Page 42 of To Hold and Protect

“Can’t wait. You must be good if you have a show at a New York gallery.”

She was going to be in for a surprise. “I do okay. Next question.”

“Tristan said to get you to tell me the UFO story.”

“It’s a humdinger. You got any beer?”

“Sure do. Be right back.”

He’d expected to show up, get an answer, and then react accordingly...either leave or take her straight to bed. Instead, he was about to have a beer with her and tell her the most ridiculous story imaginable. A story the fantasy writer in her was going to love. Strangely, he wasn’t disappointed that he wasn’t learning the color of her sheets this very minute.

His nerves had been crackling as he’d walked over, both with anticipation and anxiety. Should he go through with it? There were good reasons not to, Everly being at the top of that list. He wanted to go through with it, possible consequences be damned. Would he be able to guard his heart? He would, damn it. It was simple...mind over matter. He knew his weakness now, so he’d be able to avoid that pitfall.

All those thoughts had tumbled around in his mind from the moment he’d walked out the door of his house, baby monitor in hand, and then, somehow, she’d calmed him with her bubble gum toenails, her kindness to his dog, and her soft, musical voice as she’d asked her questions that had nothing to do with why he was here.

She returned, one cowboy boot on and one off, and handed him one of the beers she held. “Why are you smiling?”

“You.” He glanced down at her feet. “You’re walking lopsided.”

“Easier than putting it back on and then taking it off again.” She returned to her place on the swing. “So, UFOs?”

“You’re going to love this story. Before the town was called Marsville, it was Foothills because obviously, we’re in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Then a long time ago, Miss Mabel’s twin sister, Mavis, eloped with her boyfriend when she was seventeen. He was from the wrong side of the tracks, and her parents had forbidden her to see him. Miss Mabel, to cover the couple’s elopement, told everyone that a UFO had landed in their backyard and an alien had snatched Mavis away right in front of her eyes.”

“No one believed her, right?”

“You’d think, but there had been reports of UFOs all over the world around that time, and it helped that a local man had reported seeing a UFO only a few weeks before. That’s probably what gave Miss Mabel the idea. Also, most of the town worked for the Mackel family in one way or another, so even if they didn’t believe it, they weren’t about to admit it.”

“Did anyone hear from Mavis again?”

“Ah, this is where the story gets even more interesting. A few years later, Mavis showed up with a little boy in tow. The twins claimed, and Miss Mabel still does to this day, that the baby was half alien, which means that our mayor, Luther, as his son, is one fourth Martian.” He grinned when her mouth opened and closed like a fish. “Wasn’t expecting that, were you?”

“This is the best story I’ve ever heard in my life. Please, please, take me to your leader. I need to see this part Martian for myself.”

He laughed at her silliness, and as he did, a feeling of contentment settled over him, the likes of which he couldn’t remember ever feeling. “It’s a date.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized what he’d said, but before he could explain them away, she shook her finger at him.

“Oh, no you don’t. You’re about to panic over a few innocent words, and I’m not having it.”

“No?” A picture of her bossing him in the bedroom flashed in his mind, and he decided he’d be good with that.

“I know you didn’t mean adatedate.”

She toed off her other boot, then brought her legs up on the swing and stretched out until her feet were almost touching his thigh, putting those bubble gum toes and her long legs right in his line of sight. How was he supposed to not look his fill?

He put his hand on her ankle. “Is this okay?”

“For you to touch me?”

He nodded.

“I was hoping you would.”

“So, it’s a yes, then? The answer to last night’s question?”

A soft smile appeared on her face. “It’s a yes.”

“Thank you.” He wanted to say so much more, but he couldn’t find the words to express the joy bursting inside him. Now that he was allowed to touch her, that was all he wanted to do. Her legs felt like silk under his palm as he slid his hand up her calf to her knee.

“One more thing before we get wild and tear our clothes off,” she said.

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