“Most artists start with the bill or the body,” she said as she finished one of the webbed feet. “But I like to start at the bottom and work my way up. No one thinks the feet are the most important part, but I beg to differ. I think they’re the forgotten foundation of good animal art.” She continued with the lines and loops.
Her slight smile was heaven.
Ethan caught himself gawking and quickly got back to work on the cookies, yanking another tray from the oven.
Annie and Fiona remained bewitched as Em moved to the tail feathers, then up the back to the head and the beak. She chucked in a couple of goofy eyes and a few strokes of shading.
“You try?” She held up the pencil to Annie.
Annie’s mouth parted in awe. “Can you draw him a chicken friend?”
“Make him magical,” Fiona suggested, doing a little jig on her feet.
Emmaline didn’t seem certain, but he’d put his money on her crackin’ this one. Her skills with the pen and paper were bloody brilliant.
He tried to keep focused on the cookies, but Em’s drawing had him completely captivated.
She sketched the chicken on a pedestal, so he’d have room for his magical wand and hat. She’d even chucked in a bunny to pull from the hat. While she was at it, she’d added a little bear cub next to the ducky audience.
She didn’t take extra time for anything too fancy, but she added some shading here and there for effect.
Everyone else might have been in a whole different world because Ethan didn’t hear a peep while she worked, but had that vague sense that the world continued as he got lost in her imagination with her.
At last, apparently happy with the drawing, she showed it to Annie and Fiona. “Like this?”
A chunk of bangs tumbled to her forehead as she leaned forward over the paper.
His hand itched to fix it.
But she lifted her hand to her hair and brushed it aside.
Annie stared at her like she’d personally invented unicorns.
Fiona beamed. “Told ya she’s good.”
“That’s not good.” Patty leaned in.
Em started to cover the image.
Ethan was gearin’ up to throw hands.
“It’s not good,” Patty repeated, staring straight at Em. “It’s brilliant.”
“Ducking brilliant,” Fiona declared.
Em cleared her throat. “Fiona—”
“I didn’t use a bad word.” Fiona jumped right into defense mode. “I said it because it’s a duck. Duck. Duck. Duck.”
Em cleared her throat again. “Let’s try a different word. Hmm?”
“But it’s a ducking duck.” Fiona tossed her hands up like no one in the world understood her.
“Can you draw a ducking duck?” Annie asked. “Maybe the magician chicken accidentally pulls a book out of the hat instead of the bunny and he throws it and the duck has to duck?”
Well, this was turning into a real party, wasn’t it?
“Maybe he could throw it at the bear?” Jim suggested, gettin’ right in on the action.
