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Two Years Later | Selah’s Fifteenth Birthday
Selah Harper laughed at the sight before her. Swiftly, her hands moved to sign once she had caught her eldest guardian's attention. Uncle Asa's face was bright red from where he had been tackled under his brothers. Each of her uncles had in some way trapped their eldest brother in an attempt to get him to take a much-needed break.
Her mom would be visiting soon. Though her uncles always said she was welcome and would never ever have to leave — even after her birth mom gave up all rights to her — they were clear that she could spend as much time with her birth mom as she wanted so long as it wasn’t hurting her or anyone else.
They promised that no matter her birth mom’s choices that Selah was theirs and always would be no matter what happened.
After all, blood wasn't the only thing that made up a family as they often reminded her once Aunt Sadie had married Uncle Asa.
She didn't know what she would have done without the loyal men who had raised her, but she was happy to be their adored princess, daughter, and baby sister.
Each of her uncles was protective in their own way...
Uncle Asa was protective in how he was always there with a hug or word of advice.
Uncle Nehemiah was always there ready to hear her fears along with hands ready to knead and form baked goods with her at his side.
Uncle Isaiah would be there with soft motions of song as she leaned against his side and he hummed allowing her to feel the soothing motion from his vocal cords while they sat in quiet compilation silence.
Uncle Lazarus was ready with a safe place to crash and burn any time she needed a break from the serious sides of life.
Uncle Jonas kept the world filled with happiness, beauty, and joy every time he took her on an adventure.
Uncle Gabriel would be the first to hide her in a safe place when the older uncles got too protective or if anyone bothered her.
Uncle Isaac would be there as quickly as a whip to tuck her into a soft warm blanket in their tree house fort even though she was nearly thirteen and he was now in his mid-twenties with his soon-to-be bride.
And since the wedding the year before, Aunt Sadie was always there no matter what and promised to always be there for Selah and her uncles, even the crazy ones, she’d laughed.
She stepped back quickly to miss being plowed over and stomped her foot against the floor to catch the ruffians’ attention.
Her uncles each shot up and away from each other, her youngest uncles’ heads knocking together and from the motions, both moaned. “Hi! I am still here.” she quickly signed.
Uncle Asa rolled his eyes as he shook off the last of his brothers who had wrapped a hand around his knee to catch him before he had the chance to escape.
He strode to her side, kneeling down and he met her grumpy look with a fond one. “Hey, princess. What's up?” he questioned.
She frowned, trying to find the words to let him know that those days were the best – the ones where they were all together – that they were the days she was safe and protected, and even though things were changing they would always have those days.
Finally, she settled on a simple, “I love you, Uncle Asa. I’m glad you’re my dad.”
Abigail Kay Harris is a daughter of the King with a personal degree in book-nerdiness. A sister to seven, her passionate love of the written word and deeper meanings hidden in normal things leads her to spend her time reading, writing, using sarcasm, and defining obscure words. When she’s not chasing words, she enjoys watching shows, classic romance movies, tea, sunrises, and the outdoors, especially mountains, beaches, and forests.
In February of 2023 Abigail founded Beyond the Bookery; her small press, book store, and online boutique. She has assisted more than twenty authors in reaching their publishing dreams under her publisher’s CDXC Aurora Lux Libri Publishing line, shared five anthologies, and looks forward to more releases in the near future.
You can connect with Abigail and find her books here: https://linktr.ee/abigailkayharris
