Page 17 of Chasing Liberty

“You move in with me until the baby is born and then what? You don’t have a home. Do you plan to put a crib in the corner of a camper?” She knew it was a low blow, but she considered it pretty low that he was cornering her. She pulled in a deep breath, hoping to relieve some of the friction in her body. Doc had told her she needed to take care of herself because she was low in iron and working too hard. She’d never been one to slow down, until lately, as well as taking a daily supplement.

“Real funny,” he said in a relaxed drawl. He swiveled on his boots and strode down the sidewalk.

She had to jog to catch up to him. “I’m not joking. How will you help raise this child?”

He stopped and turned his narrowed gaze at her. “What game are you up to now?”

“No game.” She felt a little woozy. “All your life you’ve flitted from one job to another. What do you know about being a daddy? Before you start demanding rights, think about what a child requires. A twenty-four-seven presence. Nurturing. Stability.”

“And you think you’re ready? What do you think Willow Wild is? A homestead, Liberty.”

“You don’t have the love for that place like I do.” She immediately wanted to kick herself. Why was she being so rude?

“I didn’t ask for the property. You offered it freely if I accepted the terms of the arrangement you cooked up.” Creases appeared around his eyes.

“I don’t regret offering the land, but this…a baby…is different.”

He snorted and his face softened some. “This is not a competition to see who a better parent can be. We need to work together on parenting. This isn’t about you, or me. It’s about a baby.Ourbaby. We had sex, we knew the risk, and here we are.” He shook his head as if releasing a thread of emotion. “You want the land back? Then take it, but it won’t change things. I’m here. I’ll be here. I’ll find a spot. I’ll build a home with my bare hands if I must. Like it or not, I’m your husband. We’re connected.”

“Do you think I’ve forgotten?” She rubbed her temples. “Daddy should have never demanded that us girls get married.”

Wyler’s laughter echoed off the brick buildings lining Main Street. “Sweetheart, Sam knew exactly what he was doing. Stop pretending you didn’t read between the lines. You thought you were teaching him a lesson by marrying me, but it blew up in your face. When he accepted me as his son-in-law you lost the leverage. When that happened, you lost interest too. I’m assuming it was because it was no longer fun sneaking around.”

His words stung, but they did hold some truth. “You don’t know me as well as you think you do.”

His frown deepened. “That’s one thing we can certainly agree upon.”

“I don’t want the land back. It’s yours. It was part of the agreement that I made.” Bile rose in her throat. She’d had dreams for the property, but it was only a drop in the well when it came to what she had to lose if she wasn’t in her father’s will. Everything she’d worked for. All the prized horses. She enjoyed training horses, and teaching young girls barrel racing, seeing their faces light up when they accomplished their goals. As akid, she’d strived to make her father happy. The quickest way to do that had been to learn to win at something. That’s when she developed a love for barrel racing, and she’d been damn good at it too. One of the best in the country. It had been something that separated her from Honor, even though she also competed. Being twins, they’d always been in competition with each other. Honor had been the sweet, smart, and “good” sister and Liberty had been known as the wild, untamed one who was a magnet for trouble. But when she was on the back of a horse with the wind in her hair, she was just Liberty. Not the labeled woman who people enjoyed spreading rumors about. Not the feral version in a ladylike world. Just herself and she made her father proud.

He stared a long few seconds before he said, “A child is forever.”

“Yes, it’s forever. I want you to be at Willow Wild and make something wonderful of it. There’s potential there for a cowboy like yourself. You can build a home there. Buy some horses, livestock, and be independent.”

He looked a bit confused. “I told you what I want.”

She paused a moment to gain her thoughts. There were things she couldn’t tell him—wasn’t ready to tell him. She did care for him. He was a good man with a kind heart. Which only made her feel guiltier that she’d brought him into such a tangled mess.

“You want a marriage. A family.” He was a man who wanted a family to call his own. “I don’t know if I can give that to you.”

He kicked up a pebble with the toe of his dirty, worn boot. “Looks like we’re shoved between two rocks then. I guess you have some decisions to make.” He held her gaze as several expressions flitted across his handsome face.

Sweat beaded her upper lip. “This doesn’t have to turn into a battle.”

Then he shrugged, and the faded shirt tightened over his bulky shoulders. “Anything dealing with a Rose turns into a battle in some way or another.”

The door creaked open to the club, and Wyler grabbed her hand, dragging her into the shadows just as Jinx came wobbling out, followed by the rest of the crew. They were laughing and carrying on about Jinx getting a private dance.

Wyler gently pressed her against the rough brick wall. He lowered his head and waited for the men to pass on the sidewalk.

“I should have been a good buddy and given the woman Wyler’s number. It’s time he got over that snobby bitch.” She recognized Billy’s voice. She and the lazy, arrogant cowboy never did see eye-to-eye.

Wyler growled and started to take a step, but Liberty grabbed his shirt in her fists. She gave her head a shake.

“That’s jealousy if I ever did hear it. The Roses are good people, especially Liberty.” It was Jinx that came to her defense. “And you let Wyler hear you say something like that and you’ll lose what’s left of your teeth.”

“I’m just saying, he’s sniffing around that rich pussy like he’s one of them. We all know he fucked that piece of land right out of her,” Billy slurred.

“Shut the fuck up, asshole, or I’m going to shove your teeth down your throat myself,” Rigs piped in. “You don’t like where you’re at on Sagebrush, then take a walk, or you’ll find yourself at the train station. Get my drift?”

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