Page 41 of Chasing Liberty

She made a low huffing sound as she shook her head in despair. “Don’t try and charm me, young man. I’m as old as a tongue.”

“What has you all in a bind, ma’am?” he asked. A lot of people didn’t like how the woman seemed to enjoy raking others through the coals, but Wyler had a good idea that she had a heart underneath all that antagonism.

“Marriage isn’t a bag of potato chips, Wyler. You must stop at one.” She lifted her cane and jabbed his leg with the tip.

“Aunt Rita—” Liberty chimed in, but the woman shushed her.

“I’m speaking to Wyler, not you.” She lifted her gaze to Wyler. “I know Liberty is a pill to swallow. Lord knows I’ve watched these Rose girls cause their daddy so much grief from the day they were born. You’re part of the Rose family now. We’re not quitters. That goes for you too, young lady.” She leaned on the cane as if the tirade took a lot out of her. Even though she was no taller than four-foot-nine, she managed to look down her nose at both Liberty and Wyler.

“Didn’t she tell you we’re giving things another whirl?” Wyler asked.

“She didn’t say a word. Tight-lipped this one. Had to hear it through the grapevine.” She adjusted the strap of the carrier. The cat meowed in annoyance. “An aunt’s not supposed to be kept in the dark.” She gave her chin a haughty lift that caused the loose skin to wiggle.

“Thanks for your input,” Liberty simply said.

Some of the harsh lines around Rita’s eyes softened. “You two belong together.” Then something grabbed her attention, and the lines of contention returned. “Oh no! Would you look at that Bethany Steele. Atrocious. She’s gone and planted a peacock on her head.”

“That’s not a peacock. It’s a hat.” Liberty bit back a smile. Her aunt couldn’t see any better than Doc.

Rita squinted, surveying the hat. “That makes it much worse. We can’t have a lady of the auxiliary walking around with an eyesore flopping around like two pigs wrestling under a blanket. She’ll give us all a bad name.” She wrinkled her nose. She left in a frenzy of squeaky practical shoes and jetted toward poor, unsuspecting Bethany who was as quiet as a church mouse.

“Sorry about that, but you know she’s a feisty one,” Liberty said to Wyler.

“I find her entertaining.” He winked. “Now about what we were talking about…”

Her color faded some. “You were about to tell me something.”

He leaned in a few inches. “You look amazing.”

She looked up at him through the veil of her lashes. “Thank you.”

“Now, what are you hiding?”

“What makes you think I have something to hide?”

“Let’s dance.” He took her hand. “It’s not too much to ask for one dance with a man’s wife, is it?” He led her to a spot on the floor away from the others. The air filled with the lazy, gentle strains of the guitar.

He pulled her in against him and laid his hand on the small of her back, feeling her body relax into his embrace.

“You can’t keep pushing me away, Liberty,” he said in a low voice.

“You’re imagining things, Wyler.”

“How did the talk go with Honor? Fences all mended now?” He felt the tension invade her body again.

“Splendid. Everything is as right as rain.”

“Wonderful.” He kissed her forehead. “You two need each other.”

She lifted her chin. Her gaze met his and the universe tilted on its axis. The conversation around them faded as if they were the only two souls in the barn. “True.”

“Hmm, I’d like to pick your brain.”

“A woman’s allowed to have some secrets,” she said stubbornly. “That’s in response to you accusing me of hiding something.”

“Can’t argue that. Makes me feel a little better since I’ve been keeping one of my own.” He almost laughed when she shrewdly narrowed her gaze. “What? Can’t a man have a few of his own?”

“I suppose so,” she huffed.

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