Every Little Thing About You (Yellow Rose Trilogy 1) (3 page)

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ashamed of his love for it. Right after that, Zach had found

himself very interested in fishing, and he tried it with his

father, who made it the greatest outing of the entire

summer.

"I'm sorry about this gravy," Liberty apologized as she

returned with the dark blue gravy boat and set it on the

table. "I'm going to start parroting you, Mam, about my

head falling off."

"Did you help Griff today?" Zach suddenly asked.

"Yes, I did. I was there for a few hours."

"Did you put someone in jail?" This came from Laura,

and Liberty nodded.

"Did you need your gun?"

Every Little Thing About You 19

"Yes. The man waited a little too long to do as I asked,

and I couldn't take any chances."

"Is Griff with him now?"

Again Liberty nodded. "That was the plan."

Kate was thankful that the subject was dropped after

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that. They finished the meal on another topic, and she

wasn't forced to keep her feelings hidden. Thoughts of Liberty

helping Griffin played in her mind the entire evening,

but she prayed and worked to give her two oldest children

to the Lord. It was a huge relief, however, when it was time

for her younger children to go to bed. She kissed Liberty

goodnight and finally gained the privacy of her bedroom.

Duffy wasn't far behind her. He found his wife sitting on

the edge of the bed, facing away from the door. Duffy

slipped his shoes off and climbed onto the mattress. With

gentle fingers he unbuttoned the back of her dress and then

softly kissed her neck.

"Are you all right?"

"I think so," Kate answered honestly as she slipped

from her cotton dress and sat back down in her petticoat

and chemise, turning a little so she could look at her husband.

"She's so calm, Duffy."

"She has to be, Kate. You don't want her carrying her

emotions on her sleeve when she has to pull that gun."

Kate's breath caught in her throat, and Duffy pulled her

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into his arms and held her close. Kate clung to him. She

didn't want to cry, but she felt a desperate need to be held.

Duffy was only too happy to oblige.

He hadn't seen her coming. He hadn't known she was

going to walk into his life when she did. They had known

each other for years, lived in the same town, and gone to

the same church, but he hadn't noticed her until almost a

year after Thomas Drake died. Kate had been teaching

school in those days--the town's sheriff had not been able

to leave a huge legacy behind--and still trying to do her job

as a mother to Griffin and Liberty, the only two of her five

children to make it past infancy. Then she had taken ill.

20 lori wick

Duffy would never forget Liberty's pale face as she came to

his office.

"Mam is sick/' the slim 12-year-old had said.

"Who is sick?" Duffy questioned her.

"Mam. She's hot and quiet."

Duffy had finally figured out that Liberty was referring

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to her mother. He had hung a sign on his door and followed

her home. And Kate had been sick--very sick. Duffy

still remembered asking God if He would take the children's

mother as well as their father.

Some days passed before he felt she was out of the

woods, and even then she wasn't back in the schoolhouse

for more than two weeks. And that first day when school

dismissed, Duffy was there. He used her health as an

excuse for a long time but eventually gained the courage to

ask if he could court her. He thought his heart would burst

when she said yes.

"I was married to Thomas and had two babies by the

time I was Libby's age," Kate said suddenly; Liberty was

not long past her twenty-first birthday. "I don't want Libby

to marry for anything but love, Duffy, but I find myself

wishing she would show more interest in some of the

young men who like her."

"Kate," Duffy said seriously, waiting for her to look at

him, "you're trying to change circumstances that are out of

your control rather than serving God in the midst of them.

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And you're worrying."

Kate looked up into his wonderful face. Older than she

was by ten years, he'd never planned to marry. But he had

suddenly found himself in love with her, and in time, Kate

had loved him back. The day she married him was one of

the happiest of her life. And his faith was so alive. He had

been busy as a doctor, but not having a wife or children for

so many years had left him with great amounts of time for

Bible study and prayer. She learned something from him

every week.

"You're right. I need to give her back to the Lord."

Every Little Thing About You 21

"And you need to keep asking God, in His will, to bring

someone into her life. You've been happily married, you've

seen Libby with people, and you naturally think she would

flourish in marriage and parenthood. I do too. So we both

need to keep going to God about this."

"She is special, isn't she, Duff?"

"Very. And although some of the men here are fine

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young men, I think it's going to take someone just as special

as she is, someone who understands how multifaceted

she is, to claim her heart."

Kate nodded, thinking not for the first time that it was

wonderful to know he loved Griffin and Liberty as he did

Zach and Laura. She kissed him and thanked him before

rising to ready for bed. The week had been long, and she

was weary. Thirty minutes later, her husband beside her,

she drifted off to sleep, but not before asking God to help

her take Duffy's advice: Serve God where you are; don't

ask Him to take you elsewhere before you obey. She had

made it flowery--that was more her way--but the

meaning was still clear.

'WO*

%

liberty's neat hand moved across the paper, her head

bent as she filled out a report on Slater Rawlings' arrest

There wasn't much to tell, but Griffin was particular about

details. He had been ready to do the report himself until he

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remembered that Liberty was coming in because he had a

meeting with the mayor and two members of the town

council He had nearly dragged his sister outside before he

left

"Lunch will be coming while I'm gone, so you be

careful."

"I will, Griff, but he doesn't seem that dangerous to

me."

"I don't know," Griffin replied with a small shake of his

head. "He's probably not, but there's something about this

guy, some kind of inner turmoil. I can see it in his eyes. He's

angry about being in there, but I know he could pay his

way out. He wasn't all too happy this morning when I gave

him breakfast, so just be on guard."

Liberty had nodded. "I'll watch myself--him too."

"All right. Thanks, and be sure to thank Mam for those

sweet-rolls."

"I'll do it. Hey," Liberty called to him before he could

get far. "What about tomorrow?"

"If he hasn't paid his way out, I'll bring him along."

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Liberty smiled. "Let's hope you have a quiet night

tonight."

Griffin only waved and continued down the street. Liberty

went back inside to start the paperwork and give the

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24 lori wick '

office a complete dusting. She knew that the prisoner stood

at the bars for a while and watched her, but she didn't

speak to him or even look in his direction.

"I need something out of my saddlebags," Slater suddenly

said.

"You'll have to wait for the sheriff to get back for that,"

Liberty told him, not bothering to raise her head.

"When will that be?"

"I'm not sure."

"What do I call you, by the way?"

"Deputy."

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"What's the matter with this town that a woman has to

act as deputy?" Slater muttered, but the woman at the desk

just kept writing. Feeling even more irate, he watched her,

but in the corner of his mind knew that he was being

unjust. He was a prisoner, which meant he had few rights.

If she didn't want to talk with him, it was her privilege.

Slater let his head rest against the bars and was still in that

position when the door opened.

"Oh, Liberty, it's you!" a female voice exclaimed.

Slater watched the woman at the desk laugh.

"It's nice to see you too, Tess."

"I'm sorry." Tess Locken was contrite as she came to

stand before the desk. "I was so hoping to find Griff."

"I can't imagine why," Liberty teased. "I'm more fun

than he is."

"You are fun, Lib," Tess said sincerely, "but/' and here

she sighed a little, "I'm not in love with you."

"Oh, well," Liberty shrugged as if the loss were hers.

"Can I do anything for you?"

"Only if you know whether Griff is free for dinner

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Monday night."

Again Liberty shrugged. "I wish I could help."

"Well, I'll just--oh!"

Liberty followed Tess' gaze, knowing she'd just spotted

their guest. Slater was still standing, his hands protruding

Every Little Thing About You 25

through the bars so his forearms could rest comfortably, his

look expressionless as he stared out at them.

"Is he dangerous?" the other woman asked, her voice

dropping to a stage whisper.

"He hasn't been so far."

"Did you bring him in?" Tess' voice had risen, but she

moved closer to Liberty.

"Yesterday."

Liberty's friend lowered her brow. "He needs a

haircut."

The deputy's eyes sparkled as her hand came to her

mouth, a movement Slater couldn't miss. He stood very

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still, doing everything he could not to glare at them. To be

talked about as if he wasn't there was maddening.

"Well, I'd better scoot," Tess said quietly. "Tell Griff

hello."

"Do you want me to mention Monday night?"

Tess' head cocked to the side in a way that made her

look like a scatterbrained female, something she was not. It

didn't help that her blue eyes were as innocent as a child's.

"I guess you can go ahead and tell him, but also say

that 111 check back with him. Mother said to be sure and

tell him to come even if he can only make it for dessert."

Liberty smiled at her. Tess' expression had turned so

hopeful.

"I'll relay all of it, Tess."

"Thanks, Libby."

The other woman left on that note, but not before

taking one more look at the man behind the bars. The fear

in her eyes was not comfortable to Slater, but as he'd been

doing for almost 24 hours, he hardened his heart.