Page 14 of To Hold and Protect

Damn hands didn’t want to let her go. “Keeping you from breaking your neck.” He turned his back on her and squeezed his eyes shut. As soon as he fixed her swing, he’d go to work and not think a single thought of Miss Willow in her shorts and cowboy boots. And when he drove by her house, which unfortunately he had to because they were on a dead-end street, he’d keep his face forward, his eyes on the road, and he would not even glance at her house. The next time he did, he’d probably see her on the roof trying to lay tile or repair a leak.

Fifteen minutes later, he had the screws secured in a support beam, the swing hung, a somewhat pissy thank-you from her, which amused him and then because it did, made him pissy.

“Oh, you have your dog with you,” she said from behind him as he neared his car.

He stilled. “Yep,” he said, not turning around so he wouldn’t have to look at her and those long legs. Well, that didn’t work because she moved ahead of him, stopping at the open window of his car.

“What’s its name?”

“Ember.”

“A girl doggie?”

“Yes, a girldoggie.” Ember thought highly of herself, and he doubted she appreciated being called a doggie.

“Can I pet her?”

No, but you can pet me.“Stop it.”

“Pardon?” She frowned at him. “Are you okay?”

“Just peachy. Yes, you can pet her. She’s shy, so she won’t react to you.” And then his dog went and made a liar out of him.

“You’re such a pretty girl, yes, you are,” Willow said, sticking her face through the open window and laughing when Ember tried to lick her chin.

Parker scowled at his dog. Ember never greeted him with licks.Traitor.

“Are you on the way to work, and does she go with you?”

“Yes and yes. She’s a working dog.”

“Oh, like a Dalmatian that rides on a fire truck, just without the spots?”

He swallowed a laugh. Again. “No, she’s an accelerant detection dog.”

“Meaning?”

“What it sounds like. She alerts on accelerants if they were used to start a fire.”

“Oh, that’s cool.” She gave Ember a last scratch behind the ears, then turned and leaned back against the car door. “What made you want to be a fireman?”

“Firefighter. We don’t call ourselves firemen.” She was a chatty thing.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to insult you. I’ll have to remember that if I ever have afirefightercharacter in one of my books.” She smirked.

Even her smirks were cute, and that had him scowling again. Why was he standing here chitchatting with her when his plan was to avoid her? “Need to go.” Before he asked her what books, because now he was curious.

“Oh, okay. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Not if he could help it.

The next day, Parker and his brothers got a group text from the girls that a cookout was on for tonight. He called Tristan. “Have I forgotten a birthday or something?”

“I was wondering the same thing. Let me call Kade, see if he knows what’s up.”

“Okay. Let me know if I have to go buy a present for some reason or other.” He knew it wasn’t his or one of his brother’s birthdays, but maybe Skylar or Harper? No, not Skylar. Tristan would have known that.

Tristan called back five minutes later. “He doesn’t know anything either, other than it’s not Harper’s birthday. And it’s not Skye’s. Guess it’s a no-reason cookout.”

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