I laugh, shaking my head at her. “Easy for you to say, Dollface.” I pinch her chin, tilting it up to me. “Do you want me to? I’m not changing my name to Redford, by the way. I’m a Seymour, like my grandfather.”
“I don’t want you to change your name.”
“But I actually would if that’s what it took to be with you,” I blurt out, realizing I mean every word.
Her eyes shine, but she shakes her head. “I don’t want that. I think maybe starting out as your girlfriend is enough for now.”
Or we could just skip that part.
Once I’m in, I’m all in. And I’m fucking gone for her.
I turn to Duke, whose eyes have considerably softened as he looks from his sister to me. He looks almost … relieved. He lifts the brands, which are two separateR’s, oneRa mirror of the other.
“Where do you want it?” he asks.
I look down, pointing at my left pec muscle. “Right there.”Over my heart.
Dolly squeezes my hand tighter. I groan from the searing hot pain when Duke presses the firstRinto my flesh, the burning-skin smell assaulting my nostrils. I struggle to keep still when Sterling quickly presses the secondRinto me a second later. I squeeze her hand tighter, trying to be a man about it even though my skin is literally burning off.
I gasp, exhaling slowly as the guys stand around, grinning, all except for Duke. I turn to Dolly, whose eyes are wide, hand covering her mouth.
“Are you … okay?” she whispers.
“We have to get married now.”
She shakes her head. “Not right now, please. Don’t say that now. They might strip you down and make you go skinny-dipping in an alligator pond or something.”
I laugh, feeling the numbness finally reach the skin cells on my chest and start to ease the pain. “You’re worth it, whatever they put me through.”
She shakes her head, even though a tear slips out of her eye. “Well, that’s enough for now, okay? I’m gonna take you back upstairs and make all the pain go away now.”
Duke groans. “Please, I’m not ready for this. Dolly, you’re coming home.”
I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her against me. “Hell no. You hit me twice. And they each got one in, so that equals at least five more nights here.”
“And I’m a grown woman so I’ll stay with him if I want to,” she adds, punching her brother in the shoulder.
Duke’s eyes shift from her to me before he shakes his head and stalks off, shoulders slumping.
“He’ll get over it.” Sterling steps up and claps me on the shoulder. “He just somehow didn’t see this coming like the rest of us did. You’re good for her.”
He grins before following after Duke. Cash and Holden exchange smiles, shaking their heads. Holden helps Pops stand up. They walk over to me, and Holden shakes my hand, squeezing it a little tighter than usual.
“You’ve earned it, Seymour. We’ll see you at Thanksgiving.”
It’s in six days, which means that’s how long I have to convince her that ignoring her for the last decade was the dumbest shit I’d ever done in a selfish attempt at self-preservation.
Cash grabs the branding iron and gives his little sister a hug. “You know who to call if he gets out of line.” He winks at her before shaking my hand just as tight as his brother did.
“Is Monroe okay? I don’t want her to feel bad,” Dolly asks.
Cash nods. “She’ll be okay. She’ll probably get you a ridiculously big Christmas gift. We’re gonna see you on the plane to Jackson Hole, right?”
I didn’t know we were flying. “Let me know how much to send you for our half.”
“All right, man, will do.” He walks off around to the front of the house.
Dolly fusses over my burns. They hurt like a son of a bitch. Now that the guys are gone, I sink into one of the chairs around the fire. My entire body aches.
