Slowly, she opened her eyes, clutching the flowers to make sure she was still alive, to see Greer.
“You love me,” she said with wonder.
He lay next to her, picking up one of the broken daisies. Greer bent his arm and propped his head on his hand. “Do you still doubt I couldn’t have any woman I wanted?”
26
“No.”
Greer stroke the daisy across the base of her throat, watching her stare at the flowers surrounding them.
“When did you plant the daisies?”
Seeing her spasmodically swallow, he debated telling her the truth. Sighing, though, he really didn’t want to start his marriage off with a lie.
“The day after you messaged me the first time. I knew then it was you.” Greer teased her still hard nipple, his serious face breaking out in a grin when she swatted it away.
“You bastard.”
“That isn’t what my mama said.” He let the flower rest against her pounding heart. “The thing is, when people think you’re stupid, they underestimate you.”
“I didn’t—”
“You did. Don’t feel bad. Everyone does. Even though it didn’t take a genius, knowing how many nights you and Logan go outside to catch lightning bugs.”
Holly put her arm over her eyes. “You catfished me.”
Greer’s grin widened. “I did. You made it easy as pie.”
“I hate you.”
“Don’t be that way. I figure we’re even.”
He saw a tear slide down under her arm.
“You were trying to teach me a lesson, and you fell into your own trap.”
“I didn’t fall into a trap. You’re trying to underestimate me again.”
She raised her arm to look at him. “Then why were so determined to get me out of the house after we had started chatting?”
“Two reasons.” He unrepentantly moved the daisy to brush against her waist, imagining her belly large and round when she became pregnant. Her skin broke out in goose bumps, and he swallowed convulsively before he could get the words outs. “I wanted you out, because you weren’t safe until the plants were ready to be harvested. Dustin works during the day, and Tate and I had to watch the plants to keep them from being stolen.”
“What’s the other reason?” Her green gaze made him feel like a douchebag but he was pretty sure it wouldn’t be the last time she would make him feel like that. He dreaded that aspect of their marriage.
“You’re not going to like it,” he warned.
“Tell me.” Her jaw was clenched so tight that he heard her teeth grinding.
“Because I wanted to fuck you, and I didn’t think you would let me with Logan sleeping next door.”
“You fucking bastard!” She rose up, snatching the daisy from him and crushing it in her hand before throwing it at him.
Greer swatted it away then jerked her back down to the ground, pinning her in place. “A man can only put up with so much temptation. Jesus, do you think it was easy for me, seeing you sashay out of the bedroom in the morning to make coffee with that housecoat on?”
“I didn’t sashay.”
“Woman, you worked that housecoat as if you were on a runway. You’re damn lucky I restrained myself, or Logan and Dustin would have come out to eat breakfast to see me fucking you on the table.”
She gaped up at him. “I would come out to start the coffee then go back to my room to shower.”
“With those tits busting the housecoat at the seams, it only took a second. After six years of you doing that, I had to get you out of the house or I wouldn’t care how many protests you made about Logan being next door.”
“Like I would have let you,” she scoffed.
He raised a sardonic brow. “You still doubt me?”
Her lips firmed. “You wanted me, but you didn’t mind getting your rocks off with Diane, or any other woman whose panties you could talk your way into.”
“I’m not a saint, but I didn’t fuck anyone else after talking to you the first time you messaged me.”
“Like I’m going to believe that. You were practically there every night before I left.”
“I didn’t touch her. She’ll vouch to that. That’s why she started seeing Luke, because I wasn’t giving her any.”
“Don’t be gross.”
“I’m just saying.” Shrugging, he picked out another daisy, seeing her staring up at the sky sightlessly. Giving her a break, he let it swing uselessly from his hand.
“I’m not going to marry you.”
“Why not? You love me, and I love you.”
“You premeditatedly forced me into becoming engaged by making me feel bad about catfishing you. You turned it to your own advantage to get what you wanted.”
“I did,” he admitted. “But that doesn’t change the fact that we love each other.”
“I don’t love you anymore.” Another tear slipped from her eye.
“Yes, you do. I wanted you to get to know me. I know how hard of a time I gave you about Logan, and I wanted you to see another side of me. I knew you wanted to pay me back for some of the little jabs I made at you, so I let you.”
“Some?”
“Okay, a lot. If it makes you feel better, feeling like you got one over on me, then it was a win-win situation for me.”
“You always have to win.” Bitterly, she refused to take her eyes off the sky.
“Where you’re concerned, I do. I couldn’t let you get away. I was actually going to let you get away from me after the first time we chatted. I said we didn’t have anything in common and left the chatroom. I was going to drop it and let you have a good laugh.”
“Why’d you change your mind?”
“Because you changed your picture to a daisy.”
Her eyes dropped to his, her brow puckering. “What did that matter?”
“Because I had a vision when I was six years old that a daisy was the sign of me finding the woman I would love.”
Bewildered, she searched his eyes.
“I thought it was Diane. When we were in sixth grade, she wore a daisy shirt. That’s why I put up with all the cheating. When you changed your icon, I realized it was you.”
“You really believe that, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever make love to Diane like you just did me?”
The slight twinge of jealousy in her eyes had him running the daisy over the curls on her pussy. “No.”
“Any other women?”
“No, I saved that just for you.” He let Holly hear the vulnerability in his voice, lowering his guards now, just as he had done when he made love to her. “It’s hard to do, and it takes too much strength. You have to give a part of yourself, and when you give it, you don’t get it back. I didn’t want another woman walking around with a part of my heart. Just the woman I’m going to marry, and that’s you.”
“Sutton said you’ve been saving your strength, because you and your family think that one of you are in danger.”
Greer nodded. “Sutton called and told me she had told you, and you didn’t believe her.” Her green eyes stared back, the doubt still showing. “One of them is going to die, unless I can stop it.”
She motioned toward the field of flowers. “This is all because I chose a daisy as an icon? What would have you done if I had chosen a rose?”
“Then you would have been lying in a bed of roses.” Leaning down, he kissed her lips. “Loving me won’t be a merry-go-round, but I can swear I’ll go to bed every night and wake up every morning by your side.”
“It isn’t easy loving you, Greer.”
“I swear I’ll make it worth it,” he promised, laying the daisy on her outstretched hand before pulling her close when she turned into his arms. Running his hand over her hair, he told her, “I love you.”
She nodded into his shoulder. “I love you, too.”
He groaned, feeling her tits against his chest. “Woman, quit distracting me. We have work to do.” Sta
nding up, he tugged his pants back on then tossed her clothes down on her stomach.
She giggled, getting up to put them on. “We can set a few chairs in this spot. It’ll hide what we were doing.”
He was smiling back when his cell phone rang. He lifted it to see Tate calling.
“You can come—”
“Logan is missing.”
Greer’s eyes went to Holly at Tate’s words. “What do you mean, he’s missing? He left with you an hour ago.”
Holly’s eyes grew concerned. Jerking her bra and shirt on, she then sat down to get her sneakers back on.
“He went to lie down in the spare bedroom to watch videos. We thought he was taking a nap. We didn’t know he was missing until Rachel went in to wake him up for lunch. We searched the whole house and outside. I called Dustin. He’s leaving work now. Sutton and I are going to start looking from the woods to the field. Maybe he’s trying to walk back to the field. He wanted to stay with you and Holly.”
“We’ll start walking the path, too. Hopefully, one of us will find him before we meet up.”
“We’re leaving now.”
“Us, too.” Greer grabbed his boots. “Let’s go. Tate thinks that Logan was trying to come here.”
“Logan!” Holly immediately started yelling as they made their way through the field to the trees.
“Logan!” Greer bellowed, taking Holly’s hand so she wouldn’t trip over any roots as they walked toward the small path.
“Logan!” Holly sobbed out.
“He’s okay. We’ll find him.” As he tried to reassure her, a sick feeling in his gut made him yell even louder. “Logan!”
Greer looked for telltale signs from the bushes that Logan had passed through them.
When he saw Tate and Sutton practically running toward them on the path, Holly became inconsolable.
Greer put his arm around her shoulder. “Sutton, take Holly back to your house. Me and Tate will search the woods.”
“I told Dustin to check your house. If he finds him, he’ll call.” Tate met Greer’s eyes that were just as worried as his.
“Logan!” Holly screamed.
“Go ahead and take her, Sutton.”
Sutton reached out to take Holly’s arm, but she pulled away.
“I’m not leaving Logan!”
“We don’t even know if he’s out here. Me and Tate will go faster. If Logan isn’t at the house, Dustin will bring out a four-wheeler. You’re not going to be able to keep up with us. Double-back to the house. Maybe he’s hiding. If he’s not, call Knox and tell him Logan is missing.”
Holly nodded, going with Sutton while yelling Logan’s name.
“You see anything on the way here?”
Tate shook his head. “You?”
“No.”
“Dammit. We’re going to have to backtrack and see if we can find his tracks. I should have done it before coming here, but I thought for sure that he would follow the path. Let’s go.”
They went back, Sutton and Holly ahead of them, as they double-checked to make sure the little boy hadn’t strayed from the path. As the women went inside, he and Tate circled the house. He found Logan’s small footprints jumping off the back porch. It was in the opposite direction from where the path led to the field.
“Where in the fuck is he going?” Greer muttered.
“Find anything?” Rachel asked, coming from behind the house.
“Yes. Go back inside and keep everyone there.”
“I will. I called Knox. He’s on his way, and Cash is getting a search party together. They’ll be here any minute.”
“Send them here. Call Dustin to get here.”
Rachel immediately started calling Dustin as she went back inside.
Greer found the spot where he had gone into the bushes. Kneeling down, he saw Logan’s footprints and several smaller prints.
“He went in here.” He took a stick, pointing to the set of smaller prints.
Tate leaned down, studying the prints. “Dog footprints.”
“A puppy. It doesn’t weigh but ten pounds.”
“He must have seen it from the bedroom and came outside to catch it.
“Yep, let’s go.” Moving through the thick brush, they had only gotten a few yards when they heard Dustin’s four-wheeler heading their way.
His younger brother was tense as he cut the motor. “You sure he’s this way?”
“Yeah, we tracked him from the back porch. He must have taken off after a puppy and got lost. The puppy took off in another direction, and Logan went this way.”
“Get on, Greer. Tate, make sure we don’t miss anything.”
Greer jumped on the back of the four-wheeler, his head sticking out to the side, searching for any signs of Logan.
“Stop!” Greer shouted, pointing to a small limb on a bush that was broken.
Dustin turned the four-wheeler in that direction.
“I’m going to whip his ass.”
“You know where he’s going?” Dustin shouted over the motor.
The sick feeling in his stomach became a hard knot. “He’s going to the lake.”
27
“God, please let him be okay,” Holly prayed over and over, terrified for the little boy as she sat on the couch, rocking, her hands clenched into tight fists as she prayed.
Rachel sat next to her, an arm over her shoulders. “Holly, he’s okay.”
“I want my baby,” she pleaded. “Rachel, I can’t live without him.”
“He’s okay,” she reassured her again.
“Call Tate and see if they found him yet.”
“He’ll call as soon as they find him.”
“God, please, please…” Holly sobbed, imagining Logan alone and scared, unable to find his way back. “God, if you let us find him, I swear I won’t let him out my sight again. I swear I will be a better person. God …”
“Should I call the doctor to come out and give her a sedative?”
Holly looked up to see Sutton’s frightened gaze on hers.
“I don’t want a sedative. I want my son!” she screamed at the woman who stared at her helplessly.
“Holly, you have to calm down. Logan needs you calm in case he needs you.”
She tried to get herself back in control, but she lost it again when Diamond came inside with Knox.
Rachel stood up, letting Diamond take her spot. Holly broke down again when Diamond reached out to hold her.
“Diamond, make Knox find Logan,” she begged.
“He will. They already started three search parties, trying to find him. Cash, Tate, Greer, and Dustin are looking for him. They’re the best trackers in the state. They’ll find him.”
“Holly, I know you’re worried, but can you answer a few questions for me?” Knox asked.
She brushed her tears away, nodding.
“Are there places that Logan goes when he likes to play?”
“When I lived at the house, he was always wanted to go to the field with Greer. That’s where we thought he was today when he disappeared.”
“Rachel said when she called that was the direction where Greer found his footprints. Any spot he likes to go from that direction?”
“I can’t think of any. He doesn’t come to Tate’s house that much, so it’s not as familiar to him.”
Knox’s phone started ringing, and so did Rachel’s.
Holly held her breath as they answered their phones.
“They found him,” Rachel mouthed to her as she listened to the voice on the other end.
Holly burst out crying in relief.
“They found him,” Knox told the room. “They found him at Cash’s lake, sitting on his rock.”
Holly started laughing so hard she couldn’t stop. It took Diamond shaking her before she did.
“Is he okay?” Diamond asked for her.
“He’s fine. They’re driving back here now. I’ll call off the search party and take Diamond on home unless you need her?”
“No, I’ll be fine once he gets here.”
“Call me if you need anything.” Diamond released her, standing up.
“I will. Thank you. And, Knox, make sure to tell everyone thanks for us.”
“I will.”
Holly went outside onto the porch to wait for Logan as they left. Over twenty cars and twice as many motorcycles had to be backed out of the driveway.
Cash’s truck pulled into the driveway, and Greer got out, Dustin climbing out after him, reaching for Logan to set him on the ground.
Holly couldn’t help herself, crying in relief at seeing her baby again. As Logan came running, she dropped to her knees, holding her arms out.
“I’m sorry, Holly. Greer said he’s going to whip my ass!”
“No, he won’t.” She held him tighter, rubbing her cheek against his.
“Wanna bet?” Greer groused, coming up to them.
“You’re not going to hurt a hair on my baby’s head.” When she let Logan wiggle away, he jumped into Rachel’s welcoming arms.
She blocked him before he could reach out to take him from Rachel. “We all need to sit down and come up with a reasonable punishment.” She turned to look at Logan. “Why did you leave the house without telling anyone?”
“I saw the cutest puppy. I tried to catch him, but he got away. Can we go look for him, Daddy?”
“No. Let’s go inside the house. Logan said he was hungry on the way home.” Dustin lifted Logan into his arms, carrying his son inside.
“I grilled some hot dogs. They’re cold, but I can heat them up.” Sutton opened the screen door, letting everyone file inside.
Holly took Greer’s arm, not letting him go inside. She waited until they were all gone before letting Greer have it.
“Quit saying you’re going to give him an ass whipping! He’ll repeat that when he goes back to school. He’s had a traumatic experience. We need to be gentle and considerate of his needs.”
“He had a fucking a traumatic experience? You’re the one who had a traumatic experience. You lost your shit! Dustin had a traumatic experience. Imagine Dustin when we realized he was headed for the lake and we didn’t know if we would find him alive or dead. He crossed a fucking road. How many dead deer have we passed on that fucking road? He’s seven years old, not a fucking baby. He knows better! He’s going to get an ass whipping he’ll never forget!”