Honor and Desire (Gold Sky #3) - Rebel Carter Page 0,10

it’s true. You act as if you don’t have eyes, or that half the men in town don’t stop to look when you pass. You are fetching.”

“I am nothing of the sort, and those men are looking because they are worried I’ll box their ears.”

Rose sighed. “You would think that. I blame Papa and Daddy letting you spend so much time with them at the jail.”

“Well, that is what one does when their job is in the jail,” Seylah returned, making Rose’s lips purse in annoyance.

“And that’s the other half of the problem. You spend entirely too much time with that sort of crowd.”

“And what exactly do you mean by that?” Seylah asked, stepping down from the platform to stand in front of her sister.

“Law breakers,” Rose said simply.

“Not all of them are law breakers. August is there a lot, too, and the other deputies!”

“And not a one of them is allowed to so much as ask you for anything other than a ration of bullets or a new holster.”

Seylah laughed. “A ration of bullets, Rose? What do you think it is? A soup hall?”

Rose threw her hands up. “You know what I mean. Those are not the sort of men that will give you the attention you deserve. They’re degenerates!”

“That’s absurd. There are good men employed there, not to mention Papa and Daddy,” Seylah retorted while Rosemary made a sound that didn’t sound as convinced of her fathers’ not being categorized as degenerates.

“That may be, but you are all far too focused on shooting and riding,” Rose replied, undeterred by her sister or Mrs. Rosemary’s reactions. “It’s getting rougher in town, and I worry about you being out there just like Daddy and Papa.”

“If by focused on shooting and riding, you mean keeping Gold Sky safe,” Seylah said, though her sister’s estimation of the company she kept, working at the Sheriff's office, a necessity given the rapid expansion of the town and the increase in population, were ringing in her ears like gunshots. The people of Gold Sky were good people, but it was easy to get carried away, and life on the frontier demanded a certain wildness in a person. To not expect that wildness to make itself known from time-to-time was unrealistic.

And that demanded a strong presence from the sheriffs in town. If that also meant their secretary of sorts pitched in, then Seylah was more than happy to do so. The work was familiar and satisfying, the men were people she had known since childhood, and a little bit of excitement never hurt anyone. Besides, she was a crack shot who could hit a target from a moving horse sure as anything.

Yet ... for all the job’s excitement, Rose was right. Seylah was afforded little opportunity of being admired or of coming into contact with anyone she cared to be admired by. There was something left to be desired when the men in the vicinity were either behind bars or her fathers.

Though not all the men were related to her, but even so, those men were not an option.

Rose sniffed. “Yes, that.”

Seylah rolled her eyes and slipped off the jacket Rosemary had just been fitting for her. “Thank you for the new wardrobe, Mrs. Rosemary. I trust you have enough to finish any other pieces you have in mind for me? I’ll come in for a final fitting of course.”

Rosemary gave her a quick nod and a reassuring smile. “Of course. You’ll love what I have in mind. I’ll send word when I’ve finished the lot of them.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Rosemary.” She turned to Rose and wiggled her fingers in goodbye. “I’ll see you at dinner, hmm? I have to get back to my job surrounded by degenerates after all,” she said shooting her sister a meaningful look as she strode towards the door. She had been away from the office for far too long as it was, if she was lucky, the men there would have kept their noses clean for the most part.

“They don’t deserve you,” Rose called after her sister.

“Oh, never fear, dear sister, of that I am well aware!” Seylah shot back over her shoulder as she stepped out into the sunlight. The women erupted in a chorus of other well meaning chatter, but Seylah firmly shut the door to the dress shop behind her and kept moving. It was a miracle she had managed to make it out of the shop as quickly as she had. Mrs. Rosemary was notorious for