Page 101 of A Rancher's Vow
“…your sister is here,” Dustin finished.
Charity shook her head at him. “You are trouble.” Then she bounced off his lap, down the stairs, and into her sister’s arms.
Dustin waited on the porch as a slightly older version of Charity finished squeezing her tight then turned her gaze on him. Chelsea also wore her tight curls loose and natural, only hers were cut a lot shorter, turning her hair into a dark, shining halo.
He stepped down and held out a hand. “Welcome to Silver Stone.”
Chelsea eyed his hand and raised a brow. “Really? A handshake?”
Dustin opened his arms. “We have options.”
An instant later Chelsea had enveloped him in a hug tight enough to give his brothers’ rib-creaking squeezes a run for their money. That was followed by one from Suz, who turned out to be a tall, extremely thin woman with darker skin than both the sisters and a mass of blonde dreadlocks.
Charity linked her arms through theirs. “What do you want to see first? The kittens? The horses? The goats? God, I’m even excited for you to see thegoats.” She met Dustin’s gaze. “I’m obviously feverish.”
“You’re obviously not fresh from a four-hour car ride,” Suz inserted. “Bathroom first, please. Then the kittens, the goats, and the horses, in that order.”
“Deal.”
Dustin carried their bags from the car to the second bedroom as conversation swelled between the ladies, flowed into the house, out of the house, then headed toward the barn.
When he would have hung back and given them time to themselves, though, Charity slipped her hand into his and brought him into the group. The entire time she showed off the office where she worked, and where the newest batch of kittens were, Suz’s and Chelsea’s gazes burned on him like a laser.
They were just at the bottom of the loft stairs when Caleb and Tamara unexpectedly stepped into view. Dustin prepared to introduce them when Charity beat him to it. She slipped in front of Caleb with a happy bounce then lightly rested a hand on Tamara’s arm.
“Caleb and Tamara, I’d like you to meet my sister, Chelsea, and her wife, Suzanne. Cee and Suz, this is Dustin’s oldest brother, Caleb, and his wife, Tamara.”
“Nice to meet you both.” Caleb held out a hand and they went through the dance of leaning and reaching until everyone had said hello. “Glad we caught you.”
Tamara patted Charity’s fingers then slipped her arm around Caleb’s waist. “We wanted to invite all of you to join us for dinner on Thursday night if it works with your plans.”
“We’ll be back from camping sometime that afternoon,” Dustin pointed out.
Chelsea exchanged a quick glance with her wife, then smiled and nodded. “We’d enjoy that very much.”
The next hour vanished in a rush of visiting the goats and the horses they’d be riding the following day.
“It’s been a while since I was up on a horse,” Suz admitted when they were at the dinner table in the small cottage. “But I’m looking forward to it.”
“I’ve only ridden once before,” Chelsea shared.
“Dustin will take it easy on you.” Charity passed the potatoes to Dustin. “We’ll go slow. I’m still learning, but riding is fun.”
“Glad it’s moved up from ‘it’s weird in a good way,’” Dustin teased before reassuring the others. “You’ll both do fine. Plus, we won’t be riding for too long. The campsite is close enough we could walk out if necessary.”
Dinner was still being cleared away when Chelsea hauled out anExploding Kittensgame and shook it in the air. “You are losing tonight,” she warned.
“Bring it.” Charity waggled her brows at her sister. “Losers wash dishes tomorrow morning.”
A simple evening of games was followed by time on the porch. Dustin sat beside Charity and listened as the ladies continued to catch up.
Suz eyed him at one point. “You’re very willing to open your ears and keep your mouth shut.”
“Youngest child,” Dustin explained. “Five older siblings. Someone else was always talking.” He winked then said good night, leaving them to chat until darkness had fallen.
Charity joined him in bed with a happy sigh.
“Good evening?” he asked.
