Standing His Ground: Greer (Porter Brothers Trilogy 2)

“Thank you, Pastor.”

“You’re welcome. Are you staying for fellowship?”

“I’d like to, but it looks like Greer is finished talking to Jo, and he’s ready to leave.” Holly shot the pastor an apologetic smile when Greer got in his truck and started laying on his horn. Of course, he had waited until Jo had pulled out of the parking lot.

“I’ll see you next Sunday, then.” Pastor excused himself, going to talk to the other parishioners.

When Greer blew his horn again, she jumped up from the bench and called to Logan.

“Why can’t I stay?” Logan complained breathlessly.

“Your uncle Greer is the one who’s in a hurry.”

Logan stopped protesting, meekly running toward Greer’s truck.

“You hard of hearing? What was taking so long?”

Holly helped Logan into the truck, then climbed in herself. “I was talking to the pastor.”

“Like that’s going to do you much good.”

His callous words had her going pale. “What does that mean?” She turned sideways in her seat to see Logan watching the interaction between them.

“You know what it means.”

If he weren’t driving, she would have struck him.

Sitting forward, she mutely stared out the window as Greer asked Logan if he wanted to go fishing.

“Yay!”

“I’ll change my clothes when we get home.”

“Can Daddy and Uncle Tate come?”

“Yep. Your pa should be out of bed, and I’ll call Tate.”

“I’m going to catch a big fish, Holly, just like I did last time. This time, you have to watch me get the hook out of its mouth. I’ll be careful—”

“She ain’t coming.”

“Why not?”

The silence in the cab was tangible.

“Holly?” the little boy asked uncertainly.

“I have some cleaning to do. I’ll ask your father to take some pictures for me.”

The silent journey wasn’t over soon enough for her. As soon as Greer brought the truck to a stop, she jumped out.

Greer rolled down his window. “You trying to break your neck?”

She wanted to scream at him that he wouldn’t care if she did. Conscious of Logan listening, though, she went inside, leaving the door open for them.

Dustin was sprawled out on the couch, watching television. He took one look at her angry face and sat up. “What’s wrong?”

Logan didn’t give her time to answer as he came running into the house. “We’re going fishing!”

Dustin stared at Logan’s ecstatic face, then Greer’s unconcerned one, and drew his own conclusions.

“If we’re going fishing, you need to change your clothes.”

“Okay.” Logan started to go to his room.

“Shut your door and watch one of your movies until we’re ready to go,” Dustin instructed him before he could get out of earshot.

“Can I color instead?” he yelled out.

“Yes, and lower your voice.”

Holly waited for the door to shut before she set her purse down on the counter. “Dustin, may I please talk to you alone?”

“You got something to say to my brother, you can say it in front of me.”

She knew that was coming. “Fine. I’m going to make your day.” Giving Greer her back, she focused on Dustin. “Tomorrow, I’m going to start searching for an apartment.”

“What in the hell happened at church?”

Holly put up a hand to stop Dustin from saying anything. She was determined to say her piece.

“I love Logan more than I love my own life.” She dug her nails into her palms to keep from bursting into tears and giving Greer that satisfaction. “I can’t keep living my life as an apology to you, Greer, and Tate. It isn’t fair to me or Logan. I know you love Greer, and I don’t want you to have to choose between him and me, and I certainly don’t want Logan to have to do that.

“It will be better if I find an apartment, and if you’re willing, give me visitation. I could keep him after school until you get off. He spends most of the nights playing with you, so he won’t even miss me.” A sob nearly escaped her, but she choked it back to finish. “You like going out on Saturday nights. I could keep him for you and bring Logan back after church. If this doesn’t work for you, then maybe we can work out something else. When I find an apartment, both of us can sit down with Logan and have a talk with him.”

“Holly—”

“If you’ll excuse me, I want to wash my hair, and I have a few things I need to get done around the house.”

She left the two brothers staring after her. It was going to be hard not living with Logan, but it would be better than living with Greer. It was only a matter of time before he figured out how much she cared about him, since it was becoming more difficult every day, even with the escalating tension between them.

As she closed her door, she was able to hear Greer and Dustin arguing. Holly turned on her television then went into her bathroom and turned on the water so they would think she was washing her hair. Instead, she sat down on the side of the tub and cried.