too much.

      And she wanted a happy family. And Jadon’s love, forever. She wanted it all.

      For the first time in months, since the day she’d discovered she was pregnant and had been unable to get in touch with Jadon, she allowed tears to slip down her cheeks.

      Her heart and soul ached for what she’d never have.

      Jadon couldn’t sleep. Sleeping in the middle of the day had never been easy for him but, with everything seemingly falling apart around him, rest was more elusive than ever.

      He stared at the ceiling over his bed, trying not to relive the moment when Alyssa had seen the nursery, her eyes lighting up with excitement and pleasure.

      He’d once hoped she’d feel as if she belonged here. With him. With the girls, too.

      Marriage was such a huge step. One he hadn’t planned on taking. Alyssa deserved marriage, full commitment. Because they’d made a family with Grace and Gretchen.

      Yet Jack was family, too. His brother.

      His cell phone rang, startling him badly, making him swear under his breath at how he’d forgotten to silence the ringer as he fumbled in his discarded clothes for the instrument.

      His stomach twisted when he realized the caller was his mother. “Mom? What’s wrong? Jack can’t possibly be out of the hospital already?”

      “No, nothing is wrong,” she quickly assured him. “Ah, actually, we’re here to see you.”

      “Here? In Cedar Bluff?” Jadon shot out of bed, frantically searching for his pants, imagining his parents were right now standing outside his front door.

      “Yes, we’re at a restaurant on Main Street. What’s it called, Josh?” she asked his father. “Oh, yes, The Spinnaker. The food was excellent.”

      He tugged on his pants, cradling the phone between his shoulder and his ear, hardly able to believe his parents had shown up in Cedar Bluff. “Ah, okay. That’s not far away.”

      “We were hoping we could come to your house and then visit the babies, Grace and Gretchen.”

      Momentarily closing his eyes, he let out a soundless sigh. Of course they wanted to visit the babies. He couldn’t blame them. But he needed to talk to Alyssa about this, too. So much for keeping his two families separate. “Why don’t you come here first to meet Alyssa?”

      “That would be nice,” his mother agreed, sounding excited.

      He gave her directions that she repeated for his father. He hung up and sank down onto the edge of his bed, running his fingers nervously through his hair. He was nervous. What would Alyssa think?

      His parents hadn’t brought Jack, but what if Jack discovered the news about the twins? He’d want to see them, too.

      There was no use dwelling on all the complications. He had to deal with his parents first.

      He pulled himself together and finished getting dressed. He opened his bedroom door and hesitated, seeing the nursery door was still ajar, and went with his instincts to search for Alyssa in there.

      He saw her sitting in the rocking chair, clutching one of the pink elephants to her chest, tears glistening in streaks down her cheeks.

      “Alyssa? What’s wrong?” Alarmed, he crossed the room to kneel beside her.

      “Nothing. Everything.” She swiped at her eyes, offering a pathetic attempt at a smile.

      He couldn’t stand it. Rising to his feet, he took her hand and drew her up and into his arms. “Shh, it’s okay. Everything is going to be fine.”

      She buried her face against his chest, shaking her head as if she disagreed with him.

      “Yes, it will. I promise.” He kissed the top of her head, smoothing a hand down her back, offering comfort in the only way he knew how. He wasn’t sure how he’d fix it, but he wanted to find a way. For her.

      Slowly the tension eased out of her body and she melted against him in a way that caused his own body to harden in awareness. Knowing that intimacy was impossible for more reasons than just one, he forced himself to ignore the discomfort.

      The doorbell pealed. Alyssa lifted her head from his chest.

      “Someone’s here,” she said, rubbing her face as if to erase the evidence of her tears.

      “My parents.”

      “Your parents?” Her gaze widened in shock.

      “I’ll get rid of them if you want me to.”

      Just that quickly, the shocked surprise turned into exasperation. She swiped the dampness from her face. “They’re your parents. You can’t just get rid of them. Not when they’ve come all this way to see you.”

      Still unsure, he nodded. Maybe one, slightly dysfunctional family was better than trying to divide his time between two families? There was only one way to find out. He held out his hand. “Come on, I’d like to introduce you.”

      She trustingly placed her hand in his. “I thought they were divorced?” she asked as they walked into the living room.

      “They are, but I think maybe they’re working on getting back together.” Jadon still was a little surprised by that revelation himself. The absence of a wedding ring on his dad’s hand and the way he seemed to be renewing a relationship with his mother had convinced him his dad had ditched his second wife. Or, more likely, she’d ditched him.

      He opened the front door to find his parents anxiously waiting on the front porch. “Come on in, Mom. Dad.”

      His parents entered the house, their gazes immediately seeking Alyssa, who stood near the center of the living room.

      “Alyssa, these are my parents, Janet and Josh Reichert,” he said, performing the introductions. “Mom, Dad, this is Alyssa Knight.”

      Alyssa’s tremulous smile betrayed