Page 16 of To Hold and Protect

He was confusing. She didn’t know why he didn’t like her, being the nice person she was. It wasn’t her fault his daughter had found her way over to her house, if that was what his problem was. The rest of his family was great, though. Everly was precious, his brothers funny and nice, and she could see herself being friends with Skylar and Harper. She could use a girlfriend or two after her bestie betrayed her.

Everly reached over and patted her hand. “My daddy won’t let it fall down. You want a pickle?”

“Um...” Before she could say she’d pass on a pickle, Everly handed her one, then took another one for herself.

“Aunt Skylar, Miss Harper, you can have a pickle, too. I can’t call Miss Harper aunt yet because she doesn’t have a ring. When she does, then I can. My uncles don’t like pickles, but my daddy will eat one with me sometimes.” She peered at her father. “Right, Daddy?”

“Right. Now how about you use your ears for a little while, okay?”

“Okay.” She sent a sigh Willow’s way. “That means I have to stop talking and listen.”

Willow wanted to laugh when Everly gave another sigh, a big one this time. The little girl was just too cute. She glanced at Parker over Everly’s head to see he was looking at her, and she could swear his lips had almost twitched when he met her gaze.

His saving grace was his love for his daughter, evident in the way his eyes and smile softened when he looked at her. She wondered where Everly’s mother was. The little girl had said she wanted a mommy, which made Willow think her birth mother had died. Maybe that was why Parker was grouchy...or that he really wasn’t grouchy but grieving.

If she was right, then her heart went out to him. It had broken her when Austin walked away, but he was still on this earth, and because he was, buried deep was the awareness that he might decide he’d made a mistake and would come back to her someday.

For a long time after he left, there had been the hope that would happen. That hope had faded over time, and now it was just an awareness of the possibility. She was over him...believed she was. Hoped she was. Sometimes, when she let herself imagine Austin appearing out of the blue and telling her he’d made a mistake, she wondered what she’d do. Take him back or not? She didn’t know. But the death of someone you loved? Knowing there would never be a chance to see them again, hold them, love them? How did you get over that? Was Parker’s grouchiness a front for his grief?

She crunched on her pickle while thinking about this new insight and stealing glances at the man as he studiously ignored her in return. What was his problem with her specifically? The more she was around him and the more he scowled at her, the more he fascinated her. She wanted to solve the puzzle of Parker Church.

Oh, that’s not good. I don’t need to be fascinated by any man.

“Willow writes children’s books,” Skylar said. “How cool is that?”

Everyone’s gazes landed on her...well, except for the man who was pretending she didn’t exist. “It really is pretty cool, especially when I get a letter or an email from a kid who wants me to know how much he or she loves my stories. A few days ago, I got one from a boy who said he used to hate to read but now he loves reading my books. He wanted to know if I could write faster. Made my day.”

“What kind of stories do you write?” Tristan asked.

“My target audience is ages eight to twelve. My current series, the one I’m working on,The Magic Quill, is fantasy.”

“What’s it about?” Harper asked.

“There are five friends, two boys and three girls. In the first book, Bri goes with her mother to an antique store. While her mom is browsing, Bri finds a quill, and—”

“What’s a quill?” Everly said.

“It’s what people a long time ago used to write with. Here, I’ll show you.” She picked up her phone from the table, and when she had a picture of a quill on the screen, she showed it to Everly.

Everly’s eyebrows scrunched together as she sat forward and stared at the photo. “How do you write with a feather?”

“Tell you what. I have one that I’ll show you one day.”

“Now?”

Parker pulled his daughter back against his chest. “Not now, Ev. Let Miss Willow finish telling us about her story.”

“Tomorrow?”

Willow smiled. She loved children’s curiosity. “Sure.” She glanced at Parker. “If your dad says it’s okay for you to come over.” That got narrowed eyes from Parker, and she wanted to laugh.

“Can I, Daddy? Please.”

“We’ll see.”

The oldwe’ll see, meaning not if he could help it. If he only knew how stubborn she was. She’d make a friend out of him or die trying. “Anyway, when Bri finds the quill, she just has to have it, and her mom buys it for her. Turns out it’s a magic quill. Bri’s having a hard time with something, and the quill helps her on a journey of discovery inBri and the Lost Ring. At the end of Bri’s story, she gives the quill to her friend Griffin, who’s being bullied, and the magic quill will help him, and so on to the next child in the series.”

“That’s so fascinating,” Harper said. “Now I want to read them.”

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