by Lori Wick
now asked herself what godly mother didn't want her
daughter to meet and marry a wonderful man?
"I keep praying that God will send the right man to
help Griff, but so far that hasn't happened/' Kate continued.
"I pray for the same thing," Duffy added. "Every day."
Liberty felt as if she'd been hit. She had never once
asked God to send someone to replace her. Why was that?
The question gave Liberty pause. She suddenly wasn't sure
that she wanted to know.
Amoment later Duffy asked Liberty if she was all right
Admitting that she didn't know, she was ready to change
the subject. She double-checked with her mother about
246
Thursday's preparations. They talked of Thanksgiving for
the next hour. When she finally went to bed, her mind
immediately moved to Slater, Griffin, and her job. She
pushed them all away and repositioned her mind to the
140 lori wick
baking she wanted to get done for Thanksgiving, telling
herself she didn't want to rush this holiday time away with
all sorts of other thoughts. It was not a solid reason and
Liberty knew that, but she just kept justifying it by
reminding herself that all too soon it would be December,
with Christmas rushing up on the calendar.
S' *3r
"Do you know what happened to me on Sunday?" Tess
whispered to Griffin in the general store. She had been
shopping and turned to find him next to her, something
that never failed to delight her.
"What?"
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"A very wonderful man asked me to marry him."
"No kidding?" Griffin's eyes were impressively large.
"No kidding," Tess answered, her own eyes alight with
pleasure as she looked up at him. "I said yes."
"Did you?" Griffin smiled down at her. "When is the
big event?"
"Well," her brow dropped in the way he loved, "I'm
free tomorrow."
"Tomorrow is Thanksgiving," he reminded her, feeling
intoxicated by her nearness.
"Friday then?" Tess asked hopefully, and Griffin had to
laugh.
Tess smiled complacently and then noticed the eyes
that watched them, mostly older women who should have
known better.
"I can tell this is going to be interesting," Tess said as
she turned to examine a row of shoes and belts.
"Why is that?" Griffin asked, studying her profile with
pleasure.
"You might be the most well-known person in town.
248
It's like courting in a house made of glass."
Griffin had noticed the attention as well, but there was
little he could do or say. He opted for a lighter note.
Every Little Thing About You 141
"You sound as though you're changing your mind."
No longer caring who might be watching, Tess' eyes
met his.
"Not even close," she said softly.
Griffin reached for her hand, their fingers entwining for
several seconds.
Not long afterward, Griffin went back to work, comforted
by the fact that in two days he could see her almost
all day. Nevertheless, he asked God to help him concentrate
on the job. Remembering Tess' sweet smile and love
for him, he thought he might endanger someone if he even
touched his gun.
fy Q-%f
249
The
second week in December was cold. Slater had not
paid much attention to the weather so far, working with
Price and Hank no matter what. But today his head felt full,
and every time he bent over the hammer, his forehead and
cheeks pounded. He told himself he could make it all day/
but by midaf ternoon, he knew he had to get inside.
"I don't feel well," Slater wasted no words in telling his boss. "I'm going to head home. I'll try to work tomorrow."
Hank looked up, a frown on his face, but Slater's glassy
eyes and red face softened him a little.
"Just take off till it's gone, or you'll have us all sick.*
Slater did little more than wave as he turned away.
"Hey, Slater," Price stepped in, "Miss Amy carries some
medicine for colds. Stop by for some on your way home.
Doc Bergram's or something like that"
"Thanks, Price."
Slater hadn't really decided to stop, but since he hadn't
ridden Arrow to the job that day, he felt nearly frozen by
the time he reached downtown. He stepped into the general
store just to get his lungs out of the cold. Miss Amy
250
happened to be standing right inside.
"May I help you?"
142 lori wick
Every Little Thing About You 143
"Oh." Slater tried to smile and be polite, his mind fuzzy
with the headache. "I'm looking for something for colds. I
think Price said it was Doc Berg's or some name like that."
"Doc Bergrin's?"
"Yeah, that must be it."
"Right this way."
Slater followed her in something of a daze. She had a
large selection of tonics and such. He watched as she
plucked one off the shelf and handed it to him.
"That one will take all pain away--if s pretty potent
This one," she said, handing him another bottle, "doesn't
have any alcohol in it at all, but it's still good stuff. Typically,
husbands buy the first one and wives buy the second
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one."
No contest in Slater's mind. He took the second bottle
and turned toward the counter, wanting nothing more than
to get home and climb into bed.
"Price sent you, didn't he?" Miss Amy asked quietly as
Slater was fishing for coins.
"Yes. He said you might have something,"
"He hasn't been in since he got back," she murmured.
A note in her voice got through to Slater Working to ignore
his own discomfort, he looked at the tall, well-built woman
behind the cash register. She didn't appear to be quite as
young as Price, but there was no mistaking the interest in
her eyes.
"Maybe he doesn't know you'd like him to come in,"
Slater offered.
"Well," Miss Amy's gaze dropped, "I hope someone
tells him." With that, she slid Slater's change across the
counter, shut the drawer, and turned away. Slater watched
her take a feather duster to shelves that looked immaculate,
his heart turning over in compassion. He felt simply awful,
252
but that did not stop him from praying for Price and Miss
Amy and asking God to open the door if he should tell his
coworker what this woman had said.
$-*3r
-
"Oh!
Dakota!" Liberty said when the door was opened,
"I didn't know you were back."
Dakota had been called to work just after Thanksgiving
and hadn't been in town since.
"I'm just in," he explained. "Come on in."
"Well, I don't want to be in the way, but Mam thought
she saw Slater come in and wanted to send this soup for
him. Is he here?"
"I don't think so, but maybe he is. Come on through
&
nbsp; and I'll check."
Dakota held the door wide, and Liberty took the pot of
warm soup straight through to the kitchen. Since her
brother had gained a housemate, she did not come and go
253
as she pleased through his back door.
"Let me see if he's here now," Dakota said.
Liberty put the pot on the stove top and went ahead
and added a little wood to the fire in the oven. The house
felt chilly to her.
"He's sound asleep," Dakota announced when he
returned from upstairs.
Liberty nodded. "He mentioned on the weekend that
he thought he'd caught something. Well, tell him to rest,
and hopefully the soup will help."
"All right. Thanks."
Liberty started back toward the front door, Dakota on
her heels.
"Should I take this as a good sign?" Dakota suddenly
asked, causing Liberty to turn before she reached the doorknob.
"For what?"
"Well," Dakota smiled charmingly. "When a lady
brings a gentleman hot soup, I would say that means she
cares."
144 lori wick
254
Liberty's eyes lit with amusement. "My mother sent the
soup, and to answer your question, yes, she cares very
much."
"Come on, Libby," he coaxed now, "give a guy a
break."
"Dakota," Liberty replied, trying not to laugh at his
pleading look, "I don't know what you want."
His black eyes narrowed as they always did when he
was in thought.
"All right," he finally said, Til play my hand. How do
you feel about Slater?"
Liberty's look was remarkably calm. "That, Mr. Rawlngs,
is a question the gentleman himself will have to ask
me."
""But you could give me a hint."
"No, I couldn't," Liberty said on a laugh. She thought
he was so funny. "And while we're on the subject, what is
it to you?"
"I'll tell you what. He's going to let you get away if he
255
isn't careful."
Liberty shook her head. "I don't think I've ever seen the
like."
"What's that?"
"A Texas Ranger with nothing better to do than play
matchmaker."
Dakota was opening his mouth in outrage when Liberty
slipped out the door. She didn't look back or even
wave, but she smiled to herself all the way back to her own
front door.
-S-"
"Did I hear Liberty's voice?" Slater asked when Dakota
checked on him about 20 minutes later.
"Yes. Are you going to marry that lady or not?"
"This afternoon," Slater said as he rolled over to go
back to sleep. "Didn't I tell you?"
Every Little Thing About You 145
256
Dakota took compassion when he heard Slater's rough
voice. Thinking his throat had to be sore, he took himself
from the room. It didn't look as though anything he could
say or do would induce Slater back to the Rangers, but
where Liberty Drake was concerned, he wasn't going to
leave things so up in the air. He decided that before he left
town he was going to wring a few promises out of his little
brother.
$
A high-noon bank robbery the day after Christmas was
not what Griffin and Liberty had been expecting, but that
was exactly what they got.
It was a Monday, and Liberty was due to go off duty
when a terrified Miss Amy came running to tell her what
she'd witnessed across the street. Liberty knew better than
to go alone. Thankfully, Griffin was in the mayor's office,
and within minutes the two of them were making their
257
way to the bank building. The only way in was through the
front door, so they started to inch their way down the
boardwalk. They had just gained positions at the window
when a shot was fired and at least two women screamed.
Wasting no more time, the Drakes rushed in.
"Don't do it!" a wild-eyed man screamed, his gun
pointed right at them. "Get your hands up. I swear I'll
shoot again."
Liberty and Griffin did exactly as they were told,
coming in and leaving the door wide open. The man kept
turning, moving around so fast that he gave them no time
to reach for their weapons. At the same time, he didn't
seem to notice their gun belts. Standing with her hands in
the air, helpless for die moment, Liberty took in the scene
and felt very sick.
Seven people stood against the tellers' windows. One
of them was three-year-old Josie Frank, who stood frozen
as she stared at her mother's body. What had compelled
146 lori wick
258
this man to shoot Desna Frank was unclear, but the pool of
blood underneath her and her motionless form did not
look good.
Liberty forced her mind back onto the robber just in
time to see him spot Griffin. It seemed as though he had
forgotten him.
"You there!" he screamed. "Get that gun off and shove
it away from you."
The robber was so wild-eyed that it was terrifying to
watch him, but Griffin slowly removed his weapon and
quietly placed it on the floor. He pushed it away with the
flick of his boot his calm face seeming to irritate the man
even more.
"Now come here! Help him," he ordered, gesturing
wildly with the gun. "Help him put money in the bag."
Griffin went slowly forward. Liberty didn't dare move.
She was small enough not to be seen behind Griffin's back
if she wanted to pull her gun, but if the robber caught any
movement, Griffin would be right in the line of fire.
"What bag do you want me to use?" Griffin asked
259
calmly. The man looked panicky until he remembered and
pulled a sack from his waistband.
Griffin had deliberately moved between the gunman
and the innocent folks against the counter, but now the
head teller had no choice but to move out of their ranks and
join Griffin. The gunman started to follow but pulled back.
Suddenly grabbing Bill Miller, who had come in to withdraw
some funds, he pulled him close and held the gun to
his head.
"Make it fast!" he yeUed.
Griffin and the teller did just that, taking money from
the drawers and shoving the bills into the bag. They were
finished in less than two minutes, but the man was so agitated
it looked as though he would shoot anyway. He had
to let go of Bill to grab the money, and when he did, Griffin
stepped in such a way as to put himself between them. The
gunman was instantly irate.
Every Little Thing About You 147
"What are you doing?"
260
"Just waiting on you," Griffin said. He was close
enough to see that the man was out of his head.
"I'll shoot him if I want to," he said suddenly and gestured
with his gun. "Move!"
"I can't let you shoot him," Griffin said calmly, and the
man lost control. He brough
t the gun directly in front of
him and aimed at Griffin, giving Liberty no choice. The
look of surprise on the man's face as the bullet entered his
body was pathetic. He froze, dropped everything from
both hands, and crumpled to the floor.
In the next instant, Liberty was across the room taking
Josie in her arms. She scooped the child up--she was stiff
with shock--and cradled her close. Looking to Griffin, who
motioned her out with his head, she turned for the door.
She didn't expect to see Slater and Dakota, who had just
slipped in the door, both with guns pulled. The look on
Slater's face shocked Liberty. She had never seen such a
look of revulsion, and it was directed at her. In an instant
she was angry.
"This baby's mother is gone, and Griffin was next," she
261
said quietly. "I suppose you wanted me to slap his hand for
that."
This said, Liberty pushed past both men and the crowd
that had started to gather outside. Questions about what
happened flew at her, but she ignored them. She had to get
to the Franks'. She had to find this little girl's father. She
only hoped that in time the memory would fade. There was
no chance that Liberty would ever forget, but she prayed
that Josie would never remember a thing about this day.
"How are you?" Duffy asked Liberty as he joined her
in the living room several hours later. Kate had called
Duffy home as soon as she'd heard. She had given Zach
and Laura a snack at the table, but Liberty had wanted to
be alone. She'd opted to grab her Bible and sit in the living
room where she could hear their voices, but she had yet to
open the book.
"I feel bruised all over," she said as she looked at him.
"I never get used to it, Duffy. Today's not the first time, but
it might as well be. The shock and hurt are just the same."
"If you did get used to it, I'd be worried about you."
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Liberty nodded.
"Thank you, Ubby," he said now.
"What for?"
"For saving our Griffin."
Liberty cried then. "I had to, Duff, I had to do it. He was
going to kill Griff!"
Duffy moved to put an arm around her. She hadn't
cried yet, and this was what she needed. Not even her mother's arms had provided the needed cathartic, but having Duffy, who loved them as though they were his
own, thank her for her brother's life had been enough.
Duffy had yet to go to the Franks', but he was headed
there next. He left as soon as Liberty fell asleep on the sofa
and he'd covered her with a quilt. He held Kate for the