My Baby, My Bride

by Tina Leonard

  “I like the sound of that,” Duke said. “Let’s see if we can detach you from your dress. My efficiency has never been questioned in that regard.”

  Liberty shook her head. “Pansy and Helen specifically instructed me to keep my clothing on around you.”

  He took her keys from her to open the door. “And I thought they were my friends.”

  “What are you doing?” Liberty asked as he walked inside with her. “You’re supposed to understand that you’re in the doghouse with me. And what about poor Mr. Parsons’s box? You should be back there helping him find it!”

  “He’ll find it,” Duke said. “No one’s ever known what’s in that box and I doubt we’ll miss it now. I’m supposed to be having Swap Day with you, and that means it’s now my turn to enjoy your job. I’m really looking forward to all these women in white.”

  Liberty frowned at him. “I vote we end Swap Day. It hasn’t been a rousing success.”

  “Oh, it has,” Duke said, sitting on the couch and pulling her down into his lap. “It made you appreciate me. That was the purpose of Swap Day, wasn’t it?”

  Liberty gasped as he undid her dress. “Duke!”

  “Just checking to make certain your zipper is well-oiled.”

  She removed his hand from her bodice. “You really are a caveman.”

  “I’m a renaissance man, I swear,” he said. “Let me see my baby. I’ve been dying to ever since I found out I was having one.”

  “That would involve taking off my dress.”

  “Precisely,” he said, snuggling against her neck and moving his hand to her stomach, which he cradled possessively. “Let’s break the code of chastity the old girls had you take. I want to see my child.” He felt her shiver and knew he had her. “I’ve missed holding you, Liberty.”

  “Where do you think the box is?” Liberty asked. “Who would have taken it?”

  Duke sighed. “Are you reminding me of my job on purpose?”

  “Yes,” Liberty said, her voice determined. “I am not falling for your tricks.”

  “Tricks!” Duke exclaimed, somewhat hurt. “Those were sincere statements of my feelings.”

  “I’ve just seen you in the arms of a purple-negligeed woman, and while it may have been innocent on your part, I’m going to need some time to digest,” Liberty said stubbornly. “You’re rushing me because of the baby, Duke. It’s as if you’re on a timetable you want me to fit.”

  He was. He’d vowed to have her at the altar before the baby came. His goal was marked for one week hence. “I’m not rushing things,” he said. “I think we belong together for the sake of the child.”

  “I have to leave,” she said. “I have an appointment in town.”

  “Great. I’ll drive you.”

  She looked at him. “I don’t like Swap Day.”

  “When you marry me, Liberty Wentworth, you’ll know everything about me. Think about that. I know very little about you.”

  They stared at each other for a moment.

  “I don’t know where you went. I never knew much about your parents except that they neglected you. You’re as much a mystery to me as my dog and Mr. Parsons’s box, and if you think about it, I’m taking you on faith. You know the worst thing you’re ever going to know about me is that women in nighties give me the occasional phone call for emotional support. And I never, ever, do anything more than listen.” He grinned. “Actually, that only happened today, but I thought it made me sound sympathetic and big-brotherly.”

  “Not hardly,” Liberty said. “My schedule is extremely tight today. Some brides-to-be are coming over from Union Junction on to look at gowns. You’ll be bored stiff at the salon.”

  “I promise I won’t be,” Duke said. “I’ll be with you, and that couldn’t possibly be boring.”

  THREE HOURS LATER, Duke was bored out of his skull. He was also a little frightened. So much white! So many gowns, hanging everywhere like sparkly ghosts. It was almost eerie. He could swear he was breaking out in hives.

  He didn’t know how Liberty could take living in a world devoid of color and warmth. Right now, as he hid in a chair behind the cash register, he’d give anything for a nice, scratchy, colorful blanket of wool plaid to ward off the satin spirits surrounding him.

  When they got married, Liberty was going to wear decent attire, he vowed to himself. Something with color in it that didn’t make her look as if she were wearing a corpse’s sheet. “I can’t take this,” he told Liberty. “I think I’m claustrophobic.”

  She laughed. “This shop is no worse than your grey, dank office.”

  “Have sex with me,” he said. “I think I’d relax then.”

  A matron and her daughter glanced over at Liberty and Duke. “Sorry,” Duke said. “Wedding jitters.”

  The matron smiled and the daughter giggled but he could tell Liberty was getting annoyed with him. Duke pulled his hat over his eyes and told himself to go to sleep.

  The bell tinkled and more customers came in. He tried to shrink farther down into his hide-out post so he’d be less likely to hear any of what was going on. All of this bridal planning was making his skin itch.

  “We just never seem to agree on anything,” a bride-to-be told her friend. From under his hat, Duke watched the newcomers sift through the wedding gowns in a somewhat unenthusiastic fashion. “George and I don’t always get along,” she continued. “In fact, we rarely want the same things.”

  Her gaze lit on Duke and she smiled. He pushed his hat back and shook his head. “Don’t do it,” he whispered.

  “Don’t do what?” the almost-bride whispered back.

  “Don’t marry someone if you don’t share the same goals. Goals are important.”

  She looked at her friend, who shrugged.

  “But George is sweet,” she told Duke.

  “Sweet doesn’t last thirty years. Enjoying each other and working toward the same things does.” He looked around for Liberty and spied her coming toward them. Putting a finger on his lips so the bride would keep his secret, he pushed his hat back down on his head.

  “You must be my three o’clock appointment,” Liberty said warmly. “I’m Liberty Wentworth.”

  “I’ve changed my mind,” the bride replied, sounding relieved. “I’m so sorry to waste your time.”

  “Changed your mind about a dress?” Liberty asked. “There are more gowns—”

  “Changed my mind about my husband. Thanks, anyway, though. I’ll be back when I find a man like him.”

  Duke cringed, knowing the bride had pointed to him. Liberty was going to believe the worst, of course. At the same time, his vanity was stroked. A man like him! The bridal business wasn’t so different from his job, then—lots of advice and empathy required.

  He heard the door open and close. Liberty went back to helping the matron and her daughter and he’d nearly begun to snooze when the doorbell tinkled again. Curious to see some more of Liberty’s clientele, he watched as a middle-aged woman approached the dress rack with her grandmother.

  “This is pretty,” the bride-to-be said.

  “Yes,” her grandmother agreed. “You’d look lovely in that.”

  “Francis’s mother mentioned that at my age I should probably wear a suit.”

  “Why would you listen to her?” her grandmother asked.

  “I’m worried about looking my age,” the bride replied. “Oh, hello,” she said, noticing Duke eavesdropping on their conversation. “Do you work here?”

  “My…lady friend owns the shop,” he said, “and I vote you wear what you like.”

  She smiled at him. “Do you think?”

  “Yes, I think it’s your wedding, and no one, including Francis’s mother, matters. However,” he added hastily, “it’s probably best if your mother-in-law-to-be doesn’t exert so much opinion in your affairs.” Duke looked around for Liberty, feeling guilty for speaking up, and yet unable to keep himself quiet. “Not that I’m an expert on marriage or anything, to be honest.”
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br />   “But he’s right,” the grandmother said. The bride-to-be reluctantly nodded.

  Liberty came over at that moment and Duke quickly pulled his hat down low. No wonder Liberty had had doubts about their marriage! If she had to listen to these sad-sack stories of doubt every day, it was no wonder she’d viewed marriage with some fear.

  When she had their baby, he vowed she was going to stay home. He didn’t want her working, especially not in this depressing environment! “I’ve nearly gone off marriage myself,” he muttered.

  Liberty took the hat off his head and slapped him with it before popping it back in place. “Duke Forrester, what did you say to my customer? She said she had some thinking to do and left, and told me to tell you thank you!”

  “Oh, boy,” Duke said. “Liberty, we’ve got to talk.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “Boundaries are important,” Duke said. “Maybe we should set some after your customer leaves.”

  Liberty glanced at the mother and daughter who’d been shopping in her store. “That girl is shopping for a veil. Try not to frighten her, please.”

  Duke craned his neck to see. “Well, I’ll try, but I can’t promise anything.”

  “Duke,” Liberty said, “are you running off my customers on purpose?”

  “No,” Duke said earnestly. “But, Liberty, I don’t think I’m keen on this salon of yours.”

  “I believe I warned you.”

  Duke waved a hand at her. “It’s more than that.”

  “Could you be more specific?”

  “I don’t know,” Duke said. “All the white is disturbing my thinking process. And I think it’s disturbed yours, too.”

  “I happen to think these gowns are gorgeous. Owning this shop was my dream, and designing my own label a bigger dream.” She put her hands on her hips, irritated with him. “Why don’t you step next door and have a nice hot mug of coffee to calm your nerves? The evil witch of the wedding wardrobe won’t follow you out, I promise.”

  “Now, Liberty, it’s not that bad.” Duke shook his head. “But after the baby is born, I’m thinking you shouldn’t work.”

  For a moment, Liberty was speechless. “Duke Forrester, you chauvinistic dope, of course I’m going to work! This is my dream whether you like it or not. I bought my house specifically so that I could run my business and look after my baby. I’m sorry you’re so narrow-minded, but I can’t see how what I’ve planned isn’t the best of both worlds for my son.”

  “Son?” Duke said. “Son?” he repeated.

  She looked at him for a long moment. “Congratulations, Sheriff, you’re having a baby boy.”

  A grin broke over Duke’s face. Finally, Liberty smiled at him, enjoying his happiness and his pride. Something passed between them, something of the happiness they’d shared before everything had become so difficult. A wistful tug pulled at her heart.

  “Of course, no son of mine is growing up in a bridal salon, playing with dresses and high heels. I hope you realize that, Liberty.” He crossed his arms. “A boy needs to be on the Triple F ranch where he can learn to be a man.”

  Liberty sucked in a breath.

  “Is this a good time?” the shopping mother asked. “Because we can go for lunch and then come back.”

  “It’s a perfect time,” Liberty said. “Duke, go.”

  He blinked. “Go?”

  “Yes. You’re upsetting my customers. They can’t shop with a jackass in the room.”

  “Oh.” He looked crestfallen, sending an apologetic glance toward the women. “I’m sorry, ladies. I believe I’ll head next door and get some coffee.”

  They smiled at him and he departed with one last glance at Liberty. She didn’t smile at him, too upset to bend. How could she love that man so much when he was such a fathead? How could they ever live under the same roof?

  “Sorry about that,” she told her customers, but the mother shook her head.

  “It wasn’t a problem for me,” she said. “It was a good experience for my daughter to see that marriage doesn’t always go smoothly.”

  “Mom, I know that,” the daughter replied.

  “Duke and I aren’t married,” Liberty said. “As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure we’ll never be altar-bound.”

  “He’s pretty strong,” the mother said, “but I think he means well. I was listening to him give marital advice to your customers, and to be honest, he’s pretty smart for a man.”

  “Really?” Liberty raised her eyebrows. “Smart wasn’t a word that came to my mind.”

  “We’ll take this veil,” the mother said with a smile. “I like your boyfriend. He’ll tame after a while.”

  “I don’t know,” Liberty said.

  “He will,” she said. “He loves you.”

  Liberty looked at her.

  The mother laughed. “Honey, no man sits in a bridal shop unless he’s desperately in love. Trust me. This is not a place they can remotely enjoy. Now if there were some big-screen TVs showing football, and a stash of cold beer and salami, that might be different.”

  Liberty smiled. It was true, and she’d tried to warn Duke. She went to hang the veil for her customers. Swap Day had clearly not been a success, though, and the worst part of that was they didn’t understand each other any better now than they had before.

  But she had to admit she loved Duke even a little bit more for trying to fit his machismo into her world of white femininity. Although now that he had found out his world was going to include blue baby booties, no doubt he was going to become even more insistent that everything go Duke Forrester’s way.

  DUKE COULDN’T STOP grinning. He was having a son! He didn’t need coffee to feel hopped-up—his whole body was singing with jubilation. He would have been delighted for a girl, too, but now that he knew the sex of his child, the coming baby felt real to him. Alive.

  He couldn’t wait for the birth.

  He couldn’t wait to marry Liberty. What was wrong with a woman who worked in a bride factory who didn’t want to get married?

  She came in a few minutes later, seeming somewhat calmer. “Are you ready to go?”

  He got up and followed her out. “Are we still friends?”

  She looked at him. “Friends?”

  “Yeah. I thought that perhaps I detected annoyance.”

  “Slightly. But yes, we’re still friends. Although you’re not good for my bottom line. That’s the last time you hang out in my store.”

  “If I remember correctly, you prefer to sell dreams,” he said. “That’s what you’re all about. I think you should stick to the program, and skip the ladies who think a wedding is the ultimate goal. Nothing lasting about that.”

  She nodded. “But it’s not my job to judge. I’d be the last person to know if a marriage is right or wrong for someone. Honestly. Half the women who come in my salon have jitters. They sound unhappy, but they’re really only running through a catalog of pre-wedding nerves.”

  “I think it got to you,” Duke said. “You heard so many other women run through their insecurities that you decided you’d best join the crowd. We were perfectly happy at one time, you know.”

  “But I couldn’t tell if I was looking forward to the wedding, or the marriage,” Liberty said.

  “Ouch,” Duke said. “I thought great sex counted for something.”

  “It did, but I already had that. You can’t rest on your past accomplishments.”

  He stopped her. “Liberty, if you think a couple of quickies—regardless that they resulted in a child—is the best you’re going to get from me, you’re going to miss out on the good stuff.”

  “Really?” She gave him a pointed look. “Are you saying you didn’t do your best before? It’s not like you to give less than your best. Maybe I feel slighted.”

  He laughed as she pulled away from him and got in the truck. “Liberty, you’re going to have to take a chance and try me. I’m taking Swap Day to a new level, and I’m moving my office into your home. From this day
forward, you and I will both be working out of that wedding cake you call a home.”

  “HE’S DRIVING ME NUTS,” Liberty told Pansy and Helen the next day when they came over to her house to survey the moving-in process. “Ever since he found out about the baby, he’s developed an insane streak.”

  “He already knew about the baby,” Pansy said.

  “But he didn’t know the sex. Now he does and that made it real to him. He gave me a list of baby boy names this morning, all straight from his family tree.” Liberty sighed. Duke’s desk took up an enormous amount of space in her parlor, which, thank heaven, was big enough to accommodate the few things he was bringing. His own telephone and line, his desk chair and his dog, though he said Molly would probably need a doggie door if she intended to continue her disloyal ways.

  “You could always kick him out,” Helen said. “Tell him Swap Day isn’t supposed to be permanent. It was one day and nothing more.”

  “I don’t know.” Liberty went over to his desk, her arms crossed as she looked down at Duke’s things. A curious chill came over her. “He says I’m going to need help with the baby. But when I pointed out that he was only two streets away, he said if I wouldn’t go to the Triple F with the baby, then he would be here. A family belongs together, in his royal opinion.”

  Pansy giggled. “I suppose I don’t expect anything less from Duke.”

  A soft smile touched Liberty’s lips. “A big part of me admires his commitment to this baby.”

  “Pfft,” Helen said. “His commitment is to you.”

  “I like it,” Liberty said quietly. “At least I think I do.”

  “Well, you can always toss him out,” Helen said, “and I suppose I’d best head over to Hiram’s cell. He’ll be shocked having the place to himself. In fact, it may be hard on the old fart.”

  “She’s really going over to see what the odds are being set at,” Pansy whispered.

  “What odds?” Liberty asked.

  “Probably how long you and Duke can stick it out under one roof,” Pansy said, following her friend. “It’s the favorite pastime of the men, their primary vice in this town. And Miss Helen does love to be in the thick of it.”