Page 7 of To Hold and Protect

She laughed. “Yeah, I noticed how much you thought of me when I caught you sticking it to Ella.”

“That was a mistake. Come on, where are you staying? We can talk.”

“None of your business, and if you want to talk, go talk to Ella.”

“I’m not seeing her. Please, Willow. I love you, and I really miss you.”

“Should have thought of that before your so-called mistake.” She sighed. “Truthfully, you and Ella did us a favor. Getting married would have been a mistake. I’m not in love with you, Brady. Go find a woman who can be.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“I do, and I wish you the best.” She disconnected before he could reply, then she deleted his contact information and blocked his number. She should be sad, right? But she wasn’t, and any lingering regret or doubt that she’d done the right thing by leaving disappeared. Hearing his voice hadn’t sent longing through her or made her want to cry. She wasn’t even angry with him anymore.

She celebrated the-freedom-from-anger-revelation-yay(!) by going online and ordering a porch swing, a pretty seat cushion for it, and pillows.

Chapter Five

“Miss Willow brought you a cake and cookies,” Andrew said as soon as Parker and Ember walked into the kitchen on arriving home from the fire station. “She said I could have some.”

“Why?” A cake box and white bag with the Sweet Tooth logo on them sat on the counter.

Andrew looked from him to the cake box. “It’s okay. I don’t have to have any.”

“That’s not what I meant.” He put his hand on Andrew’s shoulder. “Of course you can have some, but why did she bring me a cake and cookies?”

“Because you mowed her yard.”

How did she know that? And did that mean he had to thank her now? His intention was to ignore her disturbing existence. He had a possible arsonist to catch and an art show to get ready for that he was a few days behind on because of her. She was a distraction he didn’t need.

Everly ran into the kitchen, followed by Jellybean and Kade’s dog, Duke. If Duke was downstairs, it meant that he’d been locked out of Kade’s third-floor quarters, something that only happened when his brother and Harper were having playtime.

The last time he’d had some playtime had been four months ago, at a conference for fire chiefs in Atlanta, and that one he’d ended up regretting. As the fire chief, he didn’t need a reputation as a player. That left him with out-of-town conferences and his art shows in other cities for a hookup, but his enthusiasm for random bed partners had soured after Atlanta. As for dating, he might consider that after Everly went off to college.

There was still Asheville. The woman who lived there couldn’t care less that months might pass before he called to say he was in town, but Andrea always welcomed him when he did. It might be time for another Asheville trip.

“Daddy! You’re home!”

His daughter ran at him, and he opened his arms for her to jump into. This precious girl was his life, the only female he needed. “Hey, ladybug. What’s cooking?” He nibbled on her neck. Her giggly laughter would put a hyena to shame. God, he loved his baby girl.

“What’s that?”

He followed her gaze. “That would be a cake.”

“What kind?”

“Don’t know. Let’s see.” Still holding her, he lifted the lid. Anything from Sweet Tooth was going to be good, but their chocolate cake was food from heaven.

“I want some, Daddy.”

“You know the rule. No dessert before dinner.” He glanced at Andrew. “What’s on the menu tonight?”

“It’s Tuesday,” Andrew said as if puzzled why Parker was asking that question.

“Right. Taco Tuesday.” He would have known that if a certain new neighbor wasn’t messing with his brain cells. “Cake after dinner, baby girl.”

“Did you buy us a cake, Daddy?” she asked.

“Miss Willow did,” Andrew said.

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