“Don’t be bitter because you ended up back in the cells,” the familiar voice of my soon-to-be brother-in-law rumbled from behind me.
Looking over my shoulder, I saw him standing with my sister beside him. The sister who looked fabulous in a lady pirate’s costume which had a skirt that was cut at an angle, starting high on one hip and ending at the ankle on the other side, teamed with a white lady pirate shirt, and a brown corseted vest over it. It was gorgeous! I, on the other hand, had a short ruffled black and red skirt, and a corset that had a white panel under the laces that went up the front. I swear, if I looked down I’d be able to rest my chin on my boobies, and if I bent over people would forever know my secrets. I wasn’t joking when I said it wasn’t made for someone of my five-foot-six height, more like four-foot-six.
“Hey, where’d you find a pirate hooker costume?” she asked, looking me up and down. “Wow, nice rack!”
“If I bent over, it would be a nice crack, too,” I told her smiling sweetly. “And I didn’t, this phlegm wad here found it.”
Looking over at him, she snorted when she saw him dressed up like Captain Jack Sparrow himself, but without the wig. “Nice. Did you dare her by any chance?”
He didn’t reply seeing as how both Dave and Hurst reached for Liv at the same time, making him take a step back as he glared at them. “Cut it out. I already told you not while you’re on that horse,” he said to Hurst. “And you, just no,” he directed at Dave. “Yesterday, you said you’d only hold her for five minutes, but you had her for two hours.”
“You were cleaning up spider guts, what else was I meant to do?”
“Uh, Hurst? When did you get a horse?” Tabby asked, bringing all of our attention back onto the man who was about twenty feet up in the air, on the back of the biggest horse I’d ever seen.
“Ah,” he rubbed the back of his neck, knocking his pirate hat so that it now sat at an angle. “Lindee bought it for me?”
Taking a step forward, Dave narrowed his eyes and looked the man and horse over. “Is that a question?”
“No?” he mumbled, his eyes looking everywhere but at the sheriff.
“So, Linda bought you that horse?” Dave clarified, making Hurst look even more uncomfortable.
“I sure as hell did not,” Linda snapped, walking up to us. “Hurst Townsend, get down off that thing now,” she ordered, then turned back to face us – smiling as she took in the men’s costumes- and then reaching out for Liv when she saw her. “Aw, look at my little girl,” she cooed, not even waiting for Ellis to let go of her before she pulled her out of his arms and over to her chest. “Who’s the most beautiful little pirate princess in all the lands? Well, along with my granddaughters because I can’t have a favorite now, can I? I bet you they’d fight big wars in their big wooden ships for you, Miss. Olivia. I know all of these men would.”
I felt tears getting closer to the surface with every word. This family and their capacity to love was unreal, and every word that she was saying was genuine, as was Hurst’s obsession with hogging her whenever he could. Every time they did it, Liv absorbed it all and giggled from the heart, loving every single second of the attention. Call me stupid, but loving my baby meant more to me than anything. She was my everything, and if you loved her and made her feel like the best thing in the world, you were the shiznet.
“And there’s your beautiful auntie Tabby, the sassy pirate wench,” she continued, nodding at my sister.
Not missing a beat, Tabby curtsied and dramatically swept her arm out in front of her. “Why thank you, equally fabulous and sassy pirate wench.”
Winking at her, she turned to look at me and froze. “Uh, and here’s…”
Sighing, I glared over at Ellis. “A beer addicted Oktoberfest pirate hooker.”
“No, darlin’, you look like the most beautiful pirate wench I’ve ever seen,” Linda said softly, drawing my attention back to her and seeing the same expression she had when she’d looked at Liv. “Your beauty always shines so bright it hurts my eyes, Jose.”
I stayed quiet, not quite knowing what to say. I wasn’t one of those people who could take compliments easily, they made me feel uncomfortable regardless of who was saying them. Fortunately, it was Hurst who saved me. “For the love of beer, bourbon, and potatoes, will you let me hold that sweet baby.”
Unfortunately for him, he not only failed to get Liv, but he got Linda’s attention back onto him and what he was doing. “And you – don’t think for one second that I don’t know you won the day on Tarzan here yesterday, when Logan’s granddaddy lost a race.” At this, Hurst’s face went slightly pale and his eyes flicked to Dave. I wasn’t sure if it was the mention of his deputy’s grandad or the race part, but he started to shift nervously in the saddle. Turning back to face us, she fumed, “Should he be doing things like that? No, no, he damn well shouldn’t be. He’s racing and doing crazy things, when it’s only been a couple of months since we almost lost him and he needed a triple bypass to bring him back.”