Every Little Thing About You (Yellow Rose Trilogy 1) (27 page)

sheriff for a long time.

"Can you tell me something, Slater?" Liberty asked,

wondering why she hadn't asked him before.

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"Sure."

"Why didn't you want my help? Have I done something

that makes you think you can't trust me?"

"Not at all. I know how good you are, but my answer

may not be the one you want to hear."

Liberty frowned. He could very well be right, but she

still wanted to know.

"Will you tell me anyway?"

"If you want me to, yes." Wondering if she could

handle his feelings on the matter, Slater looked at her for a

moment and then plunged in. "I haven't liked this arrangement

from the beginning. I don't think Griffin should be

using you as a backup. I think it's too dangerous."

Libby blinked in surprise but still said, "Slater, what

does Griffin do when there's no one else?"

Every little Thing About You 197

Slater tenderly put his hands on Liberty's shoulders,

his touch light. "Don't misunderstand me right now, Libby.

I'm glad that Griff is still here because you have a clear

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head and good aim, but I don't think Griff should even use

you as an option. I can't help but wonder if he might not

have looked a little harder for a deputy if you hadn't been

so available."

Liberty's head was spinning. This was so new to her.

They had always done it this way. Her father had taught

her, and she had carried on to do what was needed, always

feeling that even though he was gone, she had his blessing.

She shook her head a little. She wanted to be available for

Griffin, and right now she wasn't convinced that she

couldn't do that.

"Are you all right?" Slater asked.

"I am, Slater, but I can't tell you that I agree. I don't

know what I'm feeling right now. I've got to think."

Slater could only nod. He expected no less, but that

didn't change his disappointment. This was a major issue

in his mind. The pain in his heart forced him to go to the

Lord, the only good thing he could see in this situation.

Liberty didn't stick around much longer, but that wasn't all

bad. He found he needed time to think as badly as she did.

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/-*3**

"A baby?" Laura's little face showed her shock and

deligjit.

"That's right," Duffy told her. "This summer he or she

will be here."

"Can he sleep with me?" Zach wished to know.

"Well," Kate told him gently, "the baby will have his

own bed, but maybe when he's a little older."

"Does Libby know?" Laura asked.

"Yes."

"And Griffin and Tess?"

"Yes."

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"Does Slater?" she tried again, and her parents

laughed; she simply had to share this news.

"I don't think he does/' Duffy said. "Did you need to

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tell someone?"

Laura nodded and looked down at her mother's

stomach.

"You're going to get fat, aren't you, Mam?"

Kate smiled. "I suppose I am."

"Laura!" Zach looked shocked. "Mam will never be fat.

It's not the same when you have a baby."

Laura nodded--she was always amazingly contrite

when Zach rebuked her--but her eyes still strayed to her

mother's waistline. Kate was increasing rapidly now, being

over the halfway point It was one of those things a child

wouldn't notice unless told, and Laura was now noticing

plenty.

"Does the baby make you tired, Mam?" Zach asked

sweetly, and Kate leaned to kiss him.

"At times, yes. Have I been crabby with you?"

"No, but you fell asleep in the kitchen that one day, and

I wondered."

"That was very observant of you, Zach," his father

praised. "A woman does tire easily when she's expecting."

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"Will there be more?" the six-year-old asked.

"We don't know. We didn't know that God would send

us this baby, but we know that God knows what's best for

us."

Zach sighed. "A baby. I've always wanted a baby."

Duffy and Kate shared a warm smile. God had surely

given them the most precious children in the world. They

were still thinking on this when Laura scrambled from her

mother's lap.

"Where are you going?" Duffy wished to know.

"To the front porch in case someone walks by," she

answered as she went.

"Why?" Zach asked first.

"So I can tell him Mam is having a baby."

Every Little Thing About You 199

"Laura." Duffy called her back even as Kate and Zach

dissolved into laughter. Kate didn't know what God had

planned for them, but if it was another Laura, it was sure

to be fun.

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w* -3*

"How is it?" Tess look anxiously across the table at her

mate.

"Very good," Griffin told her after he swallowed.

"Were you worried?"

Tess nodded a hesitant yes.

"Why?"

"Oh, well, I'm still getting used to a different stove, and

this is a new recipe. I wanted everything to be just right."

Griffin sat back a little. "I was crazy not to marry you

the first time I laid eyes on you."

Tess smiled. "Well, I think so, but sometimes it takes

you a little longer."

Griffin reached over and took her hand. "I love you,

Tess."

The bride sighed. "It's funny, but I can't hear that too

much."

"I'll have to remember that," Griffin responded.

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They continued to eat, but as Tess watched her husband,

she could tell something was on his mind.

"Did anything happen today, Griff?"

Griffin looked at her. "Slater told me that he and Libby

had it out while we were away."

Tess put her fork aside. "Why did he wait almost a

week to tell you?"

"I don't know. Maybe he was still trying to gauge

whether he should."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"He didn't go into great detail, but he wanted to know

if I had asked her to come and fill in while I was gone. She

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evidently arrived all ready for work, and he told her she

couldn't stay."

"And she was unhappy about that," Tess stated.

"I think you were right, Tess. She is more attached to

the job than I thought. I don't know how I feel about that."

"Do you think it would help to talk with her?"

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"I would say yes, but I don't want her to feel that Slater

snuck around her and reported. He said it ended well; she

even came and apologized. I guess I'm hoping she'll mention

it to me."

"And if she doesn't?"

"I don't know," he said honestly.

"Will you continue to ask her to work?"

Griffin stared at his wife. That really was the sticking

point in all of this. When he needed help, his sister came to

mind so easily. But Slater was so against it, and Griffin had

such a high regard for his new deputy...

"I don't know," he said one more time and went back

to his food. Both husband and wife were thoughtful for the

next several minutes.

5'

"This fabric is nice," Mrs. Tobler told Liberty the second

week of February. "I think this color would be good on you

too."

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"I've never had a purple dress." Liberty forced hersejf

to be honest, even amid the generosity. "I guess I had blue

or green in mind."

"Well, I've got those too. Just give me a minute!"

Mrs. Tobler was in the mood to sew. Liberty had never

known her to be in any other mood, but this was the plan

in her mind when she stopped by the day before and

vowed to start with Liberty, move to Laura, and then make

a dress for Kate, and even one for the baby if it was a girl.

The ladies were all naturally pleased, and because Liberty

Every Little Thing About You 201

felt at loose ends lately, she was glad that Mrs. Tobler

wanted to start the next day.

"How's this blue?"

"Oh, this is beautiful."

"I like it too, but let's not be too hasty!"

Liberty smiled. Mrs. Tobler was always the same.

"What is that noise?" she exclaimed in irritation. "I just

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keep hearing it!"

Liberty thought she heard something too, but her host

had gone back to excavating in the closet and grumbling again, so she wasn't sure.

Bolts of fabric and an hour later, they agreed on one. It

was a deep green piece with a tiny yellow flower all over

it. The yellow flower seemed to make Liberty's eyes come

alive. Once Mrs. Tobler saw it draped over her, she would

not look at anything else. In just a matter of minutes, Liberty

was being fitted with a pattern.

w" ^* -S"

"I think there's been a murder," Keaton Saint said

almost as soon as he walked in the door.

"Why do you think that, Mr. Saint?" Griffin asked. He

and Slater had come to full attention.

"Because my neighbor, Mrs. Mills, is missing, and I've

been hearing strange noises/'

"What kind of noises?"

"Digging."

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Griffin took a moment to compute this.

"Her nephew was visiting, wasn't he?"

"He's still there."

"We'll check it out for you, all right?"

The tall man solemnly thanked him, turned, and went

on his way.

"How reliable is he?" Slater asked as soon as the door

closed.

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"Very. He's lived here for years. He's retired now, but

he used to run the library and teach part-time."

"Where does he live?"

"Two doors down from Mrs. Tobler. The house he's

talking about would be next to hers as well."

"A small, two-story white house?"

"That's the one."

The men had exchanged all of this as they moved to

their horses. They rode without haste toward the Mills

place, both hoping Mr. Saint was wrong but knowing that

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such an announcement could not be ignored. Griffin led

the way up to the front door, and it took several knocks for

someone to answer.

"Yes?" an impeccably dressed man answered as he

stood looking out at them. He had an eastern air about him,

and his voice was clipped and precise.

"I'm Sheriff Drake," Griffin said congenially. "Could I

please talk to Mrs. Mills?"

"My aunt is out of town right now," the man said.

"I see. And you would be?"

"Her nephew, Davis Mills."

"Well, Mr. Mills, when do you expect her back?"

"She didn't say," he said very swiftly and then seemed

to reconsider. "Actually, I just remembered a letter she sent.