Playing with Words (Boggy Creek Valley 2)

Taking her hand in mine, I tried to give her a reassuring smile. “If you have an agreement with him in writing, you have nothing to worry about.”

Greer looked away, chewing nervously on her lower lip.

A feeling of dread crept over me, and I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and force her to look at me. Instead, I placed my finger beneath her chin and gently brought her gaze back to mine. “You do have it in writing, right?”

She sheepishly looked down at her hands and then back up to me. “No, not exactly. It’s all been verbal.”

I thought my mouth might hit the floor. “Verbal? It’s only verbal? The agreed-on buying price? The lease to own? You’ve got nothing in writing?”

Tears pooled in her eyes as reality started to settle in. “He wouldn’t do that to me, Hudson. He wouldn’t.”

Greer had clearly never seen what the power of money could do to a person. I had seen it firsthand, more than once. This wonderful, beautiful, trusting woman had never been taken advantage of—and she’d left her future in the hands of a man who could change his mind at any moment.

I laced her fingers with mine and smiled. “Don’t worry. It’ll all be okay.”

She forced a smile. “That’s what I told Kyle.”

“If you want, I can go with you to talk to Mr. Brooks.”

“That would be nice, thank you.” She exhaled slowly. “Now, enough of this. I want to enjoy myself. Let’s go dance again.”

Standing, I pulled her into my arms and kissed her. “Your wish is my command.”

Greer

There was a knock on my office door, and I glanced up to see Candace standing there with a stern look on her face. “You’re supposed to be off today.”

I groaned. “I am, I am. I needed to look at one thing. I’m about to meet Hudson and his family to go on a hike. Oh, and guess what?”

Candace raised a perfectly arched brow. “I don’t think I’ve seen you this happy since I’ve known you.”

Standing, I rounded the desk and placed my hands against my hot cheeks—otherwise I thought I might screech like a teenager. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy, Candace. I wasn’t even stressed about not being at the bookstore today.”

“Riiight. That’s why you’re in your office right now.”

I waved my hand to dismiss her. “I only came down to add up the rent payments I’ve made to Tom since I purchased Turning Pages.”

“Why do you need to know that?”

“It’s a long story. I’ll fill you in on Monday morning. I need to get going, and Kyle will be here shortly to pick me up.”

“Wait, Kyle’s going with you guys?”

I spun back around and faced her. “Yes! That’s what I wanted to tell you. Hudson’s sister, Everly, came into town to surprise him. She and Kyle have hit it off, so Hudson invited him to come hiking with us.”

Candace smirked as she tilted her head. “Well, well, well. Look at the two Larson kiddos, falling for the two Higgins kiddos. Isn’t this a nice little picture.”

I laughed. “It should be interesting. I just hope Kyle knows he can’t…you know.”

“Hit it and quit it?”

My jaw dropped open, and I blinked rapidly a few times. “Yeah. What you said. Change of subject: How are things with you and Will?”

A wide smile erupted on her face. “He’s good. He’s stopping by later to bring me lunch. I thought that was sweet.”

“That is sweet. I feel bad you’re working for me today.”

Candace frowned. “Greer Larson, I’m only here half a day. Now get your ass out of here and go enjoy yourself!”

Laughing, I held up my hands in defense. “I’m going! I’m going! Have fun at your lunch with Will today.”

“Oh, I will. I’m thinking we’ll sneak upstairs, dash into the section that’s draped off for the remodel, get in a quickie, and then be back downstairs before Emily even notices I’m gone.”

I stared at her for a few moments before I started to laugh. “Funny.”

When she didn’t respond, I took a step closer. “You’re not being serious, are you?”

She rolled her eyes and pushed me toward the door that led up to my place. “Like I would have sex up there. Please, the storage room would be much hotter.”

“Candace!”

She pushed me out the door. “Get going.”

As I walked out, I called back, “No sex in the bookstore!”

“Maybe you should follow your own rules!” she countered.

I stilled, peeked at her through the cracked door, and watched as she left my office with what I was sure was a victorious expression on her face.

Damn that woman.

Before we went hiking, we all stopped by Boggy Creek Apple Orchard. I was dying for Hudson to meet Willa, Aiden, and Ben.

“Wow, this place is crowded!” Everly said as she quickly stepped out of the way of two kids running toward the tractor trailer that was about to take everyone on a tour of the orchard.