Fleeing the clutches of her disreputable relatives, Sera Livingston has made her escape to Australia's Outback. Disguised as a boy, sharp-tongued Sera searches for her sister but is attacked by bushrangers. Thievery becomes her only chance at surviv...
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Before Sera could tell her sister the truth, the doors swung open again, but this time it was Mr. McCall's foreboding figure entering the tavern. This time people paid attention to the new arrival. The man seemed to have a perpetual scowl on his face as if happiness were a disease to him.
"Mr. McCall?" Ana whispered in a peep and Sera grinned devilishly at her. Ana, not noticing, started pinching her pale cheeks to give them color.
Beating dust off his clothing, August swiftly made his way to Remington. "Any news?"
The tension began to melt away as soon as Mr. McCall patted the perilous bounty on the back with a grim frown on his well-constructed face. The chattering slowly recommenced and laughter bounced around the bar, back to its usual liveliness.
Sera decided to fully examine this Mr. McCall more thoroughly now. He was the more striking type and sharply dressed. His jaw a little too hard, his nose bold, and lips more on the thin side, probably from the constant frowning. His russet hair was full, long, and primly slicked back in a fashionable style. Sera could see why Ana would be intimidated. The man was as large as Remington and built more on the stocky side, but like the bounty hunter, he had very commanding eyes, but his were more serious, whereas Remington's were bold.
"And how is your handsome baron associated with thisRemington?" Sera asked quietly.
"He is not..." Ana fiddled with her dress, which is something she did when she was nervous. "Mr. Remington is Mr. McCall's brother-in-law."
Sera remembered when Remington mentioned his brother-in-law hiring her sister.
"Which is why I think Mr. Remington stays away. To protect them. He's made a lot of enemies." Ana paused and pursed her lips, showing her nerves. "I forgot to mention last night that Mr. McCall once had a wife, but she died before he came here. No one knows much about her, only that she was half aboriginal, like Mr. Remington, and that she was his sister."
Sera leaned closer to the men in an effort to overhear more of their conversation. The girls were not too far away from them, so it was possible. Mr. McCall motioned to the bartender for a drink and sat down.
"Did you find him?" Mr. McCall asked, his voice barely a whisper, soaked in something very dark.
"No." Remington said, void of emotion. "But I will soon. Thanks for the shirt by the way. It's a little too stiff for my liking."
"That's because it's clean, and how? You've searched for him for years and have come up empty." Mr. McCall drank from his glass of whiskey as did Remington. "A lot of his bushrangers have been riding into towns near ours. Should I be concerned?"
Ana gripped Sera's shoulder. "It is not polite to snoop. We must stop. They're obviously having a private conversation," Ana pleaded but leaned closer to Sera in unhidden interest.
