Page 26 of Taming Liberty

She hurries toward me, her grin stretching from ear to ear. Her hands reach out when she’s close, and she crashes into my chest, wrapping her arms around my midsection and squeezing.

“Welcome home,” she says, squeezing harder.

I’m so stunned by Lib’s reaction that a moment passes before I realize I should be returning the hug, my hands hanging limp at my sides.

I tentatively splay my palms over her back even as red flags pop up in my mind, about a hundred of them.

She should be angry. Not just because she’s Lib, and I have a history of pissing her off, but because she’s human. I left her alone for days longer than I said it would be, and we already weren’t on good terms before I left. I broke her trust that I promised her she wouldn’t regret giving me, and once again, I’ve proven to her that I’m a liar.

Anyreasonable person would be pissed.

“Thank you,” I say, successfully keeping the skepticism from my voice.

She pulls back, her hands gently holding onto my sides.

“Are you hungry?” She beams at me in a way I’m almost positive is fake.

Scratch that, I’m certain it is. It wouldn’t make sense for it not to be.

“I made a surprise breakfast for you, but it might be cold. I didn’t realize you’d sleep so late.”

“Um…”

She removes her hand from my left hip to slide her sunglasses up her forehead. Seeing her aqua blue eyes, sparkling with excitement at seeing me, is like a fucking dream. No, notlikea dream, it was my dream.Is, I guess. Not one I ever thought would come true, but…

“That’s kind of you,” I say, trying to recover. “How did you know I was back?”

“Your bag,” she says, hitching a thumb over her shoulder, although the luggage is out of sight. I forgot I left it by the front door.

“Here, sit.” She takes my hand and starts leading me to the chair. Once I’m halfway there, she puts her hand on my chest and smiles. “You stay out here and relax. I’ll be right back.”

The red flags grow alarm bells for ears and start ringing.

She trots back toward the house, and I turn to watch her disappear inside. I absently scratch my arm as I stare at the entrance but lower my hand when Lib pops into view, craning her neck outside.

“Coffee, right?” she asks.

“That’d be great. Thank you.”

She gives a single nod, then disappears.

What the fuck is going on?

My muscles twitchto follow her, but I don’t see what good that would do. If she wanted to do something sinister, she could’ve done it while I slept.

Unless she wants to poison me. That would explain the sudden desire to make me a “surprise breakfast.”

But why would she do that? Where does she think she would go if I was dead?

Jasper’s. I have no doubt he’d buy her the second he could, and that’sifSawyer is stupid enough not to realize my death wasn’t an accident. My spine prickles with unease, and I almost laugh when I realize it has more to do with the possibility of Jasper ever getting a hold of Lib than it does with Lib trying to kill me.

So… To follow or not to follow?

I blow out a breath and give my yard a once-over, searching for nothing while I think. After a few beats of silence, I wander to the chair Lib was using and warily sit. Lib returns after a few more minutes with a coffee mug in her hand and a plate with bread.

She grins as she carries both my way, and I force a small smile back. She sits the mug on the table before holding the plate out to me.

“Surprise.”

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