Page 4 of To Hold and Protect

After the football game, they’d grilled some hamburgers and were now sitting around the deck table, he and his brothers with a beer, and the girls enjoying a glass of wine. The three dogs were sacked out on the deck, tired from playing all afternoon. Kade and his girlfriend, Harper, had been out of town for a week and had returned yesterday afternoon. Everly was conked out on his lap, and he needed to wake her so he could get her bathed and into bed. He’d do that as soon as he finished his beer.

“What makes you think she’s here to sell the house?” Tristan said. “I heard Bob’s lawyer was trying to find the next of kin.”

“Her name’s Willow Landry, so she’s obviously the next of kin. Her car has an Ohio tag, which is why I’m guessing she’s here to sell the house.”

“Oh, you met her?” Harper asked. “What’s she like?”

He shrugged. “Didn’t talk to her long.” He didn’t know why he was reluctant to talk about her other than the part where she disturbed him.

Skylar rolled her eyes. “Give us something. Young? Old? Pretty? Nice?”

“Yes, no, I guess, not sure.”

Kade snorted.

He liked both his brothers’ girlfriends. Skylar Morgan, soon to be Skylar Church, was the county sheriff. She and his oldest brother, Tristan, were made for each other. Took them a year to figure that out, with some misery thrown in there, but now they were very much in love.

Kade, who not long ago had been a Delta Force operator in the Army, now worked for Talon Security, as did Harper. He didn’t talk much about what he did, but the reason for his recent trip had been to rescue two teenage girls who’d been kidnapped while on spring break in Mexico. Parker was proud of his other future sister-in-law. Harper had been put through hell by a deranged cop, and the experience had resulted in the job she did now for Talon, providing support for the women and children that Talon rescued.

He was happy for his brothers. If anyone deserved to be happy, it was them. He tried not to envy them, and even though he had no intention of falling in love again—been there, done that enough times that it was embarrassing—he did envy them a little. His problem was that he was a romantic at heart and fell in love too easily.

He’d truly believed he’d finally foundthe onein Everly’s mother, but he couldn’t have been more wrong. She’d cured him of loving the feeling of being in love. He didn’t regret that time in his life, though, because he’d come away with a beautiful daughter.

“This girl needs her bath and bed.” He’d put her straight to bed if she hadn’t gotten so sweaty and dirty playing.

“How’s the painting going?” Tristan asked. “You gonna be ready for your show?”

“I’m on schedule. As soon as I get Ev to bed, I’ll paint for a while.” He had no intention of putting the painting of Willow Landry in the show, so he still had five pieces to go, and that now had him a day behind the schedule he’d set.

“What’s the theme of this one?” Kade asked.

“Scenes Through a Window.”

Kade raised his brows. “All the paintings are scenes through a window?”

“Yep.”

“Can we come see what you have so far?” Skylar asked.

“Not tonight. Maybe this weekend.” He didn’t want them coming in the studio because the painting of Willow was still on the easel, and he did not want the questions that would follow if they saw it. In fact, he needed to hide it before Everly saw it.

“We’ve all got our flights for your show and found a brownstone to rent that’s big enough for all of us,” Harper said. “It’s going to be so cool to whisper to someone looking at one of your paintings that I know the artist.” She grinned.

Skylar laughed. “You name-dropper you.”

“You’re going to do the same thing,” Harper replied.

“True.”

“Just remember my name’s Park C. Tell them you know Parker Church and they’ll yawn.” He stood with Everly in his arms. “Enjoy your evening, people.”

Ember followed him in and sat in the bathroom while he got Everly clean. The dog was more reserved than Tristan’s dog, Fuzz, and especially Kade’s dog, Duke. She was Parker’s shadow during the day and had appointed herself Everly’s nighttime guard, sleeping next to Ev’s bed.

After Ev was clean and had her pajamas on, she chose a book. “This one tonight, Daddy.”

It was her favorite, and she knew it by heart, so he couldn’t cheat. But she’d be asleep before he reached the end. He got her under the covers, then he settled next to her and leaned back on the headboard. Worn out from their play and being a human football—one of her favorite games—she didn’t even make it to page seven. He closed the book, then kissed his baby girl on her forehead. “Keep her safe for me,” he told Ember.

His brothers and their ladies were still on the deck when he passed on the way to his studio, and he waved and kept going. As he often did, he paused inside the door as a deep sense of wonder rolled over him at what he’d achieved, and that he’d been able to build the perfect place for him and Everly to paint.

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