Page 6 of Chasing Liberty

Her gaze narrowed. “Are you okay?” She set her purse on the bar and slid upon the stool.

“What do you mean?” Could she sense his tension?

“You just seem a little uptight.” Tendrils of hair had fallen from the neat style that showed off her long neck. She’d been outside working so much she had a scattering of freckles across her nose and on her shoulders.

“Liberty, I—”

“It’s okay, Wyler. Honestly, I’m a little nervous too. I’ve never done a staged breakup before. I feel like we have one chance to get this right.”

He rubbed the burden from his brow. “There’s something I need to speak to you about.”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Hello, honey.” Sam swarmed in and gave her a hug, drawing her away from what Wyler had been about to ask.

“Daddy, you best put that phone away,” she chastised her father. “You’re supposed to be away from the office.”

“The ringer’s off. Come and have a seat at the table.”

She scooted off the stool and slipped her fingers around Sam’s bent elbow. He led her to the table, pulled out a chair for her, and said proudly, “I just sold the property over on Redneck’s Ridge for triple what I paid for it.”

“Congratulations, Daddy.” She kissed him on the cheek then took a seat.

“Congratulations,” Wyler said, a little upset that Sam had the worst timing.

Wyler sat down next to Liberty and looked at her profile. Damn. He had to get tonight right.

“Where is everyone else?” Liberty said.

“Late as a Sunday, as usual.” Sam took his place at the head of the table. “I’m starving.”

Freedom, Justice, and Hope came strolling in with a flurry of chatter. Cave and Honor were close behind. While the sisters greeted each other, Wyler stood as Cave came over to give him strong handshake.

“I didn’t think we’d make it. I could eat a damn horse.” Cave dropped down into the chair and dramatically resituated his large, but lean, body in the chair that barely fit his frame.

“Tired?” Wyler asked.

“We have to get our wives on good terms again. I love Honor and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to make her happy, but there are things I have no clue how to fix. Like raging pregnancy hormones. Hemorrhoids. And going to the bathroom every five minutes,” Cave shook his head. “You know how many times Honor has asked me for a divorce just this week?”

“Is this another competition?” Wyler muttered, shooting a glance at the circle of sisters.

“What?” Cave asked.

“How many times?” Wyler thought it best not to discuss his discussion with Liberty. Picking up his beer, he drained the bottle.

“Three times. The first time was because I accidentally left the toilet seat up and she got wet. Then I forgot to grab the right flavor of ice cream. Who knew there was a difference between brownie batter swirl and brownie batter marble. And hell, the third time? I still don’t have a clue. Maybe I looked at her wrong, or my tone was off. Nothing makes a strong man more powerless than not knowing how to take care of his wife.”

“You know she’s not being serious. You two are like butter and bread.”

Cave shrugged. “The pregnancy and the fact that she hasn’t spoken to Liberty in a couple of months is adding up. You know how those two are. They finish each other’s sentences.”

Wyler looked back over to where the sisters were gathered in a huddle. All five looked alike, yet there were unique differences, even between Honor and Liberty. He watched his wife play with a piece of her hair, twirling the strand around her knuckle repeatedly. It was a nervous habit. The plannedbreak up must really have her in a spiral. Or the fact that she and Honor weren’t even acknowledging each other. Wyler knew Liberty missed Honor. He didn’t know quite what had come between the sisters, but they were both stubborn and prideful. One of them would give in, eventually.

When Liberty came to sit next to him, he whispered into her ear, “Why don’t you just speak to her?”

“There’s only one person who’s more complicated than me. And it’s not my father.” She took a sip of wine and her pert nose wrinkled. “That doesn’t taste right.”

“The expensive stuff never tastes right.”

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