“We named him Greer Alexander Coleman,” she told him softly. “Greer after you, of course, then Alexander after Alexander the Great. We”—Alanna had to push back another sob—“named him after men who don’t have the word defeat in their vocabulary. You made me whole again … Greer. Matthew may have brought the sun back into my life again … but, Greer, the gift you shared with me … made the impossible … possible. I should be the one paying … not you.”

Greer’s face twisted as he tried to form words.

“Don’t … stress yourself.” Wiping her tears away, she gave him a firm look. “So, this is what I’m going to do. Every day, I’m going to come over and bring little Greer Alexander with me, and I’ll work with you on your speech. Then I will help you with your physical therapy exercises.”

Instead of looking pleased, Greer started shaking his head. “Do … n’t need yer hel … p.”

Standing up, she placed her hands on her hips. “Holly and I will go over your menu, so you’re only eating the healthiest foods, which will help you regain the strength you need. No more fatty steaks, fries, triple decker burgers.”

Greer’s eyes started to bug out when she mentioned the triple decker burgers.

“You’re going to be back on your feet like this.” She snapped her fingers, which resulted in her waking baby Greer. She let the baby cry for a couple of seconds before lifting him into her arms to pass him back to Matthew, who was manfully trying not to laugh, while Dustin and Tate had to leave the doorway when they couldn’t hold their laughter back.

“Oh … and before I forget, I’ll have Matthew take down those ‘No Trespassing’ signs that read ‘you’re dead in sixty seconds’ to ‘you’re dead in ten minutes, give or take’ until you get the hang of running again.”

She turned to look at Matthew, who was putting baby Greer back in his carrier. “Did I forget anything?”

“No,” Matthew said before he couldn’t hold his laughter any longer at Greer’s affronted expression.

Turning back to Greer, she gave him one more tidbit to chew on. She reached out to smooth his white hair down then placed a hand on each side of his face. “By the way, don’t think you’re going to keep that door locked. Holly looked pretty upset when I got here. We don’t want her worried about you, do we? Take it from me, Greer, she doesn’t give a damn what you look like. I guarantee she’s just thanking God you’re alive.” Straightening, she moved away from Greer. “See you tomorrow. Rest up.”

She breezily left the room and went around the corner to find Dustin, Tate, and Holly waiting with admiration on their faces.