Chapter 14
It was done. She had told her family everything. Including why she had come home. Except…for the footprint in her bedroom she had yet to be able to explain. She hadn’t told her brothers about that. They’d go through the roof and be completely unmanageable.
The police had found nothing, and no one could confirm it had been a service person or anyone else.
And Greer wasn’t going to think about it.
She just wasn’t.
And she didn’t want to upset her family now. Not with everything that had happened lately Everyone was just trying to put their lives back together again. And Genny was all about her future with Chad.
Greer thought it was pretty romantic, what had happened.
Genny and Chad had fought forever. Now, he looked at Greer’s sister like she was a goddess.
And Genny had finally found a guy that really understood her.
Her sister was such a soft-heart. Greer had always been afraid she’d be taken advantage of by some guy out there.
She wasn’t fully sure what was going on with Aubrey and Guthrie or Ayla and Gunn yet, though. She thought they were together, but no one had really said yet.
Her brother Guthrie just had that “Guthrie has a plan!” kind of vibe right now. And Gunn was almost acting the exact same way. They were both schemers, in some ways, those two.
Her family was happy, Genny was recovering, Hala had moved back and was all settled in now—and Greer had a plan and purpose. She had goals.
And she was going to be okay.
They were both going to be okay.
She just had to figure out how she was going to deal with that toad Kurtland Chase now.
Kurt took the bold approach. The woman was just getting more and more difficult to find lately. And he was running out of extra cell phone numbers. He was just lucky she hadn’t filed a restraining order against him yet.
That was the one thing giving him hope right now.
He called the number listed for the Hiller Ranch. And got right through. For a moment, he thought the woman who answered the phone was Greer.
Then she identified herself as Genny.
Greer’s older sister. The cute little pixie with glasses. The one everyone was talking about lately, after the attack at the hospital. Poor kid had almost died. That had to have terrified Greer. She adored her big sisters.
He was worried about her. No denying that. “I am just calling to check on her. Greer. She’s been hard to find lately.”
“Let me guess, she’s blocked you again?” There was a note of humor in the voice very much like Greer’s. “Maybe you shouldn’t have been a total turd to her. My sister has the sweetest heart of anyone I’ve ever known. And you broke it, you jerk. You’re going to have your work cut out for you now.”
And then the woman…just hung up on him. Apparently, poor phone manners were a family thing. Well, nothing worthwhile was ever easy, right?
Kurt dialed again. The same woman answered. “Listen, honey, I know I’ve been a total ass to your sister. But she scared me, that was all. The way I feel about her. I just really need to talk to her about something.”
“Well, she doesn’t want to talk to you.”
Why did he get the feeling that the woman he wanted was probably right there, telling her sister exactly what to say?
Didn’t women do that kind of thing? Kurt was no expert on women though.
“Well, can you tell her that I am sorry? That I’ll do anything to make it up to her?
That I just want a chance to talk to her. To see her. To explain.”
He heard a suspicious sound that was he almost one hundred percent certain was a whisper. Yes, his woman was right there. Listening. “Ask her what she says about that. I know she’s there with you now.”
More whispering.
“She says you’ve already had your chance, you toad. And she wants nothing more to do with someone who would hurt someone for revenge against her brother. That’s just wrong and mean.”
“I know. And your brother had nothing to do with me and Greer. The exact opposite, actually. I told myself to stay away from her, but…I couldn’t resist. She pulled me right in. I just want to talk to her. Is that so wrong?”
“Greer says you are a master manipulator, and you are not getting near her again. If you keep pestering her, you can talk to her attorney. That’s our big brother George, by the way. George really wants to talk to you right now. We all know exactly what you did, you big jerk.”
“I’m sure he probably does. And tell your sister, we’ll be speaking long before that. I am repainting the master bedroom. Your sister’s favorite color.”
“You think she’ll ever see it?”
“I sure am hoping. I miss her. Tell her that for me?”
“Maybe she’s right. Maybe you are delusional. It has been ten weeks, pal. Move on. Move on.”
“No. I’m just the man who is head over heels in love with your sister, who did something entirely stupid, and now regrets it.
I want nothing more in the world than to have her with me, loving me again.
You tell her that for me, okay? Tell her…
I’m going to love her forever and spend the rest of my life making it up to her. No matter what.”
“Goodbye, you lunatic. And good luck. I think you’re going to need it.”
And damned if the little pixie didn’t hang up on him again.