My Baby, My Bride

by Tina Leonard

  “You can make certain that Hiram got moved in upstairs safely,” Pansy told him.

  “Hiram! What do you mean, moved in upstairs?”

  “Well, he had to go somewhere since your siblings evicted him.” Pansy shook her head. “Never thought I’d see the day a Forrester would evict anyone.” She sighed. “However, he knew Liberty wouldn’t turn him away, and since you were here, he figured this was a good place for him, too. He said two varmints were no more trouble than one. It was getting rid of them that was a pain, but he didn’t figure she’d be wanting to get rid of him any more than you.”

  Duke didn’t think of himself as a varmint. He frowned. “I don’t think I will help Hiram since he was one of the ones who wanted me out of office.”

  Pansy patted his arm. “Now don’t take that personally, too.”

  He sighed. “Wasn’t the purpose of me having Swap Day with Liberty so that we could get to know each other?”

  “Precisely,” Pansy said, “and I suppose you did if you moved your office here.”

  “I should feel better,” Duke said, “but all I can think of is that Liberty has lots of plans for everything but me.”

  “Duke, you knew she was an independent, smart girl,” Pansy said with a smile. “She had it too hard growing up to simply think marrying a man would solve all her problems. That was the exact reason she left you. You expected to take care of her, and Liberty knew she had to take care of herself first or she’d never be truly secure.”

  “I never thought of it that way,” Duke said. “I took it personally.”

  “I know you did,” Pansy said, “and I’m not saying Liberty couldn’t have handled the situation better. But all Liberty knew was she loved you like mad—until she was standing at that altar and realized she’d left one major ingredient out of the recipe of life. I have to say I admire her for making a difficult decision, even it did start tongues to wagging.”

  Duke took that in for a moment, seeing Liberty through a different type of glass.

  “You know, Duke, probably the scariest part for Liberty was that she never knew if you could forgive her.”

  Forgive her? Had he? Now that he thought about it, maybe he had merely glossed over the bad feelings and resentment. No wonder nothing had been easy with Liberty. “I’ve been trying to fit this onto a timetable,” he said. “Our relationship, everything. But now I see it’s better not rushed.”

  “You’re too right,” Pansy said. “Traditional ideas versus modern ones, you know. Excuse me while I circulate. I’m Liberty’s new assistant and receptionist, since her business is growing so fast, so I must do my job.”

  She moved away, taking the tray of cookies with her. A thieving elderly woman, disciplinarian siblings, a vagrant town elder moving into Duke’s new domain and—he narrowed his gaze at Hawk and Jellyfish as they carried in bolts of fabric, setting them in the room where Liberty directed—he wasn’t sure what to think of those new friends of Liberty’s.

  “Okay,” he said, “I might as well go to the ranch where there’s no siblings and no wedding gowns. Where’s my dog?” He looked for Molly, finding her perched on a box wearing a wedding garter for a collar, enjoying herself thoroughly. “Great,” he said. “I’m leaving, floozie,” he told her. She raised a paw at him, and he left, recognizing the signal for not now, I’m busy being a ham.

  “I’m going to go find my life,” he said to no one in particular, heading off to think through what it meant exactly to be a resident of Tulips without his job and without his woman.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Three hours later the last guest had left, Hiram was tucked into a back room upstairs and Liberty had cleaned everything, including the white tablecloth off Duke’s desk. She couldn’t blame him if he’d been irritated when he’d come in and seen that. “Come on,” she told Molly, “let’s go find your master and see how he is coping with being a man of leisure.”

  The dog followed her to her truck and jumped in. They drove to Duke’s house and got out. Liberty nearly rang the doorbell, then decided she, too, could be nontraditional. Picking up a handful of rocks, she tossed them at Duke’s bedroom window, hoping he was in there.

  She didn’t have long to wait as the rocks flew through the glass. “Oops,” Liberty said, “that never happens in movies.”

  “What the hell?” Duke yelled, lifting up a window that wasn’t shattered. “Liberty Wentworth, you just broke my window!”

  “I noticed,” Liberty said. “Guess you could arrest me for breaking and entering.”

  He frowned down at her. “You haven’t entered, so I can’t.”

  “I’d like to,” she said. “Sheriff.”

  She saw the ire fade from his face and reached down to pet Molly.

  “All right,” he said, “but you have to hold the window while I putty in a new one.”

  “Sounds like romance to me,” Liberty said, and waited on the front porch for Duke to open the door.

  “I won’t say what I might have said yesterday,” Duke said, opening the door so she and his dog could come in.

  “Which is what?”

  “That if we were married, you’d have a key to your own house,” Duke said. “Come on up.”

  The three of them went upstairs.

  “Why wouldn’t you say that?” Liberty asked.

  “Because I’ve changed.”

  She took the broom he handed her and began to sweep up the broken bits of glass. “Why?”

  “Because I realized I was rushing to fit you into my timetable. And that maybe I was going too fast for all of us. Keep sweeping, I’m going to go get a pane of glass and the putty from the garage.” He grinned at her. “Nice of you to drop by, Liberty, but next time, you can be more gentle about it.”

  He laughed at his own wit, since everyone was always telling him he was a bull-in-a-china-shop type of guy and she’d been the one who’d broken something.

  “Yeah, I get it. Ha ha, hee hee,” Liberty said. “Molly, your father will probably howl, but you get up on the bed so I can make sure you don’t cut a paw on some glass.”

  A moment later, Duke was back. “What makes you need to see me so desperately that you break my window?”

  Liberty scooped the glass into a nearby trash can. “I didn’t get to talk to you today. I had this strange sensation that I missed you. Or it could have been heartburn. Sometimes I get that with the baby now.”

  “That’s funny,” Duke said. “I had heartburn, too.”

  “Do you still?”

  “I don’t know.” Duke sighed. “Liberty, I’m trying really hard to figure everything out. What it means to be a father, what it means to be an ex-fiancé. I want you to be happy.”

  “I am,” she said softly. “Duke, I’ve made a lot of mistakes.”

  Putting the putty and tools down, he looked at her. “Let’s fix this later. I’d rather sit and talk to you right now.”

  “I’d rather you hold me,” Liberty said. “I’m afraid I’m losing you.”

  If ever there was an invitation, Duke was positive that was it. He took Liberty in his arms before she could retreat on him again, and gave her the kiss he’d been wanting to give her on their wedding day that didn’t happen. He took her mouth with his, kissing her lightly at first, letting her know she’d always be safe with him, then he deepened his kisses as if he could melt inside her.

  “Let’s make love, Duke,” she said on a sigh.

  He pulled back to look down into her eyes. “I’d hurt something.”

  She smiled. “Not if you’re gentle.”

  “Oh, hell, I can be gentle,” Duke said, “but Liberty, I think my son likes having you all to himself right now.”

  “He is possessive, but he’s safely tucked away up under my rib cage.” She tugged his shirt out of his pants.

  “No, we’re not doing this,” Duke said, removing her hands. “I rushed us. I’m not going to rush the baby. I have the rest of my life to make love to you, even if you won’t do it
wearing white.”

  “I’m going to wear white one day,” Liberty said.

  “I’ve changed my mind about that.”

  Liberty looked at him. “Changed your mind?”

  “White is no longer my favorite color. I want you in red when you say, ‘I do.’ Hot, hot red. Tulips red.”

  She put her head against his chest. “If you make love to me, I’m positive I’ll be able to remember feeling like a woman who wears hot, hot red.”

  He stroked her hair—it was one of his favorite sensations in the world and one he’d missed the most. “You are an incredible woman.”

  “So?” Liberty asked, and he heard the question in her voice.

  “What about keeping your gown down?”

  “They don’t know everything,” Liberty said with a giggle. “It was only the first ingredient of the recipe, anyway. We should try making our own.”

  “You’ve talked me into it,” Duke said, unzipping her dress. “I can’t wait another minute to hold you, so if something hurts—”

  “It won’t,” Liberty said, pulling at his jeans. “Quit talking, Duke. I swear that’s all anybody in this town does.”

  “Off the bed, floozie,” Duke commanded in a tone even the dog knew to obey as she vacated the room. He closed the door, locked it and picked Liberty up to slide her onto his bed. “Finally, I’ve got you all to myself.”

  Carefully, he eased her dress from her, gasping as he saw her stomach. Liberty tried to hide it, but Duke pushed the sheet away. “Is that my son?” he asked in amazement. “Look at the size of him! You sure have grown in the last couple of weeks.”

  “Duke,” Liberty said, trying to cover herself, but he wouldn’t let her, and leaned in to rest his head against her stomach.

  “He’s nice and warm,” he murmured. “There’s probably no place my son would be happier than inside you. He may never come out.”

  Liberty laughed, a nervous sound. Duke realized she was uncomfortable and pulled the sheet up for her. “You’re beautiful pregnant,” Duke said. “I had no idea pregnancy was such a sexy thing.”

  “Do you really think so? I feel like a basketball is lodged inside me.”

  “By God, if you do, it’s a winning team,” Duke said. “I can’t wait to autograph it.” He climbed up into the bed, taking the rest of her clothes from her in a rush of heat. “Liberty Wentworth, I have never gotten over you leaving me.” He kissed her neck, then her breasts, slowly, lovingly, enjoying Liberty’s sighs of happiness. Then he kissed every inch of her belly, glorying in the changes he’d made in her body. “I’m so glad I got to experience this,” Duke whispered. “Thank you for coming back to Tulips. I would have missed the best part of my life if you hadn’t.”

  She pulled him inside her, greedy to feel him, touch him and hold him close. Liberty closed her eyes. Nothing felt this good—not satin, not silk, not velvet. Duke Forrester was the only man she could ever love, and she loved making him happy. “Everything feels different,” she murmured. “Even better than before.”

  “I’ll just keep you pregnant, then,” Duke said, stroking his lips against hers. Liberty smiled, putting her hands along his face to hold him close to her, her heart beating hard.

  “When I was growing up,” she said, “I thought you had the perfect family. I always wanted to be part of it.”

  “Now that you’re grown-up,” Duke said, moving deeper inside her, “you’ll find out we are far from the perfect family. But you can definitely make us better.”

  Liberty closed her eyes, her heart warming and a climax taking over her as Duke’s hands worked their magic all over her body. She felt safe, secure and ecstatic as she cried out her pleasure, and when Duke captured her lips with his, she felt passion that she’d never known sweep her away, like nothing could ever hurt her again.

  LIBERTY SLEPT in Duke’s arms, not waking until about two o’clock in the morning. She hated to leave—she’d slept more soundly these past few hours than she’d slept in months. But she didn’t want to run into Zach and Pepper in the morning, and she didn’t want all of Tulips to know she hadn’t been home—which they would with Hiram living upstairs and Pansy and Helen living next door.

  So she crept out of bed, leaving Duke alone in an empty bed in a room with a broken window. Good thing it’s a mild September. She grinned, not regretting that she’d done that at all since she’d ended up in his bed. In fact, she didn’t regret anything about tonight.

  Downstairs, she quietly fed Molly, and then went to her truck. Backing out of the drive, Liberty looked at the Forrester homestead, nearly crying tears of joy that she, too, was becoming part of a family that loved her.

  When she pulled into her own drive, she saw someone crossing the street, heading due north toward the town square. Liberty hesitated, realizing it looked an awful lot like Helen. Maybe something was wrong! She parked her truck in the drive and followed her friend, curious.

  Helen went inside Duke’s old sheriff’s office. Liberty watched as a light went on for just a second, then went off. A few moments later, Helen walked out, heading for her own house. Liberty couldn’t stand it a second longer.

  “Helen,” she said, and the older woman screamed, nearly jumping out of her heels.

  “Liberty! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Helen glanced around, then lowered her voice. “Why aren’t you in bed?”

  “I…I wasn’t sleepy yet,” Liberty hedged. “Why are you taking such a late-night stroll?”

  “I couldn’t go to sleep,” Helen said, “and then I decided a walk might help, and then I went looking for Hiram. But then I remembered he’s staying at your place now,” she said brightly. “Silly me.”

  “It’s not going to work,” Liberty said softly. “I saw you carrying the box.”

  “Oh,” Helen said. “Box?”

  “The box with the town records inside.”

  “Well,” Helen said with a sigh. “Come on over to my house. I think we should talk.”

  “It’s late,” Liberty said. “Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

  “I might be dead tomorrow,” Helen said briskly, “and I’d rather explain my actions than have people try to figure them out after I’m gone.”

  “All right.” Liberty walked with her old friend to her house, and Helen unlocked the door. Once inside, she smelled the comforting fragrance of a clean home.

  They sat at the kitchen table together, no tea, no cookies this time. Helen looked at her for a long time, as if she were trying to decide what to do. Her hands trembling, she took out a piece of paper, holding it in front of her.

  “A long time ago, Liberty, when you were just a little girl—sort of a motley, maybe even mischievous little girl, but we all loved you—we didn’t understand why your parents didn’t take better care of you. I can tell you that we were all relieved when the Forresters took you in. That was after your parents left, of course.”

  Liberty sat still. Even now the feelings of resentment and desertion stung her harder than she would have thought they still could. “I don’t think much about that anymore,” she said, wanting it to be true.

  “Well.” Helen nodded. “I wouldn’t want to, either. However, when you were left here, you weren’t exactly left.” She put the paper on the table between them. “I stole this from the box. It’s adoption papers, for you.”

  Liberty stared at the paper. Her hand trembling, she reached out to pick it up, her eyes reading words blindingly fast, as facts mixed with emotions that had pain barbed all through them. “You adopted me,” she murmured. “Helen Granger agreed to…” She stopped, nearly speechless until she could make her mouth move. “Why?”

  “Mrs. Forrester agreed to take you in if I would be your guardian and adopt you. Duke’s mother felt it would be best if there were two of us looking out for you. I’d never had a child, so then I had you.” Helen’s mouth worked for a moment before she said, “Mrs. Forrester felt that in case your parents ever came back for you, there’d be two of us to
fight in a custody battle. Duke’s mother had the money, and I had the power in the town. We felt pretty good about your future at that point. Between us, we felt we could give you a chance.” She watched to see how Liberty was taking this information. After a moment, she said, “We felt you’d been abandoned enough. You deserved better. Maybe we could have come up with a better plan, but this was many years ago.” She touched Liberty’s hand. “I would do it all over again just the same.”

  “Who knows this?” Liberty asked.

  “Not a soul, except perhaps Hiram, though his mouth is as secure as a locked box. That’s why I went to steal these papers. I didn’t want anything in a place where Duke…or you, or his siblings, might find out the truth. The time has passed for it to matter, after all.”

  Liberty felt tears jump into her eyes. “It feels weird. I suppose I should say thank you.”

  Helen shook her head. “No. I thank you. You’ve been an angelic daughter. And now I’m a grandmother, something I would have never been without you.”

  They looked at each other over the table. Liberty fought back tears and emotions that were sharpened by her pregnancy hormones, but it was nearly impossible. “Did my mother say why?”

  Helen sighed. “Liberty, your parents…were different sorts. They didn’t really fit in here, didn’t make an effort. They weren’t cut out to be parents. They didn’t work. I don’t mean to criticize, but they were a bit odd. They had their own ideas of how things should be. Now, we’re all pretty stubborn around here and we do have our battles, but we love each other and take care of each other.” She shook her head. “That wasn’t their way. One day, they just decided to get in their old car and drive off. And no one’s heard from them since. Of course, it had nothing at all to do with you, and I suspect if not for you, they would have never had any stability at all.”