Honor and Desire (Gold Sky #3) - Rebel Carter Page 0,84

nothing, preferring to hug their daughter and enjoy the moment before they resumed their roles as sheriffs.

This was a family moment. A time of bliss each other them would remember and cherish. This was their heart.

Outlaws deserved to witness no such thing.

Chapter 16

“Tell us again!” Rose was bouncing on her feet, and asking for what Seylah suspected was the fiftieth retelling of how she had rescued their fathers earlier that week.

“Oh, Rose, not again.” Seylah closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. “My throat is sore from all the storytelling.”

Rose flung her arms out and sighed dramatically. “But I love it so.”

“It really is a wonderfully dramatic story,” Florence chimed in while Delilah laughed and gave Seylah a shrug.

“They aren’t wrong, dear sister. It’s a dashing story of you saving the day, like we knew you would and could.” Delilah reached out tapping a finger against the silver badge pinned to Seylah’s vest.

“And this does look absolutely perfect on you.”

Seylah beamed at her sister’s words. “Thank you, Del.”

Delilah inclined her head with a smile. “You do know how proud we all are of you, don’t you?”

“Of course, I do. You’ve made me so happy. I never thought my heart could be this full. Everything is just perfect,” she said meaning every word of it. Since their return to town, things had been different and the same, an interesting combination to say the least. But it was a life more suited to her as a woman.

People no longer stared and whispered when she and August carried on, just smiled and waved to them in passing. It was common knowledge the two planned to marry, she had left her place as a secretary and been deputized in a quiet little ceremony with her family. Her mother had sobbed through the entire thing and could still be found sniffling over her “baby girl” when she thought no one was looking.

They hadn’t the heart to tell their mother that they all knew each time she went into a sniffling fit, and the sister had worked out a system of steadfastly avoiding their mother or looking the other way conveniently when Julie began to dab at her eyes.

But for all the tears, her parents were proud of her. All three of them. And Seylah finally felt as if she were becoming who she had always been meant to become.

The town was not the same, and neither was she. A knock at the door pulled their attention away from Rose who had just mustered up the strength to try her hand at demanding another re-telling from Seylah.

“I’ll get it!” Florence shouted rushing from the room as if she were being chased and the sister’s exchanged a look.

“What has her so eager to answer the door?” Seylah asked.

Her other two sisters gave her confused looks. “No idea but it is out of character,” Delilah remarked rubbing her chin.

“We shall have to get to the bottom of it,” Rose added creeping towards the doorway but no sooner had she taken a step did Florence re-enter the room with her shoulders slumped.

“It’s for you, Seylah. You have a caller.” Florence threw herself down onto the settee and stared morosely at the ceiling. “You have a wonderfully suited caller and I have none. Not even one.”

“As opposed to what? Two?” Rose asked with a laugh, but when Florence did not laugh, her sister sat and pointed a finger at her. “You do mean two, you little chit!”

“Oh, please, I am woefully nothing of the sort.”

“Liar! Who are you trying to lure over here? Two men? Rose!”

“Go on,” Delilah said waving a hand at Seylah. “They will still be carrying on when you return and we can see what she means.”

Seylah laughed and made for the door. “Good luck. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Delilah nodded but her sister was already bustling over to stand between the two sisters who were now bickering in earnest. Seylah made her way to the door and wasn’t surprised when she saw August waiting on the porch for her.

“Hi,” she greeted him, shutting the door to block out the sound of her sister’s raised voices.

“Just another quiet night at home, I see,” he said with a grin and she rolled her eyes.

“Let’s walk?” she asked holding out a hand to him. “I fear we won’t get much talking done if we are within earshot of them.” August took her hand and hummed in agreement when a loud thump was heard from inside the