Holly ran a hand over Logan’s forehead. “You don’t feel like you’re running a fever. Your uncle Greer is bringing a thermometer from the house. He should be here any minute.”

Logan scrunched on his side, moving away from her concerned touch. “My stomach is hurting. I can’t go to school.”

Holly sympathized with him. He’d had several stomachaches lately.

Looking at her wristwatch, she decided to call his pediatrician and find out what was going on. He had been a sickly baby, and she feared the kidney disease that had killed his mother was taking a toll on his health.

When they had discovered the cause of Sam’s death, she and Dustin had taken him to several specialists. After several months, the doctors had told them that he had no sign of the disease. They still carefully monitored him, making the three-hour drive to Lexington to make sure he received the best care. He had just received a clean bill of health three months ago.

Hiding her worry, she was relieved when Dustin and Greer came into the bedroom.

“You feeling any better?” Dustin sat down on the bed next to him, touching his back.

Logan shrugged away from his touch, moaning.

“I brought the thermometer.” Greer handed it to her.

“Roll over, honey. Let me take your temperature.

He reluctantly rolled over, opening his mouth. The three adults stood waiting for the beep to go off. When it did, she took it out of his mouth, frowning as she looked down and saw it was normal.

“He’s not running a fever.”

Logan moaned, clutching his stomach.

“Dustin, you go on to work. I’ll call Diamond and tell her I won’t be in.”

Greer had stood, leaning against the wall. At her words, he moved toward the bed and lay down next to Logan.

Holly watched as he gently ran a hand over his head then downward to his forehead, like the way she had done when she had tried to see if he had a fever. An eerie feeling had goose bumps raising the hair on her arms.

Greer was staring down at Logan, but his eyes looked vacant, as if he wasn’t there. His hand traveled down to Logan’s chest, rested for a second, and then moved to his side then his stomach.

Holly thought he was comforting the little boy, trying to get him to relax so he could fall asleep. He even raised up to trail a hand over his legs and feet.

Greer stole her heart the way he was lovingly treating his nephew, imagining him bringing the same affection on his own son.

“Boy, get your butt out of bed and get dressed. You’re going to school.”

Aghast at how he could be loving one minute and a drill sergeant the next, she could only stare at him openmouthed as he jackknifed out of bed and jerked the covers off Logan.

“Greer, he’s sick!”

“There ain’t a damn thing wrong with the boy. He’s going to school.”

“Dustin, I think he should go to the pediatrician. He’s having these stomachaches more frequently.”

Dustin stood up from the bed. “Get ready for school. I can be late for my appointment. I’ll take you myself.”

“You’re taking Greer’s side over mine?” Hurt, she met his determined gaze.

The dominant side of Dustin didn’t come out often, usually letting his brothers take the lead, but when he set his foot down, there was no budging it. He was just like his brother in that irritating trait.

Well, the two arrogant men weren’t the only ones who could put their foot down.

“He’s staying.”

“Why don’t you want to go to school?” Greer stepped in front of her, blocking her from Logan’s sight.

Holly took a step to the side, seeing Logan’s face crumple.

“I don’t want to go because of Fynn.”

“Who’s Fynn?” Holly asked as the two men’s faces grew grim.

“Silas’ half-brother.”

“The little bas—”

Holly pinched Greer on the back of the arm. He didn’t bother to look at her, moving his arm out of reach.

“What’s he been doing to you?”

“He makes me trade lunches with him. I don’t like his. His is bologna and mayonnaise.”

Holly couldn’t blame him. She hated the taste of bologna. She wouldn’t be able to eat, either.

“Damn, they can’t even make a sandwich. They could at least put mustard on it.”

She was going to do it. She was going to pull every strand of her hair out. The men were beyond hope.

“Sweetheart, have you told your teacher you don’t want to trade lunches with him?”

“I did, but he went outside to play and wouldn’t pick me for his team.”

Dustin went to the drawer she had made for Logan, pulling out his clothes. “Get dressed,” he said firmly.

Logan’s eyes watered, unable to believe his father was making him go to school.

“I’ll go to school with you and talk to your teacher—”

“No, you won’t.” Dustin and Greer shook their head.

Holly couldn’t believe the men were being so hard-hearted that they wouldn’t let her talk to his teacher.

“Boy, you remember that chicken that got his wing caught in the fence?”

Holly blanched, remembering it vividly. She had gone outside one morning to feed the chickens, then gone back inside to fix breakfast. Everything had been fine, not noticing that one of the greedier chickens had tried to reach through a hole in the fence where she had hung her basket, letting the feed fall to the ground below.

By the time she had come outside with Logan, the sound of the squealing chickens had drawn them closer. It had been a blood bath with the other chickens ganging up on the injured chicken, pecking it to death. The gruesome scene had her screaming and Logan yelling. Dustin, Tate, and Greer had run outside to see what the commotion was, and Dustin had been the one to get them back inside as his brothers had removed what was left.

“Yes, sir.”

“Those chickens killed the injured one, because it was weak and defenseless. You can stay home and be like that hurt chicken, or you can be the rooster that keeps them other chickens in control.”

“I’m not a chicken!”

“You’ve been pretending to be sick; that sounds like a chicken to me.” Greer stared at him without sympathy. “You think you’re the only one who’s been picked on? Shit, the first pair of shoes I wore to school was an old pair of Tate’s. They stunk up the whole classroom. They made fun of me every day.”

“Did you punch them when they made fun of you?”

“I couldn’t. Pa said if I got in trouble in school, he would give me a whipping when I got home. It was hard not to. Silas was in the seat behind me, and he would make fun of me behind my back, making gagging noises that made everyone laugh.”

“How did you make them stop? Did you take the whipping your pa said he would give you and hit Silas?”

Greer gave his nephew a mocking smile. “Nope. The teacher couldn’t take the smell anymore and bought me a brand-new pair. Gave them to me in front of the whole classroom.”

Holly swallowed at how embarrassing that must have been to Greer’s ego.

“What did you do?” Holly asked softly, becoming caught up in the story of Greer’s past.

“I thanked her and put the shoes in the coat closet. Then sat back down.”

“You didn’t wear them?” Logan asked in awe.

“No, and I didn’t wear them the next day or the next.”

“Then what did you do?”

“I waited. About a week later, I asked to go to the restroom when Silas was still in there. He always had to take a dump after lunch.”

Holly grimaced at Greer’s graphic imagery.

“I reached under the stall and took his shoes before he could do anything. I kicked my old shoes inside. I was gone before he got out of the pot.”

“He didn’t tell?” Logan asked with wide eyes.

“He—heck no. He was too embarrassed to admit I got the better of him with his pants down.” Greer sniggered. “I wore those shoes all year, even though they were too small and I could have worn the ones the teacher bought me. But I didn’t.”

“Why?”

“Because I had a point to prove. I was going to take my stand and not let Silas or that teacher make me do anything I didn’t want to do.”

Logan lost all pretense of playing sick, getting onto his knees on the bed, his fist flailing out. “I would have punched him for being so mean.”

“I didn’t have to. There’s more than one way to skin a cat.”

“Ew.” Logan’s disgust gave away to curiosity. “How?”

“Either scare it out of his skin, or give them something else to wear.” Greer shrugged. “You’ll have to figure that out for yourself.”

Logan nodded solemnly. “I will, Uncle Greer.”

“Hurry up. I need to make a stop before I drop you off.” Dustin ruffled Logan’s hair as they left the room.

Holly walked down the steps, going to get her purse from her bedroom. When she came back into the living room, she saw the two brothers talking. They broke off when they saw her.

“Since you two have this under control, I’m going to work.” Taking her car keys out of her purse, she jingled the keys in her hand, making no move to leave.

She hadn’t lived with the Porters for over six years without knowing they stuck together through thick and thin.

“What stop are you making before you drop Logan off? Diamond is flexible; I can do it for you.”

Dustin’s sheepish expression showed he was caught. “I’m going by the bakery at the church store to buy some peanut butter candy for Logan to give out after lunch time.”

“You can’t—”

“Woman, don’t interfere—”

“The school has a no nuts policy. Buy the vegan cupcakes instead.” She reached into her purse, taking out a twenty. “There are fourteen kids in the class. Buy the teacher one also. Fifteen should be enough.”

“We’re only buying thirteen.” Greer made no bones about their plan.

“Dustin better sweet talk his teacher, then, because she won’t be happy.”

“There won’t be no sweet talking involved,” Greer sneered. “If we give her an extra one, she’ll give one to that little bas—”

She started to snap at him, but Logan came bouncing down the stairs. “I’m ready, Daddy. You coming, Uncle Greer?”

“Nah. Your pa can do this without me.”

Logan took his father’s hand, going outside with Dustin. She started to follow them, but Greer stopped her by blocking her path.

“Forgetting something?”

“What?”

“A morning kiss would be nice.”

“Oh.” Blushing, she reached up and used his shirt sleeves to pull him down. Giving him a brief peck on his lips, she released him and went to the door.

“Don’t forget to tell Diamond you’ll be late coming back to work at lunch. We’re going to pick out your engagement ring.”

She didn’t want to hurt his pride, but she knew the state of Greer’s finances. Many nights, he and Dustin would sit at the dining room talking about their bills.

“I don’t need a ring—”

“I can pay for a ring.” His jaw tightened as if she had insulted him.

“I know you can … I know you’ve been doing some work on the house. I was just saying it can wait.”

“Let me worry about that, okay? I’ll be in my truck at twelve. Don’t keep me waiting. No need making Diamond’s day worse by seeing me in her office.”

“Why would that make it worse? The day hasn’t started yet.”

“It’s going to ruin her fucking day when she hears you’re engaged to me.”

Holly hadn’t exactly intended to tell her for the same reason. Seeing his narrowed eyes on her, she decided she should tell Diamond before Greer decided to take the matter off her hands.

“I’ll have a talk with her when I get to work. Happy?” She went out the door, starting the alarm when Greer came out behind her.

Opening her car door, she took her sunglasses out of her purse, seeing Greer about to jump inside his truck.

“Greer, did you really just take Silas’s shoes without laying a hand on him?”

He grinned cockily from over the roof of his truck. “Hell, no, but it was one ass whipping I deserved.” Greer got inside his truck, waiting for her to get inside hers before he backed up and drove down the street behind her.

When she made the turn toward town, he honked before he turned in the opposite direction, going toward the road leading to his house.

His matter-of-fact statement kept playing through her head. He had said that it was one ass whipping he had deserved. Had there been several he hadn’t? She knew from the stories the Porters told that their father had been a no-nonsense man, who’d expected his children to be behaved and do what they were told. However, she’d had no inkling of anything other than that. The next time she had time alone with Rachel, she would make a point of asking about it.

Parking, she dreaded Diamond’s reaction to her engagement. She knew she was still furious about Greer’s behavior.

She took it much better than she had expected.

She didn’t jump up to hug her, but she did congratulate her.

“Will you be my matron of honor?”

“Of course. Have you set the date yet?”

“Greer says in two weeks, but I told him six months. I’m hoping to get him down to four months.”

“Take a video on your phone. I don’t want to miss Greer doing his wheeling and dealing on Dalton West.”

“The Porters bargain for everything.” Holly laughed. “They consider it an art.”

“When I represented Greer, he wanted an itemized list of my hours. When I represented Dustin, I made damn sure that I wrote down every phone call, and they still whittled me down, taking hundreds off my fee. I was practically doing it pro bono already. By the time I finished, they had me convinced I owed them money.”

“We’re going ring shopping this afternoon. Is it okay if I come back a little late?”

“That’s okay. Take the rest of the day off. Nothing is booked. I might talk Knox into taking another day off with me.”

“You’ve been taking quite a bit of time off lately.” She smiled, setting a file on her desk.

“Knox and I are trying to get pregnant. It takes a lot of work to get it right.”

“Awe, I can see Knox holding a baby. He’ll be so cute.”

“Don’t tell him that. He’s afraid he’ll drop it.” Diamond opened the folder. “I told him he could practice with Willa’s baby. Lucky nixed that idea, though. He’s barely sharing with Willa, and she’s breastfeeding.”

“Why doesn’t he practice with Ema? He and Cash hang out together, and he’s around Sex Piston and Fat Louise’s children.”

“They always cry when he tries to play with them. He’s worried his baby won’t like him, and we can’t give it back.”

“Poor guy.” Holly’s forehead puckered in thought. “Can I make a suggestion?”

“Go for it. I’m at my wit’s end dealing with him. It’s starting to affect our love life, if you get my meaning?”

“Go to the toy store and buy a few toys to keep on hand. The toy may distract them from his size.”

“That just may work.”

“If that doesn’t work, make some cupcakes. It works for Willa. Everyone loves her.” Holly took the folder back after Diamond signed the contract inside.

“Thank you. When I have a boy or girl, it will be because of your suggestion.”

“Am I back on yours and Knox’s island?”

“No.”