Page 34 of To Hold and Protect

“What was that about giving him a ride from the jail?”

“Three times a year, Earl gets a drunk on. On the anniversary of his wife’s death, the anniversary of his best friend getting killed when standing next to him during Desert Storm, and on the anniversary he killed a man.”

“What? He killed someone?”

“Yeah. For a long time, everyone knew the reason for his drunk on the date his wife died. It was only recently he finally told Skylar the reasons for the other two times. He has a soft spot for her, so I guess that’s why he unburdened to her. She asked if she could tell me, Tristan, and Kade, and he said she could.”

“I can’t see him killing someone. He seems too gentle.”

Parker glanced at her. “He really is. The man he killed was a second cousin he caught raping his wife not long after they got married. On the anniversary of each of those events, he rides his lawn mower to Beam Me Up, gets his drunk on, then calls Dispatch and tells them he’s ready to go to jail. He spends one night in a cell, his penance, I guess. The best part of that story is Billy. The goat rides on the hood of the mower to the bar, spends the night in the cell with Earl, and the next morning one of us takes them back to the bar where his riding mower is so he and Billy can ride it home.”

“That’s both hilarious and sad at the same time.”

“Yeah, it is.”

They were back on Main Street and would be at their houses in another ten minutes, and since he seemed to be in a good mood now, she’d ask him one more time to consider letting her send her story and Everly’s illustrations to her agent. Seeing her drawings in a published book would thrill Everly to no end.

“I still can’t get over Everly’s illustrations. They’re amazing for her age. When did you know she had talent?”

“When she was around two. I’d take her into the studio with me and put her down on a pallet next to my easel. One day, she said, ‘Me, Daddy’ when I was painting. I thought she wanted me to pick her up, so I did, and she reached for my paintbrush. Curious, I set up a new canvas, put a brush in her hands, and held my palette of paints in front of her. She painted an abstract that wasn’t great, but the colors she chose were complementary colors of the same brightness and hue. I thought it was a fluke, so the next day, I gave her another blank canvas. On that one, she painted another abstract, but in perfect contrasting colors.”

“That’s amazing. When did she start painting actual things?” Talent was one thing. She’d always been a talented writer, but would she ever write a book that the entire world wanted to read? No, and she was good with that. She’d found her niche, and she was happy. But Everly’s talent transcended anything normal.

“I don’t remember exactly, but around three.”

“Have you ever heard of someone that young—”

“There are numerous children who have shown that kind of artistic talent at very early ages. One little girl was only two when her art was selling for thousands. Ev’s not a freak.”

She hadn’t meant to, but she’d obviously hit a nerve. “Of course she isn’t, but you have to admit that talent oozes out of her fingertips. I wish you’d let me send her illustrations to—”

“No.”

“Even if there’s interest, and I think there will be, you won’t have to agree to anything. We could just test the water.”

“No.”

“Why not? You’re really adamant with that no. Is there a reason you won’t even consider it?”

For the rest of the way home, he didn’t say anything, and she wanted to shake the reason out of him because there must be one. They reached her house, and he turned into her driveway and stopped. He tapped a finger on the steering wheel as he stared out the windshield, and she had the impression he was debating with himself.

He sighed as if giving in to something he didn’t want to do. “I need to tell you a story.”

Chapter Sixteen

Later that night, after he got Everly to bed, Parker walked over to Willow’s with Ember at his side. He’d told her he’d come back later tonight because he wanted some time to think about what he was going to say. To decide if he even was going to tell her about the worst time in his life and the way his ex-fiancée had played him.

He didn’t know Willow, not really, and what if, thinking she was doing a good thing, she took it on herself to send her agent his daughter’s illustrations despite his telling her no? Throughout the afternoon and early evening, he’d almost texted her and called off going to see her. But, as much as he resented that she’d put him in this position, he’d share his story with her if it kept her from doing something behind his back. For his little girl, he’d bare his soul.

Ember had picked up on his tension and hadn’t wanted to go to bed with Everly, a first since she’d started sleeping in his daughter’s room. Everly had refused to go to her room without Ember, so the sneaky dog had escaped as soon as Ev was asleep and had returned to Parker’s side.

He’d texted Willow that he was on his way, and when he reached her porch, she was sitting in her new swing. His artist eye soaked up the picture in front of him. She wore a white sundress dotted with yellow daises and had a yellow shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Her hair was loose and curling around her face and neck, and instead of her favored cowboy boots, white flip-flops were on her feet. His gaze caught for a moment on her toenails. Lime green shouldn’t look that sexy. She’d strung fairy lights since he’d last been here, and colorful flowers in pots were scattered around. Two hummingbird feeders hung at the edge of the porch’s ceiling.

As if his artist mind had found a new muse, he longed to set his easel up here on her porch and paint.Willow...He shut that thought right down. He was not titling another nonexistent Willow piece that he’d have to paint.

“You brought Ember,” Willow said. “Hey, pretty girl. Come give me some love.” Tail wagging, his dog rushed to her. “You’re just the sweetest thing.” The two of them acted as if they were best friends who hadn’t seen each other in years. Other than him and his family, Ember only tolerated others, so this affection she’d shown toward Willow from the start was surprising.

Willow glanced up at him, then patted the seat next to her. “Come sit.”

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