Keeping What's His(24)
She fixed both men heaping plates of food before placing them down on the table in front of them.
“What do you want to drink?”
“What do you think?”
Sutton went to the refrigerator, taking out the milk jug and placing it on the table with glasses. She had eaten at their home a few times before their parents had passed away and remembered how they liked to eat their cornbread.
She sat down after fixing herself a much smaller plate, enjoying watching the men eat the food she had cooked.
“I could fucking cry,” Greer complimented. “They taste just like Ma’s.”
Sutton blushed with pleasure at Greer’s compliment. “They should. She’s the one who taught me how to cook them.”
When the men were done eating, she watched as they each tore the cornbread up into their milk and ate it with their spoons.
“Never thought I’d say I would enjoy someone’s cooking as much as Ma’s.” Greer’s praise had her smiling.
She hadn’t noticed how good-looking he had become before now. His features were more handsome than Tate’s and more sculpted than Dustin’s. His nose would benefit from a plastic surgeon. Sutton thought it looked like it had been broken more often than hers. His body was leaner than Tate’s, but he was taller. Sutton could understand why the women in town would have trouble picking between the Porter brothers.
Tate’s frown showed he wasn’t happy with the way she was looking at Greer.
A fly suddenly flew by, and Sutton forgot about Tate’s frown and became angry at herself for not lowering the screen after Greer had climbed through. The aggravating thing would drive her crazy until she managed to kill it. She was about to get a fly swatter when Greer’s hand smacked down with the speed of lightning on the table, killing it. He used his fingers to flick it off the table then casually went back to eating his milk and cornbread.
Her eyes went back to Tate at his chuckle. “How am I looking now?”
“Better.” Sutton laughed with him.
Greer looked at them suspiciously. “What?”
“There’s soap and water over at the sink.”
“Why, because I killed that little fly? I have an immunity to germs,” he bragged.
Sutton thought for a second he was joking then realized he was serious.
“It’s the truth. I’m never sick.”
“I bet the others around you can’t say the same.”
“Nah, they’re sick all the time.”
“I wonder why,” Sutton said sarcastically. She had a feeling Greer was a reincarnation of Typhoid Mary.
“Because I have my own elixir I drink every day. It keeps me strong and healthy as a horse.”
“What’s in it?”
“A cup of moonshine, a shake of red pepper flakes, half a lemon, and a clove of garlic. I haven’t been sick in ten years.”
“You eat a clove of garlic every day?” Sutton made a mental note not to stand too close to him.
“Yep. The moonshine kills the smell of the garlic.”
“That’s not all it kills. How long has it been since you had a date?”
Greer leaned back contentedly in his chair, patting his stomach. “Been too busy trying to find Lyle’s murderer to go out lately.”
“When you find him, give him that concoction of yours, and he’ll beg to go to prison.”
“Ha, ha. Very funny. That’s the last time I share any of my recipes with you.”
“You have others?” Sutton tried to hold back her laughter.
“Don’t ask,” Tate groaned. “Believe me, you don’t want to know.”
She couldn’t help herself. “Come on. Share.”
“I can get rid of a skin tag in a second.”
“How?”
Greer reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter, flicking it until a flame came up. “I burn the son of a bitch off.”
Sutton cringed. “I don’t have any.”
“When you do, I’ll take of it for you,” he offered.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She gazed at Tate to see if Greer was trying to pull her leg.
He shrugged. “I warned you.”
“Yes, you did.”
She decided she would take his advice. After all, Greer’s approach to holistic medicine was frightening.
“I better go. I don’t want to leave Logan and Holly alone for too long.”
“Where’s Dustin?” Tate asked sharply.
“He’s keeping an ear out for gossip at Rosie’s.”
“Good idea.”
Sutton watched as Greer took another piece of cornbread before climbing out the window again.
“Your brother needs help.”
“He was just putting on a show for you.”
“Why?”
“Because you were staring at him like a side of beef.”
“I was not,” she denied.
“You were.”
Sutton remembered what Cheryl had told her about the brothers. “He was acting like a hillbilly because he thought I was attracted to him?” she asked in disbelief.
“Yep.”
Sutton laughed so hard she had to hold her stomach. “I couldn’t … ever … even if the world came to an end and he was the last man … be attracted to Greer.”
“Why?”
“He’s a mean jackass. He’s obnoxiously rude, and—”
“He’s a hillbilly?”
Sutton didn’t miss the anger brewing in his eyes, and her laughter died. “I was going to say he probably sleeps with his gun in the bed. I’m a hillbilly, too, so why would you think I would say that?”
Tate snorted. “Technically, you’re not a hillbilly. You lived in the fanciest house in town.”
“I stayed every summer with Pap. I’m just as much a hillbilly as you and any other family living in these mountains.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes!” Sutton snapped. Standing up, she angrily gathered the dishes, carrying them to the sink.
“Why are you getting so mad?” Tate came up behind her, putting his arms around her waist, his hands flattening against her stomach.
She stood rigidly against him. “Because these mountains are my heritage as much as they’re yours. Pap and Granny lived on this mountain their whole lives, and their parents before them, for generations. My great, great, great-grandfather stole a chicken in Ireland so he would be shipped out with the other prisoners to come to America. He settled on this land, and every generation since then has lived and died on it. My father moved into town to live with my mother because Pap was still living, and he wanted his own home, but he would’ve moved back here after Pap died if he had left the house to him.”
“Your pap knew you belonged here, and your father doesn’t anymore. If this land means so much to your family, then why sell it?”
Sutton didn’t answer his question.
Ignoring his grip around her waist, she started doing the dishes.
“Because I live nearby?”
She still didn’t reply.
“Sassy pants, I’m going to get my answer.”
“I haven’t made my mind up yet,” she finally admitted. “I was going to fix it up then decide.”
“Then why did you go see Drake Hall?”
“I wanted to find out if he thought anyone would be interested in the property.”
“You went to see him because you knew the first phone call he would make after you left his office was to me. You were sending me a message, whether you realize it or not.”
Sutton turned around to face him. “I wasn’t.”
“You were.” He stared down at her with an amused expression.
Sutton gritted her teeth. “I was not.”
“Okay.” He lowered his head, placing a gentle kiss on her lips before she could jerk away. “Tell yourself that all you want. Do you want to know what I told Drake?”
Sutton had to admit to herself she did, so she nodded at him.
“I told him no, that I wouldn’t buy it, and I would see to it that no one else bought it, either. I would make sure anyone thinking about buying it would have me as their crazy neighbor.”
“Why would you keep anyone else from buying?” Sutton asked, hurt that he would sabotage her selling the land.
His hand went to the back of her neck, not letting her escape his piercing green eyes. “I knew he would tell you what I said. So, I sent back a message of my own: you weren’t going to be leaving.”
Chapter 17
“Tate …”
The indecision on her face almost had him backing away to give her more time. Instead, he caught her mouth with his, kissing her the way he had wanted to when they were in high school, but had been afraid of frightening her.
He slowly explored her mouth with the tip of his tongue before slipping inside. God help him, she still tasted the same, like the honey she had poured on her corn bread. He made sure not to crowd her against the sink as he reached around and turned off the running water, giving her his weight slowly as he pressed her backward so she could feel how she was affecting his body. The only way to realize they would be good together was to show he could give what she needed.
Truthfully, Tate had to admit to himself he had never been one to step back and hope what he wanted would fall into his lap. Hell no. If anything, what he wanted had never come easily. He had fought and worked hard to keep his family together. Sutton was going to become a part of his family. By hook or by crook, he was going to get this girl. If he had to use his body to do it, then he was okay with that.