Every Little Thing About You (Yellow Rose Trilogy 1) (19 page)

now is as good a time to go as any. They might be a little

more docile if they're still feeling the effects."

Liberty nodded, working successfully to hide the confusion

and hurt inside of her. Never before in her life could

she remember Griffin not needing her. It was one of the

most awful sensations she'd ever experienced.

"Well," she said to hide the hurt, "let me know how

you fare, and be careful."

"I'll do that," Griffin said sincerely, but he wasn't

looking directly at her. He might have seen her confusion

if he had been.

Liberty took that moment to make her exit, hoping

against all hope that Dakota would not be coming down

the street. She slipped away, going a strange, indirect route

in an effort not to see him. She slowed her pace when she

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thought it was safe and tried to pray and think dearly. She

knew she could talk to her mother, but what would she say

exactly? Griff didn't need me, and I've never been so crushed and

rejected. Even to her own ears, she sounded like a five-year-old.

It was, however, exactly how she felt

"Hey, Lib," a male voice suddenly said.

Liberty looked up to see Price Hathaway next to a half-built

home, a hammer in one hand, a board in the other.

"Well, Price, when did you get back into town?"

Price gave his boyish smile. "When in actual time, or

how I feel?"

Liberty laughed as she moved toward him. It had been

a long time since they'd talked; the two of them had been

in school together, and she had always cared for this gentle

giant. And right now she welcomed the chance to get

Griffin and Dakota off her mind.

'en,

9

"You still TOTIN' a gun?" Price teased Liberty as soon

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as she was near.

"Yes, I am, so you'd better not have brought any bad

habits back from Austin. They could land you in trouble."

"If you'd stay at the jailhouse and talk to me, I wouldn't

mind," he returned, flirting with her a little.

"What would Miss Amy say?"

A sad light filled Price's eyes. "She wasn't too happy

when I left."

"Does she know you're back?"

"I haven't talked to her, so I don't know."

Liberty nodded but didn't press him. She glanced

around and heard pounding but couldn't see who it was.

"Did you meet Slater Rawlings?"

"Sure," Price said easily enough.

"Did your father keep him on or is he out looking for

work?"

"He's around the corner, trying to please Pa."

As if Slater had heard the calling of his name, he suddenly

appeared from around the other side of the building.

He paused when he saw Liberty, but only because he was

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a sweaty mess. He thought as he always did that she

looked wonderful.

"Hi, Slater," Liberty greeted him, giving no thought to

the signs of hard work on his shirt or face.

"Hi, Libby. What are you up to?"

"I'm headed home," she said, trying not to think of her

conversation with Griffin.

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"Price!" Hank suddenly bellowed from around the

corner, and that man withdrew from Slater and Liberty.

"I'll talk to you later, Price," Liberty called to him.

"All right, Lib. Take care."

Liberty watched him move away and then noticed

Slater's eyes on her. She smiled in genuine pleasure.

I'm glad you didn't lose your job, Slater."

Slater's brows rose a little. "It's been an interesting

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day."

Liberty nodded, not needing much more of an explanation.

Hank Hathaway's reputation preceded him. Price's

desire to leave had been no mystery.

"Price and I were in school together," Liberty put in.

"I've always liked him."

"There isn't much not to like."

"That's true. I've always hoped he would marry a certain

woman here in town, but I don't know."

"Miss Amy?"

Liberty looked hopeful. "Did he talk of her?"

Slater shook his head no. "Some of the neighbors

around here are a might busy. One came by and asked him

questions for far longer than I would have allowed."

"He's so kindhearted. I don't suppose he wanted to

wound Mrs. Hurst"

Slater smiled at the way she knew exactly who it was.

They talked for a few minutes more, but Slater knew he

had to get back to work. Liberty went on her way, and

Slater returned to help Hank and Price. The temptation to

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simply follow Liberty and talk to her for the remainder of

the day was powerful indeed, but he resisted. Instead, he

prayed for her almost the entire afternoon.

5^-3'"

S'

"And how long have they been giving the town

trouble?" Dakota asked as they rode away from the Potters'

house.

Every Little Thing About You 137

"For as long as anyone can remember. Maddie Flowers

didn't mind for a long time, and they're far enough out that

not much was said by anyone else, but Maddie's getting

older and more intolerant of the noise."

"And you say she has her own still."

"Yes. If rumor can be trusted, Rush and Possum Potter

built it for her. Maybe that's why she stayed quiet for so

long."

"What will you do next?" Dakota asked as they arrived

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in Shotgun's downtown area,

"I'll lie low. Critter is as mean as a rattlesnake, and Ned

can be. If I rush things, someone will die. I want to avoid

that, but my eventual goal is to shut them down. If I succeed

at that, they'll probably move on. I wouldn't wish that

on any other town, but I've got to think of how fast our city

is growing."

Dakota was impressed. He'd been impressed for a long

time, but his respect was steadily growing. His first

meeting of the town sheriff had not given him much to

hope for, but behind that smooth, young face was an intelligent,

clear-thinking sheriff--one who cared about the

people as much as he did his job.

They parted company after they reached the jailhouse,

Dakota heading to Griffin's house and Griffin into his

office. Dakota had not thought of Slater and Liberty since

earlier that day, but now they came to mind; more specifically,

Liberty did. He wished that she had gone to the Potters'

with them so he could see her in action.

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-3/* "Sr

"Thanks for putting the kids down, Lib," her mother

said that evening. "I swear, some days I don't think I'll

even get up the stairs to put myself to bed."

Liberty came over and kissed her mother's cheek.

"What was that for?"

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"That was from Laura. She said you needed another

one."

Kate chuckled and began to loosen the pins in her hair.

If they had unexpected company, she'd have to put it back

up in a hurry, but right now it felt too good to massage her

scalp.

"Why don't you head up?" Duffy asked as he watched

her.

"Because I'm not sleepy, just weary. And when I go to

bed too early, I wake so early that I have to just lie quiet or

wake Zach." Zach was the light sleeper in the family. He

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was very good about staying in bed, but his mother knew

how much he needed his rest in this first year of school.

"Duffy?" Liberty had sat down, but she was not

relaxed. Duffy looked over to see her perched on the eclge

of the davenport

"Yes?"

"I need to ask you about something. Are you too

tired?"

"Not at all," the doctor said sincerely. "Whaf s up?"

Liberty took a moment to start, and Kate looked to

Duffy for answers. His raised brows told her he was in the

dark, so they both waited.

"Do you remember talking to Tess and me as soon as

you got to the barn raising on Saturday?"

Now knowing exactly what was on her mind, Duffy

nodded.

"Duffy, do you really agree with Tess that I don't see

when men are interested in me?"

Duffy did not immediately answer. He weighed his

words and then started. "I don't want you to misunderstand

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me, Lib, and you might because the single women in

our church so dreadfully outnumber the single men. I do

agree with Tess that you don't seem aware of the looks that

come your way, but most of the time I'm glad you don't see

the attention of those men, since they're probably not the

ones for you. Does that make sense?"

Every Little Thing About You 139

"Yes, but I still don't see it," she told him, frustration

punctuating every word. "I think you and Tess are doing

more hopeful thinking than witnessing any great male

interest in Liberty Drake."

"That's easy to understand," Kate suddenly inserted.

Both Duffy and Liberty stared at her.

"How do you figure?" Duffy asked.

"Well, she's a deputy. She has to keep her eyes open.

She hasn't had time to relax like a lot of her friends have."

Kate suddenly looked sad. "I wish she had."

Liberty sat back. For the first time in her life she asked

herself if she might be too involved in her work. She suddenly

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found her eyes on her mother and had to ask her a

question.

"Do you wish I wasn't helping Griff, Mam?"

Kate smiled. "Now that's a hard one, Lib. Do I want

both my children in danger or do I want one of them in

extreme danger because he has no one to back him up?"

Liberty nodded. That made very clear sense, but there

was more. As seemingly slow as she was about men, Liberty

now asked herself what godly mother didn't want her

daughter to meet and marry a wonderful man?

"I keep praying that God will send the right man to

help Griff, but so far that hasn't happened/' Kate continued.

"I pray for the same thing," Duffy added. "Every day."

Liberty felt as if she'd been hit. She had never once

asked God to send someone to replace her. Why was that?

The question gave Liberty pause. She suddenly wasn't sure

that she wanted to know.

Amoment later Duffy asked Liberty if she was all right

Admitting that she didn't know, she was ready to change

the subject. She double-checked with her mother about

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Thursday's preparations. They talked of Thanksgiving for

the next hour. When she finally went to bed, her mind

immediately moved to Slater, Griffin, and her job. She

pushed them all away and repositioned her mind to the

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baking she wanted to get done for Thanksgiving, telling

herself she didn't want to rush this holiday time away with