The Bounty Hunter of Her Heart – Extended Epilogue

Whispers of conspiracies filtered down from the hayloft. The sounds of shifting hay and quiet giggles joined it, and Sarah cocked her head and looked up thoughtfully. After the birth of Shadows, the black offspring of Sheba and Belt, the other horses had been moved to another barn so mother and baby could have some peace and quiet. Even Belt was moved out of the barn in the morning. When he spent too much time around Sheba and Shadows, he got a little too protective and wouldn’t let the ranch hands near them.

There was no reason for anyone to be in the hayloft.

Humming to herself, Sarah pretended that she didn’t hear anything and opened the gate to Sheba’s stall. Outside the opening of the barn, Sweetheart patiently stuck her head in to check on the mother. Sheba whinnied in hello and got up to touch noses with the older mare. Sarah took the opportunity to check out the colt.

“Baby boy,” Sarah cooed as she ran her hands over his neck. He was still a little awkward on his legs but easily excited. When he shoved his nose in her hand and attempted to lean against her, Sarah laughed.

This was the second pony spawned by Belt and Sheba. Once the two horses got used to each other, they were inseparable. The first pony, a colt that they named Slinger, was purchased by Morrison aka Lane Connelly. After seeing how beautiful Slinger turned out, ranches from miles around were trying to make bids, but Sarah knew that Jarrod wasn’t going to sell Shadows. He’d had a hard enough time parting with Slinger.

It was difficult to make him understand that profit came from horses. Jarrod always fell in love with every pony and never wanted to sell any of them.

Quiet giggling slipped through the cracks, and Sarah smiled. “Shadows! Sheba! I believe someone has broken into the barn!” she cried out in false panic. “We must send for the sheriff!”

“No!” Two blonde little heads and three brunettes peered out from the edge of the hayloft. “It’s just us, Momma.”

“So it is. Care to explain why you aren’t with the tutor?” The two blondes, Perry and Patty Briggs, had a habit of slipping away from their private tutor. David King, her nephew, was never far from his cousins. The two youngest girls, Diana and Morrison’s daughters Helen, and Autumn were easily swayed to mischief. Together, they’d become the five little devils of Devil’s Pass.

“We lost him,” Perry lied boldly.

“We were up here looking for him!” Patty chimed in. The other three agreed in chorus, and they all blinked innocently.

Sarah folded her arms and studied the children. “And why would you think that your tutor is up in the hayloft?”

“He’s very strange,” Autumn whispered. “There’s no telling where he could be!”

Sighing, Sarah went and stood by the ladder. “Come down. All of you. We’ll go search for your tutor together.” Poor Grayson Jules was probably going to give up on them in the next couple of weeks if Sarah couldn’t get the children to behave

With a groan, they all moved rather slowly from the edge and climbed down the ladder. Perry stayed up to make sure that the others reached the ladder safely. He’d inherited his father’s need to protect, and it warmed her heart.

Once they were all safely down, she made them hold hands and walked them across the pastures to the main house. In the eight years since Jarrod had decided to try his hand at raising horses, the ranch had blossomed. It wasn’t as large as Kings’ Ranch, but they were more than profitable. Sarah enjoyed competing with her brother at horse auctions. Her sister-in-law Lydia often laughed that Joshua was always extra grumpy on the days that he lost.

Sarah adored Lydia. It took a strong woman to accept a man who’d been accused of murder and lived as an outlaw for months, and Lydia, with her bouncing red curls and fiery dark eyes, had just the kind of spine needed to handle Joshua King.

“Is Poppa still looking for the thief who broke into the dress shop?” Patty asked as she gripped Sarah’s hand.

Three days ago, someone had broken into Diana’s shop and stolen yards and yards of her best fabric. Morrison was furious, but Diana was just worried. The fabric had been for Brenda’s wedding dress, and she was worried that she wouldn’t be able to get more before the big day.

“He is.”

“Are you going to help him?”

Sarah looked down at her daughter. “Why the sudden interest in your father’s work?”

“Because I’m going to grow up to be a sheriff!”

“You can’t do that,” Perry scorned. “Girls can’t be sheriffs! Only boys! Besides, I’m going to be the sheriff, so you can’t be the sheriff.”

“Oh.” Her face fell for a moment and then it brightened. “Then I’m going to be a marshal like Uncle Fox!”

Suddenly, all the girls were clamouring to be marshals, and Sarah chuckled. Jarrod and Fox would die if they knew that their favourite girls wanted to track down dangerous outlaws.

Entering the house, she marched them all to the library where their tutor, Grayson Jules, was patiently waiting. After tutoring the children for years, he’d finally won over the heart of Brenda. He was a patient man, but he loved academics, and it was hard for the children to understand that. They wanted to run wild rather than sit still and learn geography.

“Oh, look!” Sarah said cheerfully. “Mr Jules is in the library, where he always is. Imagine that. I think you all need a little more tutoring if you’re going to be sheriffs and U.S. marshals.”

They all groaned and sat down on the floor in front of their books. Grayson looked at her apologetically. “I went to the kitchen to get them some snacks while they were reading, and when I returned, they were gone.”

“Hiding in the hayloft,” Sarah said as she bent down and picked out some hay from her nephew’s hair. “I don’t envy your job.”

“I just have to teach them. You have to raise them.” Grayson chuckled. “Mrs Briggs, do you have any news on the theft? I know that Brenda is getting worried about her dress. We can’t afford more fabric.”

Sarah held up her hand. “You have nothing to worry about. Diana wouldn’t dream of charging Brenda for her dress. They’re far too close.”

Grayson nodded. “We are lucky to have friends like you.”

“Brenda deserves a beautiful wedding, and we plan on giving her one. You just worry about keeping her happy and trying to get some information through the thick skulls of those little devils.”

Privately, Sarah was worried. Even if Diana did manage to get her hands on more fabric, how would she get the dress together in time? Brenda was set to be married in just a few days.

The mystery was vexing. Who in the world would steal fabric when there were plenty of beautiful dresses already made in Diana’s shop?

***“C’mon, Sheriff,” Neill whined. “I didn’t do nuthin. You can’t keep me here!”

“One more night,” Jarrod reminded him without looking up from the desk. Neill had a nasty habit of getting drunk at the saloon and then wandering over to the boarding house to start fights and pick the pockets of the newcomers. “This is your last chance. I catch you stealing one more time, you won’t just be spending a couple of nights in the cell.”

The prisoner grumbled and sat down on his bench. Jarrod tuned him out while he flipped through the newspaper. The small printing press was hounding him for a list of outlaws in Devil’s Pass so it could spread the news to the other neighbouring towns. He’d been against it at the time, but now he needed other names to figure out who had stolen Diana’s fabric.

So far, he had no suspects.

The whole investigation was ridiculous. Who stole dress fabric anyway? There were far more expensive things in the shop including jewelled trinkets that Diana had taken to sewing in the bodies of her designs, but all of that was untouched.

Still, he wouldn’t know another night of peace until he found the culprit. Diana and Sarah were both worried. Morrison was breathing down his neck, and Brenda was giving him those pleading eyes whenever he saw her.

“Sheriff! Sheriff, come quick!”

Jumping up at the sound of panic, Jarrod grabbed his hat and hurried outside. A young boy was running as fast as his little legs could carry him. Grabbing Jarrod’s hand, the boy pulled him towards the general store. A small crowd had already gathered in front. Henry Dawes was wringing his thin and wrinkled hands.

“Stand back,” Jarrod thundered. “What’s going on?”

“Sheriff,” Henry said hoarsely. “We’ve been robbed. All of the beautiful flowers that I had on display. Your wife had just purchased them for her friend’s wedding. I was in the process of moving them into a crate. I turned my back for just a few minutes, and when I returned, they were gone!”

Jarrod narrowed his eyes. “These flowers were for Brenda’s wedding? Are you sure?”

“Yes, sir. Oh, Sarah is going to be so disappointed!”

That was one way to put it. If Jarrod didn’t find out who was responsible and get them into custody, Sarah was going to hunt them down on her own.

Noticing a few pieces of straw on the ground, he reached down and picked them up. Henry’s store specialised in frivolities like candy and flowers and ribbon. The straw on the ground was out of place. “Henry, was there a man in here earlier? Perhaps someone buying sweets for their children or flowers for their loved ones?”

“No, Sheriff. Only some young women looking for ribbon to match their newest dress purchases.”

“Dress purchases,” Jarrod mused. “Were they at the dress shop today?”

“A few days ago. I overheard them complaining that their mothers kept them too busy to shop for ribbon.”

That was the only connection that he had between Henry’s little store and Diana’s dress shop.

Other than Brenda, and he didn’t want to think that someone was going out of their way to destroy Brenda’s wedding.

After he got the information from Henry, he returned to his office where he found a beautiful woman waiting for him.

“Sheriff Briggs,” the woman said breathlessly with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “I am in desperate need of your assistance.”

“Yes, Miss?” he asked as he played along.

“My home has been overrun by little devils that simply refuse to listen to a word that I say.”

Grinning, he jerked his head to the side. “I’ve got an empty cell!”

With a shriek, she pushed him away when he tried to bow his head to steal a kiss. “Jarrod, people will see!”

“You’re my wife, and I haven’t seen much of you lately,” he grunted as he pulled her inside. He had half a mind to set Neill free so he could have a private moment with the woman who still had a tight grip on his heart. “What did the little devils do today?”

“Escaped poor Mr Jules. He’s going to quit as their tutor, and then what will we do?” Mrs Peters, the only teacher in Devil’s Pass, had politely asked for Sarah and Jarrod to find an alternative tutor for their children until they were old enough to sit still and behave themselves. In the past two years, they’d gone through three tutors.

“Grayson isn’t going anywhere. He’s besotted with a certain model that lives in our guest house,” Jarrod reminded her. While Brenda was much happier keeping her hands busy with work, she’d gained some notoriety modelling Diana’s dresses.

“And as soon as they’re married, he’s going to whisk her away because our children enjoy tormenting him.” Sarah sighed. “I don’t suppose you have some good news to tell me?”

Jarrod hated seeing the worry in her face. Sighing, he leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead. “Sweetheart, I’m sorry. The flowers that you had purchased for Brenda’s wedding were stolen just a few minutes ago.”

Gasping, Sarah pushed away. “No! Who would do such a thing?”

Seeing the anger in her face, he guided her to his desk chair and forced her to sit down. “I don’t know, but I promise that I’ll find out. This is the list that Henry gave me. Apparently, these young ladies were in Diana’s store a few days ago and then came into his shop to look at ribbon. They didn’t purchase anything. Do you happen to know if Grayson courted anyone else before Brenda caught his eye?”

“You think that someone is targeting Brenda?” Sarah picked up the list and looked it over. “I don’t know much about Mr Jules. I hired him almost as soon as he came to Devil’s Pass. I don’t know anything about his life prior to that. I believe he fell in love with Brenda immediately. I don’t think that he’s pursued anyone else.”

“Brenda has had several suitors, though,” Jarrod reminded her gently.

“Jarrod.” Sarah frowned. “You can’t be suggesting that someone is deliberately trying to sabotage the wedding!”

“Love makes people do crazy things. We should know.” There was a time when he was willing to do anything for Sarah.

“You weren’t trying to ruin my life. You were trying to save it,” she reminded him as she stood to hug him.

Neill cleared his throat. “I’ll save yer life lady if you wanna give me a hug.”

“Neill!” Sarah reprimanded with narrow eyes. “Does your girl know that you’re back in Jarrod’s jail?”

He immediately looked at the floor and shuffled. “No, ma’am.”

“When are you going to stop disappointing her? She wants to be married to you, and that’s not going to happen if you go to prison.”

“I’ll be good ma’am.”

“Sometimes I think you would have made the better sheriff.”

“I make an excellent sheriff’s wife. I make an even better rancher.” She paused and grimaced. “Your son wants to be a sheriff.”

“Why does that make you unhappy?”

“Your daughter wants to be a marshal?”

“Fox, Thatcher, and James are banned from Devil’s Pass,” he growled instantly. There was no way he was going to let his daughter grow up to chase criminals all over the country. She was allowed to be whatever she wanted to be as long as it wasn’t dangerous.

“We’ll deal with that later. I’ll go talk to Brenda and see if she knows anyone who might want to ruin the happiest day of her life.” She said the last part darkly, and Jarrod cleared his throat.

It might be better if he could figure out something else for her to do. “Maybe instead you can focus on Brenda’s wedding and let me worry about the investigation. If you happen to hear anything, you can pass it along, but don’t go out and start terrorising the town.”

“I would never!” Reaching out, she squeezed his hand. “I love you.”

Even after all these years, it still warmed his heart to hear her say it. “I love you.”

To his credit, Neill waited until after Sarah left before he started to taunt Jarrod. “Awww, ain’t that sweet.”

“One more word, and you’ll be spending two more nights in the jail cell,” Jarrod said mildly.

Niall kept his mouth shut.

***“I don’t understand,” Brenda wailed. “Why would someone want to ruin my wedding? I can’t think of anyone who would hate me that much! Ouch!”

Trying to fit a ribbon of lace around the waist of the green dress, Diana sighed and pulled back. Gathering the pins that she had in her mouth, she carefully turned Brenda on the stand. “You keep moving! I don’t mean to stick you.”

“Trousseaus are for fancy people,” Brenda muttered. “I’m your employer.”

“You are my friend, and as my friend, you deserve new dresses for your married life.”

“I’m not a young woman,” Brenda argued. “I don’t require such a fancy dress.”

“Diana,” Sarah interrupted. The two of them would argue endlessly if she let them. “There were several young women in the store a couple of days ago, right around the time that your fabric was stolen. Then they were at Harry’s looking at ribbon when the flowers were taken. Do you have their names?”

“Sure. The three Maisy sisters.” Diana frowned. “Come to think of it, I think the oldest had her eye on Grayson. I kept hearing them whispering about Brenda. I may have accidentally let it slip that I’d need to take a few inches off the waist of her dress.”

Sarah chuckled. “That’s awful. Especially since all three Maisy girls are quite lovely.” She paused. “I could speak to them.”

“Your husband doesn’t like it when you get involved in his investigations,” Diana said with a twinkle in her eye.

“Yes, but this is personal.” Sarah stood. “I’ll just go have a few words with them. Nothing intrusive. I’ll be back before you finish fitting Brenda.”

“No guns,’ Brenda said quickly. “I’ll be very unhappy if you’re in jail before my wedding.”

“You two always think the worst of me. I haven’t shot anyone in years!” Flashing them a quick grin, she picked up her skirts and hurried out of the shop. She barely got across the road before someone fell into step next to her.

“You don’t look like you’re going home,” Jarrod said conversationally.

Even now, her heart fluttered just a little bit whenever he was near, but she also knew that Jarrod wasn’t going to be happy when he discovered what she was on her way to do. “I just have one more stop to make, and then I’ll be heading home,” she said conversationally. “Do you need me to stop by the general store and pick anything up for you?”

“Are you going to the general store?”

“I can.”

“Right after you speak to the Maisy sisters?” Jarrod asked as he gently took her elbow to stop her.

After a long-suffering sigh, she turned to face him. His handsome face held an irritatingly knowing smile. “Diana heard that the eldest Maisy sister had her eye on Mr Jules. And she was at both shops near the time of the robbery.”

“So I’ll go talk to her.”

“Jarrod, you’re an amazing sheriff, but you don’t really think they’re going to open up to you, do you? This is about love and broken hearts. I can relate.”

Frowning, he brushed his hand across her face and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Since when have you ever had your heart broken?”

“There was a time when I didn’t think you returned my love. A time when I thought you were going to walk away from me. My heart shattered into pieces that moment.”

“I could never walk away from you. It must be insanity. That must also explain why I’m about to let you to talk to the Maisy sister as long as you promise not to accuse her of anything. Just try to ascertain her relationship to Grayson,” Jarrod said in a low voice. “I’ll expect you home in an hour.”

“Yes, Sheriff.” Sometimes she couldn’t believe that she’d gotten so lucky. Every day, he reminded her of how much he loved her.

It turned out that the Maisy sisters were more difficult to digest than Sarah first anticipated. With the skirts of their new dresses spread out over the furniture as they lounged, they regarded Sarah with bored looks. Sarah recognised their type well. When she spent those two years in Boston, she was surrounded by it.

“Mrs Briggs. I cannot imagine why you would want to visit us,” Leona, the eldest, said with a malicious glint in her eye. “We don’t have all that much in common.”

“Yes, I agree. We don’t have much in common,” Sarah said dryly. “I’m actually here because you ladies were close to the scenes of two crimes in the past couple of days. I’d like to know if you saw anything.”

Cecily, the youngest, straightened. “Two crimes? We’d heard about the thievery at the whore’s dress shop.”

“By that, I’m sure you mean the most desired fashion designer and seamstress in Texas,” Sarah said with slanted eyes. “As I’m sure you know since you are wearing her designs.”

To her credit, Cecily blushed and lowered her eyes. Sarah could only hope that she would grow out of the toxic influence of her sister.

“What other crime was committed?”

“Flowers were stolen from Henry’s store while you ladies were shopping for ribbon.” She looked pointedly at Leona. “Flowers which were purchased for my friend Brenda’s wedding to Mr Jules.”

“How sad for her,” Leona said coolly even as she smiled. “I’m afraid that we didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.”

That didn’t surprise Sarah. She was sure that Leona was the reason her friend was slowly being stripped of her beautiful wedding. “I’ve heard that you had your eye on Mr Jules.”

Leone exchanged a look with her middle and youngest sister before bursting out laughing. “Did I enjoy flirting with Mr Jules? Of course. He’s very handsome, but that’s where my interest ended. Mr Jules is a tutor! I would never deign to marry so below my station. Unlike some people in this room.” Her gaze swept over Sarah.

“You may not have deigned to marry Mr Jules, but I’m sure it was a blow to your ego when he didn’t reciprocate your interest. How insulted were you when Mr Jules fell in love with a famous fashion model?”

“You mean a shopkeeper and a servant?” Leona snorted.

“I mean a beautiful woman with a kind heart,” Sarah said as she stood. “I pity you, Leona. You’re so focused on marrying someone who can raise your status that you’ll spend the rest of your life trapped with a man who will not respect you, and you’ll never know love.”

Flushed in anger, Leona turned her head and stared angrily out the window. Cecily cleared her throat. “Mrs Briggs, we did not steal the fabric of the flowers. We wouldn’t need to. If we wanted to sabotage Mr Jules’ wedding, we simply could have bought out all the items that you wanted. We don’t want for money.”

That was true enough. Sarah sighed inwardly. It was more Leona’s style to flaunt her money rather than steal. “Thank you for your time,” she said stiffly.

“When my sister was picking out the dresses, I went outside to speak with a friend of mine. While I was out there, I saw Miss Porter skulking outside the building. I believe she is your nanny? Perhaps she is the jealous saboteur that you are looking for.”

Miss Porter had become fast friends with Brenda. There was no way that she would do anything to hurt her, but Sarah held her tongue. Thanking the girls, she headed back home with disappointment washing over her.

She’d found absolutely nothing helpful.

***“Sheriff of one of the most corrupt towns in Texas, and you’re searching for the thief of some fabric and flowers,” a familiar voice said dryly.

Lifting his head from his desk, Jarrod grinned as four men filed through the door. Three U.S. marshals and one rancher who still spent his nights doing a few odd illegal jobs for the desperate.

“Ex-corrupt town,” Jarrod told Fox. “And we take stealing very seriously around here.” He narrowed his eyes at Morrison. When he started wearing the badge, he’d told Morrison that he was going to have to keep his activities to a minimum and out of Devil’s Pass. So far, the man hadn’t caused him any trouble.

“I’m sure the fact that the victim is one of your wife’s best friends doesn’t sway you at all,” James chuckled.

“Sarah will interrogate the whole town if I don’t figure out who the culprit is soon,” Jarrod complained. “You fellas just get in for the wedding?”

“Will there be a wedding without the dress?” Thatcher asked.

“Brenda and Grayson are in love, and if I know Sarah and Diana, they’ll find a way to make sure that Brenda still gets the wedding of her dreams.” Standing, he shook their hands and embraced them. Over the years, they had all grown closer as friends, and he was always happy to see them.

“Want our help?” Fox asked.

“Yes,” Sarah said breathlessly as she worked her way through the men. “Yes, we need all hands on deck for this one!”

“You were supposed to go home,” Jarrod reminded his wife.

“I know, but I wanted to let you know what I found. First off, the Maisy sisters are just as terrible as everyone says they are. They had the audacity to accuse Miss Porter of the crime!”

“Miss Porter?” Fox’s eyes sharpened. “She would never do something like this!”

Jarrod wasn’t surprised that Fox had come to their nanny’s aid. Since they’d hired her, Fox had found more and more reasons to travel back to Devil’s Pass and visit, and he always made sure his path crossed Miss Porter’s.

It was strange to see the hardened man falling in love.

“Of course she wouldn’t,” Sarah said dismissively. “She and Brenda are very close, and I’ve never seen her look twice at Mr Jules. There’s no jealousy there. Unfortunately, the Maisy sisters pointed out that they could simply purchase what they wanted instead of stealing it. If they were the culprits, there would have been no flowers for me to buy in the first place.”

“Did they say that they saw Miss Porter taking the flowers?” Jarrod asked.

Sarah shook her head. “Not the flowers. The youngest sister claimed that she saw Miss Porter skulking around the dress shop the day that the fabric went missing. Obviously she was lying.”

Jarrod leaned back on the desk and folded his arms. “Maybe not,” he mused quietly. “Grayson has mentioned his disappointment that he can’t afford the wedding that he believes she deserves.”

Sarah nodded. “Yes, but he has no reason to be concerned. Diana and I are taking care of everything. It’s the least that I can do after all that Brenda has done for me.”

“Yes, but some people might not realise that.” Realisation hit, and he chuckled as he stood. “Gentlemen, my wife and I are going to clear this whole mess up. If you’ll excuse us.”

“You know who the thief is? Are you going to arrest them?”

“No, my dear. I think we’ll all be much happier if I do not arrest them.”

Sarah questioned him all the way home, but he didn’t say anything until his suspicions were confirmed. At home, he walked Miss Porter and his children out to the stable.

“As you all know, we’ve been investigating several thefts around town,” he said casually as he leaned over to rub Sheba’s muzzle. Miss Porter looked bewildered, but he knew his children well. Guilt crept into their eyes. “First, fabric went missing from Diana’s shop. We have a witness that says Miss Porter was walking around the outside of the shop at the time.”

“Jarrod,” Sarah gasped.

“Sheriff Briggs, I assure you that I didn’t take anything!” Miss Porter said immediately as she widened her pretty blue eyes. She was only a few years older than Sarah when he first met her, and like Sarah, she didn’t have a malicious bone in her body.

Holding up his hand, he quieted them. “Miss Porter, I don’t believe that you were the thief. However, I think you were there to search for someone.”

Suddenly, Sarah groaned and shook her head. “Of course.”

Looking up, he smiled at his wife. “I found straw at the scene of the stolen flowers.”

Lifting her head, she stared at the hayloft. Perry gasped. “There’s lots of straw in Devil’s Pass,” he said quickly.

“Lots,” Patty chimed in.

Hiking up her skirts, Sarah climbed up the ladder to the hayloft and perched on the edge. Jarrod positioned himself below her and caught the bundle of fabric that she tossed down. “The flowers are up here as well,” she said softly. “Perry. Patricia. Why would you do this?”

“Because they overheard Grayson talking about not being able to afford the wedding,” Jarrod said softly as his heart swelled with pride. “So they decided that they would try to throw a wedding for her.”

“We love Miss Brenda.” His daughter’s eyes filled with tears. “We just wanted her to be happy. Don’t be angry Poppa! Don’t arrest us!”

“She didn’t do anything,” Perry suddenly said fiercely. “It was all my fault. I did it!”

Holding out his hands, Jarrod let the fabric tumble down. It was obvious that someone had been trying to sew a wedding dress together. The stitches were loose and uneven, and the dress was far too large for Brenda, but it was unmistakable. Wordlessly, Sarah climbed down and took the dress.

“Technically, the only person that you stole from was us,” he said gently as he knelt down. “Your mother and I had already purchased the fabric and the flowers for Miss Brenda’s wedding. She is going to have a beautiful wedding.”

“Really!” Patty’s pretty little face lit up with a smile. “So we’re not in trouble!”

“Well, you’re still in trouble. Your intentions were good, but stealing is still against the law. Next time you have a concern, you need to take it to your mother and I,” he said as he drew his daughter into his arms and kissed her blonde curls. Sometimes he still found it hard to believe that someone so loving and pure had come from him.

Then she did something to terrorise the town, and he knew that she belonged to him and Sarah.

“What are we going to have to do, Poppa?”

“Extra chores around the house and the dress shop and Henry’s shop,” Jarrod said slowly.

“And, you have to be on your best behaviour at the wedding,” Sarah intervened quickly with a grin. “No mischief for you or your cousins!”

“I’ll make sure they behave,” Perry said as he expanded his chest and thrust his chin out.

“I’m sure you will,” Jarrod chuckled. “Now go and tell Mr Jules and Brenda what you’ve done so they don’t worry anymore.”

“Yes, sir!” they chimed in together before they raced off to the house.

“I think Patricia needs some more sewing lessons,” Jarrod told Sarah as he showed her the dress.”

“Indeed, but the design does have potential,” she said thoughtfully as she took the dress. “Are you angry at them?”

“They look after each other. They look after the ones that they love. I’d say that they’re just like you, and it’s hard to get mad at that,” Jarrod said gently as he took her in his arms. Holding her was still one of the best moments of his day.

“And you,” Sarah sighed before she pulled away. “There’s no time to spare, Jarrod. I’ve got a wedding to finish planning, and I’m going to need more hands to help.”

Jarrod stared at her warily. “More hands?”

“Sheriff hands,” she said with a grin. “And maybe a few US marshal hands and the hands of a thief.”

Jarrod tried to imagine Morrison, Fox, Thatcher, and James all working with Diana to help finish a wedding for Brenda.

It was a sight that he didn’t want to miss.

***Diana had done an amazing job with Brenda’s dress. When Sarah saw that her friend had stayed true to her daughter’s design, it brought tears to her eyes. The lace was more form fitted to the fabric, and she’d used small flowers to decorate the waist, but the results were stunning.

Brenda made a beautiful bride.

The rest of the flowers and decor that her children had made decorated the church turning into a stunning backdrop. They had taken Brenda’s dream and turned it into a reality.

“Sweetheart?” Jarrod asked as he leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Are you okay?”

Smiling, she nodded. She couldn’t even begin to find the words to express how full her heart felt right now. Eight years ago, Brenda had been a timid servant who had been worked to the bone. If Sarah had tried to tell Brenda then that her face would be known to every woman for miles to come, that she’d be showing off the most beautiful dresses on this side of Texas, that she’d find the man of her dreams who would bend over backward to make her happy, there was no way that Brenda would believe her.

And Sarah’s children, more wild and stubborn than she’d ever been, had so much love in their hearts that they’d done whatever it took to help make Brenda’s dreams come true.

With Jarrod’s arm around her waist, and her children holding hands by her side, Sarah knew that she’d been given the most amazing gift, and she couldn’t wait to discover what other kinds of adventures awaited her and her family.

THE END

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