Standing His Ground: Greer (Porter Brothers Trilogy 2)

“Don’t let it worry you. We both know what happened, and that’s what counts.”

“Yes, it is.” She walked back behind the desk on her impossibly high heels. “So, did you just stop by to see me, or are you here to see Knox?”

“Knox called me to come in for a talk. You know what it’s about?”

She frowned. “No, there aren’t any warrants out for you, so you should be good. You can go right into his office; he isn’t busy.”

“Thanks, and tell Ezra I said hey.”

“I will.”

Greer lost his affable expression as he strode into Knox’s private office, unperturbed by the sheriff’s face when he saw him walking inside uninvited.

“You could have knocked.”

“Ms. Combs said you weren’t busy.” He sat brazenly down in the chair in front of his desk without asking. “What you need to see me about?”

Knox’s face tightened. “I have a position open for a deputy, and I wanted to ask if you were interested?”

“Diamond put you up to asking me?”

“Yes.”

Greer laughed. “Then you can tell her I turned you down.” Greer started to stand up.

“Diamond may have asked me to hire you, but I think you would be a good pick for the position. I can’t fight the drug problem here alone. I’m spending my time chasing down chicken killers and copper thefts.”

“I have a record.”

“I had it expunged.”

“You can do that?”

“I can do a lot of things.”

“It’s tempting. I wouldn’t mind locking up a few of the Hayes and Colemans.”

“You have to find the evidence. I can’t just lock them up because you hate them. I’d have to lock up half the town.”

“That’s fair, and you don’t have to worry about the chickens anymore. I dealt with that. You kept your word and didn’t tell Diamond about the chickens?”

“I said I wouldn’t.” Knox met his eyes. “Since we’ll be working together, it’s important for us to build a relationship based on trust.”

Greer grinned, getting his meaning. “I won’t stick my nose in your extracurricular activities if you don’t stick yours in mine.”

Knox nodded. “You’ll have to take training classes. When you pass them, I’ll put you on the schedule.”

“I don’t work nights or weekends, or holidays. I’d be willing to work part-time about ten hours a week.”

Knox’s eyes narrowed on him. “We work on rotating shifts.”

“I don’t. I’ll tell you what; I’ll work one weekend a month.”

“One holiday, and I’ll need you to give me at least thirty hours a month,” Knox countered.

“My extracurricular activities need monitoring. I’ll do twenty-five hours a week for you, one weekend a month, and I’ll even throw in one holiday as long as it ain’t Christmas.”

“You want me to call Holly and tell her you only want to work twenty-five hours a week?”

“You want me to call Diamond and tell her she’s pregnant and doesn’t need to take those lunch breaks to get knocked up?”

“How do you know she’s pregnant?”

Greer raised his brow at him. “I took Holly to work today, stopped in Diamond’s office to say hi.”

“She must have been thrilled.”

Greer ignored his sarcastic tone of voice.

“I don’t know how you’ve been fooling her with that pregnancy stick, but she’s got a bun in the oven. You must not want to give up what she’s giving you for lunch,” he wisecracked, tickled at his humor. Who said he didn’t have a sense of humor?

Knox’s jaw clenched. “I’ll call when I get the results of your test back.”

“You do that.” Greer stood up deciding he had given him enough of his time.

“Wait, can you make me another batch of that protein powder you made for me? Rider wants you make him a batch of it, too.”

“You liked it? I told you, you would,” he boasted.

“It better not have any illegal substances…”

“Nope, not one. Nothing that doesn’t grow in my own backyard.”

“Greer…”

He sighed. “I told you, the powder is a mix of my own herbs, roots, and plants I grind up that will help you build your strength, endurance, and build body mass. I’ve been using it on my weed, making it into a liquid to make them grow bigger; figured what works on weed could work for you. I’ve had to come up with something to replace the garlic. It didn’t bother me, but everyone else in the house kept complaining about me smelling.”

“Make me a month’s supply. Between your powder and my lunch breaks, I’ve never felt better.”

“Really?” Greer thought through the ingredients. “Let me know if it has the same effect on Rider’s dick; that way, I know about the benefits before I start marketing it.”

“Don’t tell me I’ve been your guinea pig?”

“Naw.” Greer waved that suggestion away. “You’ve been more like a bear.”

He hightailed it out of Knox’s office, grousing that no one got his sense of humor.

Making his way to Diamond’s office, where he had left his truck, he saw an older gentleman come out of the pharmacy.