Every Little Thing About You (Yellow Rose Trilogy 1) (40 page)

"Going back to talk to her?"

"Talk to her?" Slater replied, looking surprised. "I'm not

going to talk, I'm going to tell her she has to marry me and

that's the end of it."

Griffin laughed. "I take it Dakota was on your trail

before he left."

"As if I needed him," Slater said with a shake of his

head. "But he did threaten to ask for me if I didn't do the

job soon. I wanted to ask her yesterday if she'll marry me

and let me take care of her."

"She's sure healing fast. Duff is very pleased."

"She looks wonderful," Slater said quietly, his eyes on

nothing in particular. Griffin couldn't stop his smile as he

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studied the other man. He felt as though he'd waited a long

time for a Slater Rawlings to walk in the door. Slater was a

man who would love his sister and appreciate the woman

she was. Griffin understood now why Slater had never

v^ Every Little Thing About You 289

wanted Liberty to pack a gun. His own relationship with

Tess had been a big help to him on that too, and they were

both thankful that Slater had never stopped loving Liberty.

Both men were needed before Slater could get away for

lunch, but that didn't change Slater's thoughts, or Griffin's

for that matter. Just as soon as there was a break and Griffin

told Slater he could spare him, Slater went to the Petersons',

his mind on what he intended to say. Griffin watched

him go, somehow feeling a burden to pray for his sister.

She'd been through quite a bit since Slater Rawlings rode

into town. Griffin only hoped she was still thinking clearly

enough to know a good man when he was standing in

front of her.

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Slater found Liberty in the living room again, this time

alone. She appeared to be hemming a dress. She did look

up to greet him but immediately bent back over her work.

This time he sat right next to her.

"What's this?" Slater asked, lifting the fabric a little.

"A dress of Laura's. Mam was smart enough to make it

big, but now the hem has to come down."

"She's growing fast. I can just see her in school this

fall."

"It'll be awfully quiet around here."

Slater didn't comment. His eyes were on her profile,

and he stared until she looked at him.

Liberty was so surprised by the warm look in his eyes

that she didn't look away.

"Marry me," he ordered softly.

Surprised as she was, Liberty shook her head. "You

don't have to do this, Slater."

It took Slater a moment to figure out what she meant,

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and when he did, he said. "Let me get this straight. I feel

guilty about the way I handled things at the Potters', so

now I'm proposing to make up for it?"

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"Something like that," Liberty admitted.

"So you don't love me?" he asked, putting everything

on the line.

1 didn't say that," Liberty said swiftly before going

back to her needle.

Silence hung heavily between them, and Liberty had all

she could do not to howl when she shoved the needle into

her thumb. Finally, she chanced a look in his direction and

found him still watching her, a tender smile on his face.

"So your answer is no?" he clarified.

"That's right."

A large smile crossed his features.

"What does that mean?" Liberty had to ask.

"If you're talking about the smile, I was just thinking of

how fun if s going to be to convince you." He leaned close

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before adding in a whisper, "And don't forget, Liberty

Kathleen, I'm a very patient man."

Liberty's mouth swung open as he pushed to his feet,

bent to kiss her cheek, put his hat on, told her he would see

her later, and walked from the room. No one looking at

Slater Rawlings as he made his way back to the sheriff's

office would have believed that his proposal had been

turned down--least of all Griffin--who stood in anticipation

when he was back so soon.

"She must have said yes," Griffin began.

"On the contrary--she turned me down flat."

Griffin hesitated. The smile on the blond man's face

belied those words, but something told Griffin they were

true.

"Why did she say no?"

"Because she thinks I only asked out of guilt."

"Guilt about what?"

"The way I treated her at the Potter place."

Griffin was so stunned that he sat back down. He

thought for a moment and then offered, "Do you want me

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to talk to her?"

Every Littk Thing About You 291

"There's no need," Slater said calmly. 'Til talk her

around/'

Griffin could see that he meant it and decided to leave

well enough alone. Not long after, he went home for his

own lunch, prayers for Slater and his sister filling his heart.

Slater, not at all sorry to be on his own, also thought of

Liberty and prayed for her. He could tell that her mind was

made up, but that didn't daunt him in the least. Indeed, he

smiled again now and rocked back on his heels, just

thinking about how swiftly she went back to her sewing

when he asked if she loved him.

"Oh, yes, Libby," Slater said to the empty office as he

sat down at the desk to get back to work. "I'll get around

you. Just see if I don't."

%r

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"You're awfully quiet tonight, Lib," Duffy said that

evening. The children were in bed, and the three adults sat

in the living room. "How are you feeling?"

"All right. I moved a little suddenly today and

regretted that, but other than the itching, it's not bad."

"I noticed that when Slater was here today," Kate put

in, her head bent over some needlework, "he looked like a

man with a mission."

"He wants to marry me," Liberty informed them.

Both Duffy, who had been reading the paper, and Kate

froze and then looked at her.

"You don't seem too excited," Duffy mentioned carefully.

"I turned him down."

Kate could not control herself. Tears filled her eyes, and

she looked across at Liberty.

"I'm sorry, Mam," Liberty whispered. "I didn't know it

would hurt you."

"It's not me, Libby." Kate's voice was just as hushed. "I

thought you loved Slater,"

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"I do. I love him like I've never loved anyone, but I

think he just feels bad about what happened. I can't have

him thinking he's in love when all he feels is guilt."

Liberty's face held an expression her parents had never

seen before. She seemed so vulnerable that it shook them

terribly. Not for anything would they scold her or try to

convince her that Slater did in fact love her. They both

believed he did, but this had to come from her heart, not

theirs.

"Follow your heart," Duffy said, needing to voice the

words. "We think Slater is a fine man, but if you're

doubting, Libby girl, don't let anyone rush you anywhere."

"Thank you, Duffy."

Kate smiled at her. Her eyes were still suspiciously

moist, but she was able to agree with her spouse. "It's a big

step, Libby. A woman would be a fool to start out with

doubts."

Liberty nodded, but even as her mother said the word doubts, she began to struggle with her own. Maybe she was being too hard on Slater. After all, he'd showed her that he

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cared long before the Potter incident.

"I think I'll head up," Liberty said, not needing to feign

exhaustion in an effort to be alone. She was remarkably

weary. As she readied for bed, Slater came to mind again.

Liberty thought how nice it would be to have him there,

talking to her or maybe helping with the buttons on her

dress or the pins in her hair. Tears poured down her face as

she changed clothes and climbed beneath the covers. She

was too tired to do anything more than cry and ask the

Lord if she would ever survive this.

3-rfc

S'

"Did you say painting the fence out by the barn?"

Slater asked Kate just two days later.

"Yes "

Every Littk Thing About You 293

Slater stared at the woman, waiting for her to laugh in

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jest. That didn't happen.

"Why is she doing that?" Slater asked.

Kate looked hesitant but eventually admitted, "I think

she needs to keep busy right now."

Again Slater thought. "Is that your way of saying she's

having second thoughts about saying no to me?"

Kate bit her lip. "I don't know that for certain, Slater,

but I think she prefers to be shot again rather than hurt you

or be hurt by you. She's going to have to keep busy to pull

that off."

Slater's eyes narrowed. He looked so much like Dakota

just then that Kate missed the older Rawlings terribly and

prayed for him wherever he was.

"I think 111 go out to see her."

"All right. Send Laura in if you need to."

The deputy nodded, thanked her, and moved out the

door. While he was still a way off, he spotted them, both

with their backs to the house, Liberty in an old dress, her

right arm moving slowly with the brush, Laura talking sixteen

to the dozen beside her. Slater could see how easy it

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would be to keep her back to him, so he circled the barn

and came up opposite Liberty, looking at her over the top

of the fence.

"Hi," he said, startling her a little.

"Hello," she said and smiled some, but the greeting

appeared strained.

"What made you decide to paint?"

'The fence has needed it for a while," Laura put in, and

Liberty smiled down at her.

"Does this hurt your side, Libby?" Slater asked.

"No. I couldn't do it if I was left-handed, but if s not

bad."

He wanted to ask what Duffy thought of the idea but

chose not to baby her.

"Laura," Kate called from the house, "Josie Frank is

here to see you."

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"Oh, Libby! Oh, Libby," the little girl flapped, "I have

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to go."

"That's all right. Ill just keep painting."

Laura took off then, and Slater smiled as he watched

her dress and hair fly.

"She takes good care of you."

"Yes, she does."

They fell quiet then, Slater leaning against the fence as *v though he had all day, his whole head showing over the top as he watched Liberty work. She was starting to grow

nervous under his gaze and finally frowned, wishing she

could think of some snappy thing to say. Slater went first.

"I never thought about how cute you would look with

paint on your eyelashes and cheek."

Liberty shot a look at him and said, "Did you come by