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but to take every single job that came his way no matter how exhausted he was or
how much he d rather be able to sleep in with his wife in the morning, spend the day
playing with his sons and making them smile, but he couldn t.
When he d sold his investments, he d expected to have to support a wife, maybe a
servant or two, but twins? Christ, he d never expected to have boys that could eat
more than most grown men. Right now they were fine, he could afford to keep a roof
over their heads, clothes on their backs and their bellies comfortably full, but he knew
that could all change at any time. If he got hurt or sick, then he wouldn t be able to
provide for his family and that absolutely terrified him.
So, he took as many jobs as he could, pretended that he wasn t exhausted and saved
every penny that he to make sure that his family would be well taken care of if
anything ever happened to him. It was his job to provide for his family and to keep
them safe, not Elizabeth s. He wasn t working day and night so that she could do that
same. He wanted her well taken care of, happy and able to enjoy herself.
One of them should be able to, he thought with a resigned sigh as he gently placed her
on the edge of the bed. Ignoring her muttered protests that everything was fine, he
set about wiping her tears away, pressing a kiss to her trembling chin as he carefully
undressed her. He knew that she was exhausted when she couldn t even come up with
the energy to argue with him as he finally slipped her chemise off and gently pulled on
one of his old cotton shirt over her head, her favorite shirt to sleep in. She did however
release an adorable little sniffle that had him biting back a smile as he pulled the
covers back and helped her crawl between the covers. Before her head hit the pillow,
her eyes were closed and she was softly snoring.
 Ah, minx, he said with a small smile and a sigh as he leaned over and pressed a kiss
to the tip of her nose.  What the hell would I do without you? he asked no one in
particular, not really expecting an answer because he already knew it.
He wouldn t survive without her.
She meant everything to him, absolutely everything. She was his heart, his soul, the
reason why he pushed himself so hard to make a better life for their family. He loved
and adored his boys, but Elizabeth&
She was his everything.
And so far, he d failed her. He d taken her from everything she knew, gave her
absolutely no choice but to start a new life whether she wanted to or not and now she
was exhausting herself trying to prove that she could handle this new life. Tomorrow,
things were going to change, but for right now, he was going to make sure that his
wife got the rest that she desperately needed.
He pulled off his boots, shoved his pants down, and pulled off his shirt, tossing it on
the chair in the corner and crawled in bed behind her, determined to make sure that
she was well rested for their trip.
 You really are going to be the death of me, minx, he whispered, half joking as he
pulled her in his arms, kissed her neck and gave in to the exhaustion that had been
plaguing him for months. He was just starting to fall asleep when the light scratching
at the door caught his attention.
 Sorry, Mr. Bradford, sir, but Mrs. Kinnley just sent a messenger. It seems that there
was a fire in her kitchen this morning and she has no way to heat the house or cook
for the children until it s fixed, one of timid girls that Mrs. Brown had hired from
town hesitantly announced from the safety of the other side of the door, making him
realize that he was going to have to put off catching up on his sleep for a little while
longer.
Chapter 4
The Next Day&
 No! Noah said firmly with a glare as he folded his little arms over his chest and
glared up at Robert, matching his brother Shaun s glare exactly as Robert stood there,
wondering why he d even bothered to try and reason with his sons.
 She stays, Shaun bit out before his eyes narrowed dangerously on Robert,  you can
go.
Biting back a few words that would have his wife going for his balls, Robert pinched
the bridge of his nose, trying to ignore the headache that exhaustion and the leftover
fumes from the Kinnley house had bombarded him with, and focused on the two little
boys standing in front of him, making the warning very clear.
If he tried to leave with their mother, they would kill him.
Or at the very least, do their best to beat the shit out of him and make him rethink
ever coming between them and their mother again. Robert took a slow, deep steadying
breath, praying for patience this morning, but by the time that he caught his boys
sharing one of their secret, and admittedly terrifying looks, it was too late.
 She stays, Noah said with an evil little smile just as his brother s lower chin began
to tremble and his big green eyes filled with unshed tears. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]