Greer pushed the lever down on the toaster, ignoring Holly’s coffee cup hitting the counter.

“You just ate two pieces of toast.” She swept a swath of hair behind her ear nervously.

“What does it matter if I make some more? You have half a loaf left.” Greer ignored her harassed look, going to the refrigerator for the jelly.

“You know why. I want you to leave before Dustin and Logan get here. They’ll be here any minute.”

“Then you’re shit out of luck if you want me to be quiet about me spending the night with you. I texted Dustin last night when you went to sleep, telling him that I stayed here last night.” Getting a butter knife out of a drawer, he scraped a large dollop of jelly onto the toast as he saw the fiery red blush stain her cheeks.

“Tell me you didn’t.”

He leaned back against the counter, taking a bite of his toast. “Why not? I don’t have anything to hide.”

Her blush deepened at the hidden meaning behind his words. “You said you wouldn’t tell them if I agreed to marry you.”

“I agreed not to tell them that you’re Kentuckygirl, not that I was fucking you.”

Frustrated, Holly sat down on one of the chairs at the kitchen counter, while he continued eating his toast.

“You thought we were going to sneak around? Monday, we’re going to buy a ring. And we’re going to get married as soon as I can arrange it.”

She started shaking her head. “Engagements usually last a year.”

Greer finished his toast, dropping the knife into the sink. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen. We’re getting hitched by the end of the month.”

“That’s just a couple of weeks away!”

“Now you’re getting my message.” He folded his arms across his chest, refusing to change his mind at her horrified expression. “Are you ashamed of me?”

“No! It’s not that. It’s just … Don’t you think that they’ll think it’s strange that one minute you’re talking about marrying other women, and then you spent the night with me?”

Greer raised a brow at her. “Since when do I give a fuck about what anyone thinks?”

“Six months is the soonest—” Her eyes widened at the sound of the doorbell. She practically leaped out of her stool. “Button up your shirt!” she snapped, going toward the hallway that led to the front door.

“Lord have mercy, woman. You’re acting like my kin ain’t never seen my chest before,” he snapped back as he followed her.

She spun around, barreling into his chest. “Who else is at that door beside Dustin and Logan?”

“Tate, Sutton, Cash, and Ra—”

“Your whole family is out there?”

“Yeah.”

She started to change directions, trying to go around him so she could escape to her room. Greer grabbed her around the waist, turning her back toward the door.

“Go.”

She reluctantly went to answer the door. When she hesitated, though, he reached around her and opened it.

Logan came running in, hugging Holly as if he hadn’t seen her the night before. “Why don’t you have your swimsuit on? You didn’t forget you promised me we could swim, did you?”

“I didn’t forget. I just didn’t expect everyone to get here so early.”

Rachel came in, giving her a quick hug. “It’s my fault, I’m afraid. Sorry. Greer said we have two weeks to plan your wedding, so we need to get started.”

Greer moved away from her reach as all his family started congratulating her.

“Who all did you text last night?” she snapped as Dustin hugged her then moved away so that Sutton could take her turn.

Greer grinned, reaching down to lift Logan into his arms. “Your dad tell you Holly’s talked me into marry her?”

Logan nodded, putting his hand on his shoulder to keep his balance. “She ain’t going to make me a ring bearer, is she? Johnny said his mom made him. He said everyone pinched his cheeks and told him how cute he looked.”

“Boy, you think I’d let her embarrass you like that?” When he saw Logan’s relief, he decided to tease him. “I told her that we didn’t want anyone there but me and her.”

When his face drooped with disappointment, Greer carried him toward the sliding glass door. Opening it, he went to the pool and held him over it, pretending to drop him.

Giggling, his nephew tried holding on to his arms to keep from falling into the water.

“I thought you wanted to go swimming?”

“It’s the deep end!”

Greer saw Holly storming toward him.

“Woman, chill out!” Setting Logan down on the pool deck, he said, “I was just play—”

One second, he was placating his fiancée, and the next, he was spitting out water.

“Wo—”

“Quit calling me woman! You know my name, use it!” she snarled down at him. “And we’re waiting six months before we’re getting married.” Taking Logan’s hand, she stalked back into the house, leaving his relatives gaping behind her.

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?”

“Yes.”

He brought his hand to the nape of her neck, tugging her toward him. Then he delicately traced his tongue over her lips as if exploring a fragile flower petal he could crush. Subtly, he used his tongue to part the bloom of his flower, seeking the essence of her, breathing in the faint scent of honey.

He pulled her tighter against his chest, so her sensitive breasts would ignite the fire he was seeking. When her knees buckled, forcing her to grip his upper arms, he knew it was working. He gradually pressed harder on her lips, turning the kiss from a good-night one to a tongue fucking that had her gasping and standing on her toes to twine her fingers through his hair and pull him down to her.

With a final thrust of his tongue that had his tongue raking under hers, he broke the kiss to step back.

She blinked up at him until he had to take the hands clutching him like a lifeline, releasing himself from her grasp before he changed his mind and dragged her to Lucky’s house to make the pastor marry them tonight.

“Good night.” He left abruptly before the temptation was more than he could handle.

Aware of the outside camera surveillance, he went to his truck. Sure no one could see inside the dark interior, he placed his shaking hands on the steering wheel.

He stared at Mrs. Langley’s house, seeing the living room light go out. Ten minutes later, he saw the whole house grow dark.

Reaching for his cell phone, he pushed a button that speed dialed the man he wanted.

“Shade.”

“I know who you are,” he said, holding his phone next to his ear.

“Did you call me just to insult me?”

“No. I’m calling to make sure you do your job, and that there isn’t a way in hell anyone can break into Mrs. Langley’s house.”

“You’re sitting in your truck in front of the house; do I need to say anything more?”

Shade’s cold voice didn’t piss him off. It was the reassurance he needed.

“That weed you’ve been promising better be worth having to talk to you on a daily basis.” The threat wasn’t obvious, but it was there.

“It is. It’s fire. The best we’ve ever grown.”

“Anything else?”

“Shade …?”

“Go home. I’m handling this job myself.”

“Thanks.” Greer disconnected the call.

It galled him having to accept Shade’s help, but that house held not only his kin but his future. Holly had been promised to him since he was a snot-nosed kid, seeking within himself for the spirits that were never far away for their guidance. Feeling the welcome tide of warmth, he started his truck, driving away.

Whatever Dustin’s nightmare was, they weren’t going to have to suffer through it tonight. Tonight, the ones he loved were safe in their bed, watched over by the spirit. And what they couldn’t stop, Shade would.