Page 60 of Chasing Liberty

He then saw the scrap of paper that had floated near the table.

He swiped it up and read,Pay fifty grand or you’ll see your wife’s face all over the newspaper. Meet at the park tomorrow at noon.

Chapter Seventeen

"I can barely recall the last time we were all together and having fun. It's a shame Honor isn't here,” Justice said as she served more margaritas from the freshly made pitcher.

Liberty held up her hand to stop her sister from pouring her more. "That's enough for me."

"Come on, Lib. We're having a sisters’ night. We’re all here to celebrate the fact that we’re now aunties. Live a little." Justice realized what she said. "Oh no, I didn't mean—sorry about that."

"Don't worry. You all don't have to be cautious around me. I'm fine. Justice, you’re right. Tonight isn’t about me. It’s about honoring a new family member." She lifted her glass with a forced smile. "Cheers!"

They each raised their glasses.

“And you know it’s completely okay if you weren’t okay,” Freedom said from where she painted her toenails. “We all need to be able to not be okay sometimes.”

Liberty sighed. “It’s been two weeks. At some point I need to start breathing again.” She was trying her best push her thoughts aside, although she didn’t feel quite up to it, but she wanted to celebrate Josephine. When Liberty had held her niece in her arms she had felt an overwhelming amount of love. Seeing the bond that Honor already had with her daughter had been an amazing thing. One day, Liberty hoped to experience that type of love too.

“Have you spoken to him?” Hope asked.

“Him? The delivery man? The milkman?” Liberty hid her smile.

“I’m taking that as a no?” Hope gave an exasperated moan.

“It’s definitely a no.” Liberty looked through the bottles of nail polish and selected a pale pink for her toenails.

“You don’t have to decide your future at this moment. Get through the grief then decide.” When Hope realized that Freedom was staring at her in confusion, Hope tilted her head. “Yes, I can give good advice sometimes.”

“I think we need to back off and just let Liberty figure it out,” Freedom said.

“We’re all worried about her,” Hope added.

“I’m okay. I promise,” Liberty said.

“You don’t look okay.” Justice jumped when Freedom pinched her on the arm. “What was that for?”

“Use your filter,” Freedom whispered.

“Are you going to speak to Wyler?” Hope asked.

“I haven’t decided.” Liberty missed Wyler—missed everything about him. He’d become her best friend. Lover. Support system. Her husband. She’d gone back and forth so many times since they parted, wanting to speak to him but the risk of getting hurt kept her from reaching out.

Losing the baby had stripped Liberty, like a rug had been pulled out from underneath her. Doc had told her it was normal to feel a void and sorrow. She felt guilty knowing she had spent too much time worrying over the things in her life that didn’t matter. She didn’t understand why she had a miscarriage, but she felt blessed that she’d carried her child even if for a short time.

“Let’s not discuss anything emotional tonight,” Freedom announced. “I have an idea.”

“Oh no. Your idea of fun usually involves getting into trouble,” Liberty said.

“Let’s go to Mav’s. It’s karaoke night. Let’s have a few drinks, get on stage, and rock it out like we used to.” Freedom stood and rolled her hips as she belted out a few lines from a Taylor Swift song into her make-believe microphone.

Hope clapped her hands barely containing her excitement. “I second that idea.”

“I could use some karaoke therapy,” Justice said, blowing on her freshly painted nails.

All gazes turned to Liberty in question.

“You all go. I’ll stay, take a long, hot bath and catch up on Netflix.”

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