Lauri Robinson by Testing the Lawman's Honor Read Free Book Online Page A

interrupted his thoughts again, making him glance toward her. “I was married to a preacher for eight years, and in that time, I saw a lot of couples married.” She held his attention with a serious gaze. “Never have I seen two people more in love, more right for each other than you and Della.” She smiled. “Don’t second-guess your good fortune. Embrace it.”
    The love for Della he’d carried so preciously the past years engulfed him. “Thank you, Mrs. Carmichael. That’s the best advice I’ve ever heard.”
    “Go on, then.” She waved a hand. “Go get yourself ready.”
    His footsteps grew light and carefree, and carried him out of the house, all the way to the hotel downtown, where he bathed and dressed in new clothes dropped off by Cord. When he returned to Della’s, others had already gathered, including Cord and Florie.
    Spencer inhaled the gaiety filling the house, taking it into his lungs and allowing it to infuse his chest. When Rachel Carmichael descended the stairs, signaling that the bride would follow, a hush settled. Reverend Stolp waved Spencer to the front of the room, and from somewhere came a soft, sweet melody.
    His pulse pounded, thudding against his skin from head to toe when Della walked into the room, looking as beautiful and glowing as an early morning sunrise.
    “You ready for this?” Cord, standing as best man beside him, whispered.
    Spencer grinned. “Oh, yeah.” The joy and promise shimmering in Della’s eyes had his chest expanding with elation. “Oh, yeah,” he repeated.
    When her hand slipped into his, he had to fight the urge to crush her to him and kiss her until they both passed out from lack of air. Staring deep into her eyes, he listened to the preacher, accepting the vows with his very soul. Nothing, no man or circumstance would come between them, now or ever. The kiss he placed on her lips to seal their commitment came from deep within, more heartfelt than anything he’d ever done.
    The time that followed was both torturous and spellbinding. Knowing there was one last thing he had to do before carrying Della upstairs, Spencer led her and her daughters onto the back porch, where he asked all three to sit on the little whicker sofa. He took a seat in the chair and pulled it in front of them. Holding Della’s hand with one of his, he gathered her daughters’ fingers with his other.
    “I want you girls to know I love your mother with all my heart and soul. I’ll love her for the rest of eternity.” He held their sober little gazes, and prayed they’d accept his sincerity. “And I love you two as well. There’ll never come a time when I won’t. It won’t matter if more children enter our family or not. From this moment on, I’ll think of you both as my daughters. I’ll provide for you, protect you and maybe even discipline you, if the need be, but I’ll never stop loving you.”
    The way Della’s fingers tightened around his made his heart pound against his rib cage. Figuring a touch of teasing might ease the serious tone he’d set he added, “I also have to warn you, if you have any boys thinking they want to come a courting, they’ll have to answer to me, and I may not be too easy on them.”
    Elsie, with rosy little cheeks, leaned forward. “Deputy Monroe, we aren’t old enough for beaus.”
    Spencer let out an exaggerated sigh. “That’s a relief, ‘cause I’m looking forward to having all three of my girls all to myself for a while.” He leaned forward to whisper, “And I’d be obliged if you’d called me Spencer.”
    Anna, lifting her chin nobly, said, “Spencer, how would you feel about us calling you Pa, or Father?”
    His heart clenched as Della gasped. Anna glanced at her mother and then back to him. “It’s just, well, if you’re thinking of us as daughters, we best think of you as our father, just to keep everything straight, right from the start.”
    He swore he’d just been proclaimed a king. Turning, he eyed Della, wanting