Page 41 of To Hold and Protect

“Daddy, do you think Miss Willow is pretty?”

There was only one answer to Everly’s question, and he gave it. “She sure is.” To divert her from where he knew this was going, he said, “Have you decided who all you want to invite to your birthday party?”

“Yes!”

He curled around his baby girl in her bed as she ticked off a long list of names, people he’d already invited. How was she turning six already? He didn’t want her to grow up and leave the nest where he couldn’t protect her, but it was happening faster than he was ready for.

“I told Miss Willow today, and she said she’d be there with bells on.” She yawned, then forced sleepy eyes open. “I want to wear bells on my birthday, too, Daddy.” Then her eyes closed.

He gave her a few minutes, then eased out of her bed, showered, and being hopeful, he grabbed some condoms and shoved them in his pocket. He could hardly believe how quickly he’d gone from his determination to avoid his new neighbor to being all-in on having a secret fling with her.

It was because of the way she’d listened to him, how she’d been angry on his behalf because of what had happened, and then she’d hugged him. Although not all that often, he’d been with women since Simone, and not one of them had hugged him for the sole purpose of giving him comfort. That Willow had...well, it touched him in a way he hadn’t expected. She hadn’t done it with the intention of kissing him, he knew that. It had just been the kindness that lived in her. He’d seen it in the way she was with Everly and the other members of his family.

He’d soaked up her hug like a man walking out of an ice storm into the sunshine. She’d known what he needed even when he hadn’t. That a comfort hug had morphed into his mouth on hers hadn’t been something either one of them had meant to happen, but he was a firefighter and he recognized fire when he touched it. And he’d sure as hell come close to igniting in a ball of fire. What did they say about a moth being drawn to flames? Well, he was that moth.

Even with the explosive chemistry between them, he wouldn’t now be crossing his yard to hers—the baby monitor in his hand—if he didn’t trust her, and he did.

“You could’ve stayed in bed with Everly,” he told Ember as she walked next to him. She looked up at him as if to say, “Are you serious? You’re going to see my new favorite friend, and you’re not leaving me behind.” He chuckled at the whimsical thoughts he’d attributed to a dog, but as soon as he’d left his and Everly’s rooms, apparently knowing where he was going, Ember had appeared. “Guess she put a spell on you, too.”

The lady who was keeping him from what he should be doing right now—painting in his studio—was sitting in her swing under her fairy lights, and as he had the previous night, he paused to paint a Willow canvas in his mind.

Tonight she wore her signature cowboy boots, the tiny denim cutoffs that had almost caused him to run into his neighbor’s mailbox, and a T-shirt that saidI’m a writer. Be nice to me or I’ll kill you off.Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail that he itched to wrap his fist around.

Her eyes were focused on her laptop, and at hearing his footsteps, she held up a finger without looking at him. It was the same thing he did if Everly or one of his brothers interrupted him and he needed a minute or two to reach a stopping point on a painting. Silently he set the baby monitor on the porch rail, then sat on the other end of the swing and waited.

A folded afghan was on the floor at her feet, and Ember curled up on it. There was that kindness that was Willow, having a comfortable bed ready for his dog. Typing faster than he’d ever be able to, she toed off a boot without pausing and buried her toes in Ember’s fur. His gaze fell on those toes, her toenails bubble gum pink tonight. Colors were his jam, and while he waited for her to get to a stopping point, he debated which was sexier, the lime green or bubble gum pink.

Five minutes passed before she closed the lid on her laptop. “Sorry. The solution for a plot hole popped into my head, and I had to get it down before I lost it.”

“Not a problem.” When she smiled at him, his heart did that funny bouncing thing. “How are you?”Seriously, dude. That’s the best you can do?He had no game.

“I’m fine. How are you?”

Amusement was in her eyes, and he realized she was teasing him. Just like that, he relaxed. “I’m fine, too.” Was it too soon to ask what she’d decided?

“Before we get to why you’re here, I have some questions not related to my answer.”

“Let’s hear them.” So they could get to the good part...he hoped it was going to be good.

“First one, was the fire today a bad one?”

“Someone set three of Lonnie’s used cars on fire. They were in his back lot, and unfortunately there aren’t any cameras back there and no one saw anything. But they were intentionally set.”

“So, you think your arsonist did it?”

“My gut says yes. Next question.” Arsonists were hard to catch, and it made him angry that there was one in his town. He just hoped they caught the person before someone got hurt. But he didn’t want to talk about it, not now and not here with her.

“Kade asked you if you were going to be ready for your show. What show?”

“I have a show at a gallery in New York in a few months.”

“Okay. Wow. That’s cool.”

He was going to have to tell her who he was, especially since she knew who Park C was. But he didn’t want to, not tonight. He wanted her to say yes to Parker Church, who was not famous in the art world.

“We got interrupted when you were giving me a tour, and I didn’t get to see any of your art.”

“You can come over tomorrow. I’ll call you after I get home.”

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