Chapter 13
Okay. Time to do this.
Greer had packed all of her belongings, with help from Cody, Hala, Ayla, and Aubrey.
Fortunately, the furniture in her apartment belonged to the apartment complex.
Nothing too heavy went into the moving truck.
The moving truck trailed after them, driven by Cody, who was definitely enjoying being surrounded by four women.
He was such a flirt. He even had Aubrey’s cheeks bright red a time or two. She suspected he greatly liked the Aubrey.
Of course, most men did. It was rather a given.
Not only was Aubrey beyond beautiful, she was one of the nicest women Greer had ever met.
She had decided Aubrey belonged with one of her brothers—she just had to get Guthrie to realize it, too.
It made perfect sense—Guthrie and Aubrey were both doctors who worked together every day, they were so compassionate, and they just obviously belonged together.
Greer was going to figure out a way to make it happen.
If Guthrie hadn’t already. He did seem to be plotting something lately.
“Oh, great.” Her stomach dropped when she counted cars.
Aubrey turned to her. “What?”
“They are all here. Even George and Ronnie.”
“You don’t have to tell them tonight,” Hala said, quietly from the back seat. Ayla echoed that. “Just tell them your lease was up and you need a place to stay for a while until you regroup.”
“But…I think your family will be super-supportive, Greer. Tell them from the beginning. I think they’ll understand,” Aubrey said, quietly. “You’ll be safe with them, and you’ll have help getting through this next part.”
“What about Kurt, though? They are going to want to kill him. I have no doubt about that.” They would demand to know who the father was, and she wasn’t very good at lying to her family.
Lying wasn’t the Hiller way.
“I say, rip off the band-aid,” Hala patted her on the shoulder. Greer pulled in a deep breath. “Just get it all out there. That way you don’t have to keep dwelling on it. You can almost get a fresh start.”
“And we’ll be right there with you,” Ayla promised. “No matter what.”
“Remember, no matter what,” Aubrey said. “You are not doing this alone. I promise. You’ve got us, and you’ve got your family, every single step of the way.”
Greer knew the older woman was right.
Greer really was lucky, and she would stop doubting that right now.
She was going to be a mom. It was time she got her act together, and started doing the hard stuff to make that a reality.
Her baby was counting on her.
Aubrey shocked the life out of her when she squealed. “I thought he was still on in the emergency department tonight! I scheduled him on!”
Greer looked at the porch, and the men who had filed out, probably to check out the box truck behind her little SUV. “Who? Guth?”
“Yes. That man! He’s not supposed to be here!”
“You’re mad at Guthrie?” Ayla asked. “Why?”
“He’s threatened, promised—oh, heaven help me—he’s planning to seduce me as soon as he possibly can. He has an entire strategy devised. He said so himself.”
Woah. Wait a minute? Guthrie was planning to seduce Aubrey now? And the normally unflappable Dr. Aubrey Fisher was about to wet her pants. Over Guthrie.
Greer just stared in awe. Aubrey was practically vibrating, and her blue eyes were wide. “Seriously? I mean, I thought he had a thing for you in the hospital waiting room, but…he told you that?”
“Yes. And I have no clue what I’m going to do about him.”
“Why do men have to be so complicated?” Hala asked.
“That’s the million-dollar question,” Greer said. Just as another car pulled in next to them. Her eyes met her mother’s through the windows. “Great. My parents are here, too. Life just got even more complicated.”
“You know, we’re all going to have to get out of the car eventually,” Ayla had to point out. “I really have to pee; I don’t think I’m going to be able to wait much longer. I can’t exactly rush inside, you know. Rushing is so not my thing.”
Well, so did Greer.
Time to do this.
Greer climbed out of the car while Aubrey went to the rear passenger side to get her sister out, and Hala came to stand next to her. The woman who had been her best friend since kindergarten squeezed her hand.
Greer looked at her quickly.
“They love you, you know. You’ll be okay. But…I think you may be a wee bit hormonal right now.”
“No kidding.”
Her mother came to her. Greer hugged her quickly. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi sweetie, we just stopped by to drop off cookies for the barbecue. What brings you here?”
“I need to talk to everyone inside. I’m…glad you and Daddy are here, too.” She would just do it, get it over with.
“Ronnie and George were bringing muffins, I believe. And I’m not sure why the rest of your siblings are here.”
Someone said something from the front porch. Giavonna.
She needed her sister’s support here. Both of them.
Genny was right there, being held in Chad Fields’s arms, on the front porch. That man had practically carried her everywhere since she’d been attacked last week.
No wonder. Genny could have been killed.
Greer shuddered, even thinking about that night.
“What’s with the truck, kid?” Gene asked. “You moving back home?”
“Yes. Actually. For a while. My lease is almost up, and I am not going to renew.”
“Why?” Giavonna asked. “This came out of left field, Greer. Are you okay?”
Giavonna had moved back home this week, too. There was that. Her big sister would be there.
“Everybody inside. I have something I need to talk to you about. It’s best to just get it over with.”
They filed inside like little ducklings, though Gunn did come off the porch to help Ayla over the mud-slicked front walk.
Gunn just took her friend’s forearm crutches from her, handed them to Grady—who was just standing there glaring at Hala for some reason—and scooped Ayla right up.
“Hang on, sweetheart, I’ll give you a lift. ”
“I’ll take you up on that,” Ayla shot him a grin, wrapping her arms around his neck like she was perfectly comfortable in Gunn’s arms. “You’re getting pretty good at this, you know.”
“I do try.”
Greer looked at Aubrey, who looked back. And shrugged. No one had figured those two out at all. But they were seriously cute together, no denying that.
Her family settled in the living room, where all the cushy seating was. She loved this place, and being here…made her feel a little stronger. Steady.
This house had been there for more than two hundred years. It had just grown and been remodeled through the decades. But it had stood.
Her baby would stand there someday, too.
Everyone settled down, after a few minutes.
Gunn fussed over Ayla, who he’d settled into a chair near the window. She got the feeling Ayla was enjoying his attention. It made her smile, especially when she saw how her mom was watching Gunn, a sweet smile on her own lips.
Yes, Greer wasn’t the only one that saw what was going on with Ayla and Gunn. She hoped it happened. Hoped they were both happy together. They deserved it. Just like Genny and Chad did. There was no denying that there was fire there.
And…Chantal, Chad’s younger sister and Genny and Giavonna and Aubrey’s bestie, was now sitting on Gene’s lap.
People were…happy. Her brothers and Genny were happy.
Something was going on with Gia, though.
Greer was going to dig into what was going on with her big sister first chance she had, but… now…tonight…
Her world spun again as George helped Ronnie get settled and their four little girls ran to the playroom with Calvin.
Her dad hugged her. “Baby girl, what’s wrong?”
Greer couldn’t help it. The love in his voice… she burst into tears right there in the middle of all of them.
Then arms were around her, and her big brother George was rocking her a little. “It’ll be okay, kiddo. I promise. Just tell us what’s wrong.”
She nodded. Looked at her family, and her friends.
Ayla, Aubrey, and Hala were right there. Cody was outside somewhere with her belongings, talking to the ranch foreman. She had the people who loved her right there. Ready to support her however she needed. She wasn’t doing this alone at all.
“I’m pregnant,” she just said it. She saw the shock on all of their faces. She was just going to get it out there so she never had to have one of these moments ever again. “Kurt Chase is the father. And I’m planning on hating that ugly toad forever.”
Her oldest brother just held her as the room erupted around her.
“I’ll kill him myself for this!”
Of course, Gene would have something to say. All of her brothers did. Just like she had known they would.