Standing His Ground: Greer (Porter Brothers Trilogy 2)

Greer tore off his wet shirt, throwing it onto the deck with a splat. Lying back, he then floated lazily as his brothers stared down at him.

“She seems a little pissed at you.” Tate took off his shoes before sitting down on the deck to put his feet in the pool.

“Cannonball!” Dustin yelled, jumping off the diving board to douse them. After he managed to get the water out of his eyes, he ducked his brother before he could swim away. When Dustin surfaced, he smacked him on the back. “Congratulations, bro. I knew you were smarter than everyone said you were.”

Greer stared at his relatives’ sheepish expressions, seeing Holly and Logan had come back outside. Holly had her swimsuit on with an ugly lime cover-up hiding the gifts God had gifted her.

“Who said I was stupid?” Greer asked suspiciously, seeing her turn around and go back inside, leaving Logan with a muttered excuse.

None of his family wanted to admit their disloyalty.

“What’s this?” Greer asked.

When Dustin turned his head back toward him, he piledrove water into his face.

Logan laughed so hard he held his belly. He then went to the edge of the pool, holding his arms out to his father.

Greer climbed out of the pool to grab a towel.

Cash, holding Ema, got into the pool to join the fun.

“Are you getting in?” Greer asked Rachel, wrapping a towel around his shoulders.

“Not right now. I’m still a little queasy.” His sister had suffered with Ema’s pregnancy, and this one didn’t seem to be any better.

He reached out, placing a hand on Rachel’s abdomen.

“Greer, what if my baby is the one Dustin’s been dreaming about?”

He connected with the small soul that was beneath his palm. “It’s not.” He dropped his hand, starting to look away.

Rachel grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at her. “What did you see?”

“Nothing.”

“Tell me.” Rachel’s hand tightened on his chin.

He could never get anything past his sister. “Do you really want me to tell you?”

Rachel’s hand fell. “It’s a girl, isn’t it?”

“Cash doesn’t care if it’s a girl or a boy,” he tried to reassure, seeing he wasn’t being successful.

“I know … It’s just, I know how much he wants a boy. That’s why he kept convincing me to get pregnant again so soon after Ema.”

Greer shook his head. That was one worry he could dispel.

“That isn’t why he wanted you to have another baby. Cash won’t feel safe until he has you tied with a dozen kids so you can’t run off again.”

“He doesn’t think like—”

“Yes, Rachel, he does. Maybe not that you won’t run off, but that you realize you don’t love him and will leave him.”

Rachel swayed, and Greer caught her around the waist. She leaned her head against his shoulder; a low sob sounded in his ear.

“You’re sure?”

“Positive.” Greer heard the splash of water and the sound of bare feet hitting the deck. “He loves you, sister. When he sees you, he thinks of a fox.”

Rachel raised her head from his shoulder, her eyes twinkling. “He calls me Vixen.”

Greer lowered his voice, so Cash couldn’t hear him as he approached. “What do foxes do when you try to catch them?” Greer answered for her, “They run.” He stepped away to leave the couple alone, going inside to change out of his dripping jeans.

Holly was in the kitchen, making a tray of lemonade.

“You’re dripping water all over the floor,” she reprimanded him.

When she turned to pick up the tray, he tugged the belt loose that was holding her wrap closed.

“That’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen. It would blind a dead man.”

Her jaw clenched. “Give that back.”

“No.”

Before she could stop him, he jerked the wrap off her then stretched his arm up, so she couldn’t reach it. When she tried to jump up to get it, he looked down, enjoying the view, until she stopped, seeing what his eyes were trained on.

“You’re a jerk. You know that, right?”

Greer leered down at her, twisting her wrap like a towel then laying it across his shoulders. Picking up the duffel bag of clothes that Dustin had brought him, he went toward her bedroom, giving a parting shot that guaranteed she wouldn’t follow to get her wrap back.

“I may be a jerk, but you love me, anyway.”

He changed into his swimsuit then joined the others in the pool. Tate ran to the store, coming back with hot dogs to grill as they enjoyed the Saturday afternoon. When it grew dark, they started leaving until only Logan and Dustin remained.

When Holly came downstairs, leaving Dustin to give Logan a bath, Greer gave her a kiss before going to the door.

“You’re leaving?”

“It’s late. I thought you would want to go to bed.”

“I thought I would have to convince you to leave.” She looked embarrassed at her admission.

“Kind of stole your thunder, huh?”