Page 11 of The Fear (The Hillers of Barratt County #7)

Well. Nothing had gotten any clearer, that was for sure.

Hala had maybe gotten an hour of sleep after that man had left her there in the living room like that.

She’d tossed and turned and stayed awake, thinking maybe she’d dreamed the whole thing.

Even though she most certainly had not. Her lips had still been tingling, for goodness sake!

Now, the only way she was staying awake was the caffeine in the coffee she’d drunk earlier. Even though Hala despised coffee, she had to do something.

Now she stood at the kitchen island, dutifully chopping tomatoes, while Greer’s mother chopped peppers.

“Something is wrong with Grady. He’s not acting normal.

Which for him…I guess that is normal, right?

” Gia said, behind her. Hala was still waiting for Hudson and Ryan to get there.

She had an important message from Calvin for Ryan the moment Calvin’s bestest friend ever arrived today.

She’d heard all about their plans to go find a wheel or something the next time they were together at the ranch.

Her nephew was beyond adorable. Gia’s was, too.

She loved that the little boys got to have adventures together on a wonderful place like the ranch. Just like she and Greer always had.

Now…Hala just needed Gia and Hudson to get together…and make her more adorable nephews, and a precious niece or three. Before the two goobers got too old and everything. They were both in their thirties now. They were a bit slow to the party. Sigh.

Hala had real work to do there.

She was going to have to discuss her plan with Greer and Ayla the first moment she had. This might need some strategizing.

And…maybe she’d discuss what he had done, too.

At least…maybe not with Greer, though. Not considering…

that could be very awkward and everything.

Hala had made a pact with Greer a thousand years ago not to kiss any of Greer’s brothers.

Ever. In exchange, Greer would give up that old crush she’d had on Hala’s cousin Micah so long ago. It had been a deal.

But Ayla…she was most likely—probably?—involved with Gunn. And…hell, Hala just needed to figure out what happened next here.

Did she even want something to happen next?

That was the big question.

The front door swung open. Her breath caught. She hadn’t seen Grady since…the kiss. He had been out on the ranch doing Grady-things somewhere before she’d even gotten out of bed.

Hopefully, in the crowd…she could just avoid him completely.

She wasn’t ready to address the issue at hand, thank you very much.

The knife slipped. Hala almost said a word she wasn’t supposed to say. It had Gia turning toward her, grabbing paper towels and holding them out. “Yikes. That looks painful. Do I need to find Guth, Chad, or Aubrey? We can, I have learned, do full stitches in our kitchen now.”

“No need for stitchin’ in the kitchen,” Hala pressed on the small wound, as Genny’s—and Gene’s—future brother-in-law Charlie and his wife came in, bringing chaos and cooing with them.

They had both their twins, and Charlie’s daughter Charlotte with them.

Charlotte was like a slightly younger, slightly less redheaded version of Chantal there.

Hala had met the other woman a time or two before. Now they had babies with them.

Hala had always loved babies.

“Bandages under the sink in the hall bath, Hal,” Gia said, taking little Chaz from Rory.

“Charlie is to go outside right now, and make himself useful,” Gayle said, taking little Charis and pointing to a rather large cooler that needed carried out.

Charlie was there, right in time. The two Fields’ babies were absolutely beautiful.

Hala was going to hold, as soon as she possibly could.

But for now…bandage. “Before Gene and George blow up the grill again.”

That…was a real possibility, too.

Hala hurried down the hallway and took care of the patch job. She rounded the corner after leaving the bathroom and slammed into a perfect male chest. She looked up.

And there he was.

The man who had stolen sleep from her completely. “Well, I see you’ve returned to torment me. Hello, Grady Treyton. What are you plotting now?”

“I see I have.” He had his fingers wrapped around hers. Why? How did that happen? He looked down, then ran a finger over the bandage. “What did you do to yourself, honey?”

Honey. In his warm caramel rich voice. Shiver-inducing. Hala had no shame here. No shame. What would Greer say if she learned Hala had broken her blood oath with this boogerhead?

“Kitchen knife got me. I’m going to have Charlie arrest it. Had a really wicked bite.” And she seriously hated the thought of knives in her flesh.

“I’m sorry.” He shot her a wicked, very un-Grady- like grin. “Want me to kiss it to make it better? Or…kiss something else? I’ve thought about kissing you again. All day, actually. Been a bit distracted, I guess. I blame you.”

Well. Hala was stumped by this one. She’d honestly expected him to pretend it had never happened.

Grady was so predictable, at times. Apparently not this time though.

No. He actually seemed…satisfied with himself and everything.

The butthead placed a kiss against her palm. Hala shivered. She was such a cliché.

“Well, you have a problem then. I haven’t thought about it at all.” Her cheeks burned. They both knew she was lying now. “You know what? I just can’t handle you today.”

She took off back to the safety of the kitchen. Where his mother was waiting. Grady would probably behave himself with his mother in the room. Maybe.

Apparently, she couldn’t predict that man as well as she thought she could.

As soon as she stepped into the room, Rory plopped a baby into her arms. “Thank you for volunteering your babysitting services. I’ll be back soon.”

Then Charlie was nowhere in sight, Gia had one baby, Hala had the other. And it was just like that. Rory was gone, Gayle was carrying things outside, and it was…Gia, the babies…and one Grady Treyton Hiller.

She must have stood there like an idiot for five minutes straight, while Gia and Grady snarked at each other. She didn’t come out of her almost trancelike state—hey, she hadn’t slept well the night before, she was allowed to be rattled—until the door opened and Hudson and Ryan were walking in.

Grady took off down the hallway and came back, telling Gia she’d hogged Chaz long enough.

He just reached out and took the baby from his sister, like he held babies every single day of the week. He looked at Hala and smirked. Like…he was plotting something.

Damn him. What was he really up to?