Page 44 of The Chase
Kurt stood, to his full six-four height. “Get out. Before I rip you apart. You don’t deserve to breathe the same air as Greer Hiller, and you know it.”
“Hillers got to you, didn’t they? Probably bought you off and everything. Your brother deserves better from you. You were all he cared about, you know. Always talked about reconnecting.”
“Then he shouldn’t have made the choices he did. More than two dozen arrests in ten years, Yunderhall. What kind of a man was he? I wouldn’t have wanted him in my life after what he did to the Hiller girls. How could I? Get out.”
It took a moment, but Yunderhall finally headed for the door. He looked over his shoulder at Kurt. “Must be nice to have all of this. Be a shame if someone took it all away. From people like you…from people like the Hillers, too…Such a shame.”
“Stay away from the Hillers. You go anywhere near them andI’lldestroy you, Yunderhall. I didn’t get to where I am by playingnice.Remember that. You won’t like what happens next if you cross me.Remember that.I am not a man who plays nice now.”
Kurt escorted the bastard to the parking lot himself. He didn’t want Luna anywhere near Yunderhall at all.
After the man was in his truck and driving out of the parking lot, Kurt looked at Luna. “Go home. Lock up everything now. I don’t want you in the building until at least tomorrow afternoon, understood?”
“Who was that man?”
“His name is Dwayne Yunderhall. He’s the one who was driving the car when my brother was killed—and when Greer was hurt. Fifteen years ago. Apparently, that asshole’s been out for almost a year. Just wandering around out there, all over the place.”
Luna’s beautiful green eyes widened. “Does Greer know? I remember when it happened, and the years after. I was in the same class she was. She used to be terrified those guys would come back and take her. She needs to know he’s out and in Value. She’s going to be so afraid, Kurt. I just know she will.”
“I’m going to go to her now. Tell her family that he’s back.”
There were tears in her eyes. “She’s going to be so afraid.”
Kurt was going to find the woman he loved. Yunderhall wasn’t ever getting near her again.
35
Greer settledonto her mom’s couch and just breathed. It was the same couch that had been in her family room all through her childhood. Her mom had just had it restuffed and reupholstered a few times now. It was one of the only pieces of furniture her parents had taken with them other than their bedroom suite. Now they lived in a modern ranch style house that featured the same architecture and similar layout as the much larger ranch did.
Her mom had designed the house that way on purpose—instead of suites, though, there were three bedrooms besides the master. There wasn’t a family room on the second floor—because there wasn’t a second floor. But it felt so familiar and welcoming, Greer had always loved it.
And it suited her parents very well.
Her father had grown up on the family ranch, and they had raised all eight of their children there, but her dad liked to travel, too. He hadn’t wanted the responsibility of running the family ranch day-to-day—he’d wanted to enjoy his golden years, he’d said. By seeing parts of the world. They’d traveled for almost three years after Greer’s graduation. Then they’d comeback—to spend most of their free time with their children and grandchildren. They’d built a house and had settled in to bake cookies and have grandparent sleepovers whenever they could.
When she’d been eighteen, they’d given the ranch over to her and her siblings. Grady, Gene, and Gunn ran it now, with help from the rest of them when needed. It was thefamilyranch.
Her own baby would grow up as a part of it.
That legacy was something she would always appreciate.
The roots she had in Value…were…invaluable.
She hurt that Kurt didn’t have those same kinds of roots. That his baby girls would hurt over the loss of their parents someday. Kurt was determined to make sure they knew they were loved. She had no doubt about that.
That man loved those little girls. It was one of his few redeeming qualities. She’d spent almost a week since what had happened to Grady and Hala soul-searching. Asking herself how she really felt about Kurt—and if she was capable of forgiveness. Maybe her sisters had been right when they’d said it just sounded like Kurt had panicked. Maybe…maybe it really was second chance time?
She’d been stewing over that for a few days, waiting for him to be free to figure this out. But he’d been talking about Garth and Marie and how he was trying to help Garth as much as he could, and about the arson in Oklahoma and she just hadn’t wanted to add to his burdens right now. Even though she knew that was just an excuse.
She was afraid. Because this could meanso much.And what if it didn’t work? And all she did was end up hurt again, an innocent baby in between them? And two other little girls who deserved so much better?
No man had ever torn her up inside the way Kurtland Tyson Chase. She was one hundred percent certain of that.
“Youare preoccupied, young lady. Is it the baby or the gorgeous man?” Her mother looked at her from eyes almost identical to Greer’s own. She’d heard it before—Genny took after their mom in stature, but was two or three inches shorter. Greerlookedthe most like her mother. Rumor had it she acted like her mother had at her age, too. “Talk to your mama, baby.”
“Definitely…the man. He’s very…determined.” And her resolve was weakening every single time their path’s crossed.
“Very beautiful. No missing that. My grandbaby is destined to be beautiful.”
