Every Little Thing About You (Yellow Rose Trilogy 1) (30 page)

face. I know he loves her. I know it killed him to have to

leave before she came back downstairs."

Duffy held her and thought about God's promises.

Never did He tell His children that this life would be safe

and pain free. Indeed, every book in the Bible indicated

otherwise. Nevertheless, God did promise never to desert

His loved ones or give them more than they could handle.

Picturing Liberty in that closet was a sickening thing. The

man could have done anything, but they all had to choose

to take God at His Word, which meant Liberty wasn't

alone. The all-powerful God of the universe had been right

there beside her at every moment.

"I have to sleep now," Kate said, her voice slurred with

fatigue.

"Okay. I'm going to check on the kids one more time.

I'll see you in the morning."

"I love you, Duffy."

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"I love you too, Kate," he said before kissing her cheek.

The doctor slipped quietly from the room, heading

down the hall to see Laura and Zach, and finally to knock

gently before opening Liberty's door a crack. There was no

light on, but the moonlight coming from the window told

him Liberty was standing at the glass looking out.

"Are you all right?" her stepfather asked.

Every Little Thing About You 217

"Just a little restless," Liberty told him as she turned

and let the curtain fall back into place. "I can't stop

thinking about everything he said and trying to decipher if

he gave any clues as to where he was headed."

"Will you take some advice?"

"Certainly."

"Stop being an officer of the law and try to sleep. All of

this will still be here in the morning."

"All right," Liberty agreed and even thanked Duffy as

he shut the door, but his words took her off in another

direction. Stop being an officer of the law. Why did that one

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simple sentence hurt so much? Right now Liberty didn't

have a clue, and the prospect of finding out made her feel

pretty helpless.

Seeing no other option, she climbed into bed, willing

herself to sleep. It took some time and some confessing,

since she'd started to worry, but by the time she drifted off

to sleep, she was ready to leave the whole affair in God's

capable hands.

3'

Three mornings after the uproar at Mrs. Mills' house, a

newcomer walked from the hotel, his eyes taking in the

neat, even streets of Shotgun's small community. He'd

arrived rather late the night before and opted to bunk at the

hotel for that night. The room had been comfortable and

warm, and he felt rested as he started up the street.

He hadn't gone far when he spotted Shotgun's deputy.

Slater stood in front of the general store with a mountain of

a man and a tiny, enraged woman.

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"I tell you it's robbery!" Mrs. Swenson insisted, her

whole frame vibrating in irritation. "And I want this man

arrested."

"Mrs. Swenson." Slater's voice was remarkably

patient. "Price and Amy may charge whatever they want.

It's their store."

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"Nonsense! Why, only last year I paid half that much

for a tin of peaches. I tell you it's against the law."

Price tried to reason with her, but she would have none

of it She ended up storming down the boardwalk, muttering

all the way.

"She'll cool down," Amy said as she came on the scene.

"My guess is she'll be back in the morning and pay without

a whimper."

Slater nodded as the couple thanked him and went

back inside. Slater turned up the street, only then seeing the

tall, slim man with the dark red hair who had come from

the hotel. He'd leaned against the side of the building,

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watching the whole scene with great interest. Slater

thought he had the warmest brown eyes in Texas. It wasn't

hard to figure that Dakota must have headed straight

home. Slater began to smile. Cash Rawlings had come tp

town.

GHutiew,

As soon as the brothers were back at the sheriff's

office, they embraced for a long time.

"I've missed you, Cash," Slater said, feeling strangely

choked up as they drew back.

"You could have come home," the oldest Rawlings

said, not unkindly.

"I planned on it but found it wasn't so easy."

Cash smiled. "Dak says her name is Ubby."

Slater laughed. "She's not the only reason, but she's a

good one."

"What's she like?"

"Oh, Cash," Slater sighed. "How much time have you

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got?"

Cash smiled again; somehow he'd always known that

softhearted Slater would be the first to fall.

"Does she know?" he asked next.

"Not directly, but we're getting there."

"So she loves you in return?"

"I hope so."

For a moment they were silent.

"Grandma sends her love."

"How is she?"

"Doing* well. Surprisingly enough, she's getting a little

more independent. She cut her visit short this last time and

headed home. Said she had things to do."

Slater laughed, wishing he could see their father's

mother, who, although her son and daughter-in-law had

returned to St. Louis, had stayed in Texas.

219

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384

"I take it Dak came home?" Slater asked.

"On the verge of apoplexy. Said you needed straightening

out."

Slater's look was telling.

"I knew it was probably the other way around/' Cash

confessed, knowing which of his brothers needed more

guidance at the moment. "What happened?"

Slater gave his brother a detailed account of the bank

shooting, the death of Desna Frank, and Desna's funeral

service. Cash had no trouble catching on.

"I wonder how long he's going to fight this."

"I don't know, but this is the most riled up I've ever

seen him. He's still angry with me over leaving the

Rangers, and it's not like him to carry things around. He

left here in a huff. I hated to have him go like that. With our

jobs, it could be the last time we ever lay eyes on each other,

but he didn't give me much choice."

"No, he didn't, but you did the right thing by letting

him go. Dak is a big boy--too old to be leaving in a rage-- but to beg 385 him to stay wouldn't have been wise. He needs to see that you're man enough to make this choice and not

just his kid brother anymore."

"He's certainly protective. If I hadn't met Libby's

family, he probably would have trussed me up, thrown me

over his saddle, and carried me off."

"So he has at least seen that you've made a life here?"

"Yes. In fact, I think he was on his way to accepting

that, but the service set him off. He'd even been coming to

church with me, and he's threatened me if I let Libby get

away."

Cash suddenly frowned. "He also mumbled something

about her arresting you."

Slater took some time to explain the way he'd met Liberty,

and then said, "You can pray for us, Cash, because her

acting as deputy is something I can't live with."

Every Little Thing About You 221

"I will pray, and although I'm not an expert, I will tell

you: You're doing well to remember that you can't marry

her and expect to change her."

386

They suddenly smiled at each other, remembering that

their mother had learned this the hard way. Charles Rawlngs

Sr. was as independent a man as any they'd ever

known. He raised his boys to be the same way. As much as

he loved Virginia Rawlings, Charles was not going to be

slowed down. If he wanted to travel, he traveled. Virginia

was welcome to go along, but if she didn't want to go, he

went without her. He was as faithful as any husband could

be, but having a wife and children was not going to alter

his lifestyle. Following in the wake of her vagabond husband,

Virginia had seen much of the countryside.

"So when can I meet her?" Cash wanted to know.

"It just happens that I'm invited to dinner tonight. I

can't stay long since I'll be on duty, but I'm sure they would

welcome you with open arms."

"All right. Should I leave my gear at the hotel?"

"Not if you don't mind sharing a bed. It's fairly wide,

and as I recall, you don't snore too loudly."

Cash only snorted in disbelief and asked, "By the way,

what happened to your eye and cheek?"

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"I was attacked by a pair of shoes."

Cash's right brow winged upward. "I think I need to

hear about this."

"You will," Slater decided swiftly, "but only after you

meet Libby."

Cash smiled again. It was so good to see his brother, but

seeing him also reminded him of how little time they'd

spent together in the last few years. For his part, Cash

didn't care if Slater snored all night. The day, however, had

the possibilities of dragging. He was most anxious to meet

this woman named Libby.

-S'

Sr

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"When Mam has her baby, I'll help her because I'm the

big sister. Even if the baby is a boy; Til still be the big sister."

"I'm sure you'll do a fine job," Cash said seriously. He

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was being welcomed as his brothers had, by witnessing

Laura firsthand and falling just as swiftly in love with her.

"Do you have a baby?" Laura wished to know.

"No. I'm not married."

Laura nodded seriously. "You can share ours when you

come to town."

"Thank you very much."

Liberty took that moment to slip into the room. She sat

next to Zach and whispered, "What is Laura sharing?"

"The baby."

Liberty's eyes became hysterically round, and Zach

had to cover his mouth to muffle laughter. Cash chose that

moment to look up at them.

"Cash Rawlings," Slater began, having been waiting

for this moment, "please meet Liberty Drake."

"The pleasure is all mine," Cash said as he rose,

moving to shake Liberty's hand and bending slightly over

her, his eyes alight with pleasure.

"You're tall/' Liberty told him.

"Yes. Dakota got the strength; Slater got the manners;

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and I'm just tall."

Looking at those broad shoulders and the way he bent

to catch her eye, Liberty wasn't fooled. She was still smiling

at him when Duffy called them to the table.

"Your brother's nice/' Liberty had a chance to say

softly to Slater as he seated her at the table.

"I was hoping you would think so."

"I can't remember--are any more of you going to show

up?"

Slater smiled. "No. Just the three of us. Had enough?"