Page 13 of To Hold and Protect

“Ah. Well, thanks for the invite, but I have cabinets to demolish today.”

“Okay, but dinner tomorrow night,” Harper said. “Come over around five and we’ll have a glass of wine while the guys grill.”

“Looking forward to it. What can I bring?”

“Chocolate cake!” Everly said rather loudly.

“You got it.”

They left, and she got busy smashing cabinets and counters—attempting to, anyway—until Buddy Napier arrived. She liked the older man, and he had some good suggestions for her house remodel. He promised to get back to her in a few days with an estimate, but unless it was outrageous, she already knew she was going to hire him.

The dumpster had arrived, and she was hauling pieces of cabinets out to it when her porch swing was delivered. She’d bought the necessary hardware at her favorite general store after watching a video on hanging a porch swing, and she wanted it up. She was sure she could manage it.

Chapter Seven

What the devil was she doing? Parker stopped the SUV in front of Willow’s house. The woman was standing on the top of a stepladder, the end of a long chain in her hand as she tried to pull up the swing attached to it. He rolled his eyes. She was going to fall, break a leg, then his EMTs were going to have to come tend to her.

She glanced at his car as he backed up to park in her driveway, narrowed her eyes at him when he exited the car, then looked away, dismissing him. Annoyed by that, and then annoyed that he was annoyed, because that was what he wanted, right? He sure planned to ignore her.

Although that was going to be difficult if she kept wearing shorts that showed off her long legs. She was missing the straw hat, but the cowboy boots were on her feet. She grunted with the effort to pull the chain up to the hook.

“You sure the hooks are in a support beam?” he said as he took the chain from her. She rolled her eyes, and he almost chuckled, thinking that he’d rolled his eyes at her only a minute ago.

“I’m sure.”

“Okay, move out of the way.”

She saluted him. “Yes, sir.”

He suppressed another chuckle. She was a feisty one. Her mass of curly hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, and he had the urge to tug on it like a twelve-year-old boy tormenting a girl he liked because he didn’t know how else to flirt with her. And that was the thing—he truly didn’t have that skill anymore. He’d forgotten how to flirt somewhere around the time he’d held a red-faced newborn in his arms and had dedicated his life to her.

Not that he hadn’t had girlfriends. He’d loved four girls in high school, one each year. He’d started on the love path when he was six and decided he was going to marry Lina Peterman. She was the cutest thing with her missing two front teeth. But it had been in France when he’d lost his heart for the last time, and he had no intention of ever recovering it. His romantic soul was cured of wanting to be in love.

He had his daughter, his brothers, his art, and a second job he loved. What else did he need? Sure, he liked sex as much as the next person, but he could go months without thinking much about it. Mostly because he stayed busy. It was Willow’s fault he had sex on the brain lately, and he’d call Andrea soon and make a trip to Asheville.

Even if he did want to be in a relationship, he wouldn’t unless the woman absolutely loved his girl, and Everly loved the woman. And even then, he’d be hesitant because if things didn’t work out, Everly—who loved as easily as he once had—would be hurt, and that was unacceptable. It had worried him that she didn’t have a female role model in her life, but now that Skylar and Harper were in the picture, that was no longer a concern.

So, any thoughts—and there had been—of pursuing something with free-spirited Willow Landry were just that, thoughts. No matter how intriguing and striking she was. Besides, she drove a yellow car, and just no.

“You don’t have to do that,” he said when Willow tried to help by lifting the end of the swing. “I got it.”

She threw her hands up and stepped back. “Fine, Mr. Muscles.”

He wished she’d stop being amusing. After securing the end of the chain to the hook, he moved to the other side and slipped the chain on that hook. “All done, and a thank-you cake isn’t necessary.”

“Can I just tell you thank you then, or is that forbidden?”

He almost smiled. “Not forbidden, and you’re welcome.” He’d reached the porch steps when the swing crashed to the floor. She screamed, and he raised his brows. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and say those hooks werenotscrewed into a support beam.”

“Anyone ever tell you that you’re funny?”

He pretended to think about it for a few seconds. “Hmm, not that I can recall.”

“Now, there’s a surprise.”

A chuckle escaped before he could stop it, and he coughed to cover the sound. When she put a foot on the stepladder, presumably to unscrew the hook, he sighed. “Stand back.” She continued to the next step, and he shook his head. Stubborn girl. He put his hands on her waist, picked her up, and set her on her feet away from the stepladder.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

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