Page 13 of The Fear (The Hillers of Barratt County #7)

Hala had a wet baby in her own arms. And…Grady had the diaper bag.

She had no real choice but to follow him. She stood in the door and watched him for a long moment. He was just talking to the baby, telling him a story about a magic pony. The same story he’d told Ryan when her nephew had been out there before.

Grady Hiller liked babies. She’d seen that many times before. He turned, saw her standing there. “Hey, honey. Hand me the wipes, will you?”

Just like that, he changed the diaper and had the kid redressed in no time. Like an expert. Well, he was a really good uncle; no denying that. He often had his brothers’ kids. He’d probably have Greer’s kid sometimes, too.

Why was it that a guy who was good with kids was so…attractive?

“His sister is wet, too.”

“I’ll let you handle that one, then. Me and my buddy here are going to go find the horsies. We can wait for you, if you’d like. Wouldn’t be fair for one twin to see the horsies and not the other.”

Going to the barn with Grady Hiller would be completely insane. Hala wasn’t crazy. But there was a challenge in his eyes. She wasn’t about to let him think she was afraid of him. That just wasn’t going to happen.

He was not getting the upper hand here. He just wasn’t.

She changed Charis quickly. She was a very beautiful baby, who looked a great deal like her Auntie Chantal and her big sister Charlotte. Hala cuddled her close. She definitely wanted babies of her own someday. She always had. Half a dozen, maybe?

With the right man, anyway. Wherever he may be hiding. Under a rock, maybe? Behind the barn? Outer space?

She refused to even think that the man right in front of her might be a contender. Not him, right?

Grady and baby Chaz were waiting on the back porch. “Ready, honey? Both little honeys?”

“We’re ready. But don’t you think they are far too young to see the horses?”

“They’re plenty old enough to see horsies, right, pal?” He held the little boy close and kissed him. “Won’t hurt them at all. Not like they are going for a ride.”

Hala just dutifully carried Charis through the crowd. Grady told anyone who asked where they were going. His mother just laughed and told them to have fun. Hala didn’t miss the look in Gayle’s eyes though. One of pure satisfaction.

Maybe Grady had been right. Maybe Gayle had been plotting.

She told Grady that. He just smirked at her, like he was enjoying being right.

He had always been very much like his mother. The rat.

“Stop looking at me that way, or I am telling your mother and Gia that you kissed me completely senseless. Then they will never leave you alone, darling future husband. They’ll have the wedding planned, and have Gunn rehearsing his lines before we can blink.

Then I’ll have to go around all heartbroken when you dump me. ”

No missing the challenge in her words there. For either of them.

“Don’t tease me with that. I may just take you up on it. Keep you forever. It would be you dumping me, honey, and I would never let that happen. If you were mine, I’d never let you go…”

Oh, dear gravy. Her stomach had just dropped like on a roller coaster with that. Hiller men should so come with warning labels. They shouldn’t be allowed to talk to women like that. It just wasn’t fair.

“Okay, so now you are proposing. Did something change your mind since last week when you told me not to get my hopes up or anything?”

“Yeah, you might say that. About…five hours ago, actually.”

Five hours. Her cheeks burned. “You jerk. We are going to have to talk about that kiss, aren’t we?”

He led the way into the barn. “Of course we will. Our old pony is in the first stall. She’s a sucker for babies.”

Hala recognized the pony in question. She was most certainly magical. “She has to be at least thirty now?”

“More than that. We got her when mom was pregnant with Gia, I think. I was around three or so. First pony Gunn and I rode. All the girls, too.”

“Me, too.” A good deal of her childhood had been spent right here on the Hiller Ranch. It felt like…home. No denying that. So many of her good memories had happened right here.

Even with him.

They spent a good ten minutes ‘showing’ the babies the pony.

Each one just…blinked and cooed. And blinked and cooed some more.

Then, Chantal and Gene showed up out of nowhere to get them so their mother could feed them.

Hala offered to carry Charis back to Rory, but one look at Chantal and Gene had her backing off.

They were going to take the long way back to the porch, apparently. They were so cute together. Chantal had always been so feisty, and Gene just looked besotted every time he looked at her. Rather like George did with Ronnie, actually.

But then…she was completely alone in the barn, with Grady Treyton Hiller.

The man who had kissed her senseless. Yikes. Now what?

“I should…get back up there. See if Greer needs help?—"

“There are plenty of people here to help my sister. We need to talk about this morning.”

He trapped her against the stall. His arms were on either side of her now. She could feel the heat of him against her. Her heart pounded so loud—it was a wonder his precious pony didn’t hear.

“Unless you’re afraid of me now?”

Her breath caught.

Not from fear.

No. She actually felt…excitement? Anticipation?

Did she want him to kiss her again?

This was insane. This…this was Grady.

But yes, yes she did. She did want him to kiss her again. So she could see…if what she’d felt had been real this morning.

“Unless you are looking for that boyfriend of yours? I saw him and two of his sisters earlier.”

“Who?” It took her far too long to put it together. Her cheeks burned when he smirked.

“Good old Luie. Did you forget?”

His hand came up, and he cupped her cheek. Holy bananas, she could smell him, even over the scent of the barn. He smelled perfect. She wanted to stretch right up and just…kiss him. See if it had been a fluke that morning or not. Kissing Grady Hiller was beyond insane.

“He’s a good man. You should probably…You know. Date him and stuff.”

There was a look in his eyes she didn’t understand. An almost sadness? What was going on in that complicated Hiller-man brain of his?

“Shouldn’t I get to decide that?” She didn’t want to go kiss Luis Sandoval, nice man or not. Hala thought she’d rather just kiss the man in front of her.

Kiss the man who had just cuddled a sweet little baby in his arms. Who had just kissed an old pony right between her clouded eyes and told her he loved her forever, and she was the best pony in the entire world.

She wanted to kiss Grady again. Grady, the man she had thought she knew, but now realized she’d never known at all.

Hala wanted to figure this out.

She’d felt both excited and safe when he’d kissed her. A crazy mix of insanity, no doubt. But it was true. She’d felt excited when she kissed him. Like she hadn’t with a man in a long, long time.

And she…felt safer with Grady than she had with any other man on the planet.

No matter what happened between them, how angry she made him, he would never do anything to hurt her. Ever. She knew that to the bottom of her soul.

She was safe with this man.

“Maybe, I don’t want to kiss Luis, Grady? Did you ever consider that?”

Hala took a step forward, and did the boldest thing she had ever done in her life. Right there in the middle of the Hillers’ horse barn. She just did it.

She put her hands on those broad shoulders, went up on her toes, and did it.

Right there in the middle of his precious horses.

She kissed Grady Treyton Hiller.

And changed everything forever.