Every Little Thing About You

  "Dinner," Mrs. Locken called from the other room.

  Griffin stood immediately, took Tess' hand, and pulled

  her from the chair. With his hand under her chin, he bent

  and kissed her mouth.

  "Merry Christmas, Tess."

  "Merry Christmas, Griffin."

  They walked hand-in-hand to the dining room where

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  Mrs. Locken was waiting. It seemed that some weeks her

  husband and sons never ceased to cause her pain with the

  way they overlooked her and took her efforts for granted,

  but this couple who loved the Lord and each other was like

  Every Little Thing About You 159

  a gift from God and the best Christinas gift she could possibly

  imagine.

  ^- 3r

  %r

  Dakota could not dispel Liberty's image from his mind.

  He had tried closing his eyes, which only made it worse.

  He had tried concentrating on the creek line, dark as it was,

  but he could still see her in the bank building. He shook his

  head a little at how fast she had been. He'd seen many a

  quick draw in his business, and he thought she might rank

  among the smoothest And her aim! If it hadn't been so sad,

  he would have called it beautiful. That thougjht today, however,

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  only made him ache.

  "I wanted to see her in action," he said quietly, causing

  Eli's ears to twitch, "but not like this."

  Slater had asked him to head out for a time. Dakota had

  been only too glad to oblige him. He needed to be alone. He

  needed to think. For a moment his mind lingered on some

  of the things he'd seen and heard from the pastor and the

  church family, but it didn't take long for him to feel uncomfortable

  with his thoughts. He pushed them away to concentrate

  on his brother. As though he'd never had a

  problem with Slater giving up his job, Dakota was now resolute.

  Slate should stay here, he decided. Slate needs to step in as

  deputy. I don't know why I didn't see it before. I'm still not certain

  what to do with the change in him, but he's made a life here.

  A man with his skill and level head shouldn't be building houses. He should be helping Griffin with the law, not Libby. And I'm going to tell him as soon as I get back.

  # $-$

  "This

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  is my room," Laura told Slater after dinner, her

  drawing of the house in her lap. The whole family was

  gathered in the living room. "It used to be Griffin's room,

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  but he moved next door, and Mam gave it to me. It's my

  very own."

  "What's this?" Slater pointed to a circle on the floor.

  "My rug. It's all red and blue and green colors."

  "It sounds nice." ,f

  "Ubby's is almost the same, only hers has some

  yellow."

  Slater nodded and smiled down at her.

  "If you marry Libby, then you can come upstairs and

  see all the rugs."

  "Laura May Peterson!" Duffy wasted no time in

  exclaiming.

  The little girl looked across at him, clearly upset and

  uncertain, but her silence didn't last for more than a few

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  seconds. Tears already filling her eyes and her chin tilted

  upward, she said, "Well, he should marry Libby and make

  her smile all the time!"

  The room was silent with shock--not just over her

  talking back--but at the words as well.

  "Libby's sad because she had to shoot that man, and

  when Slater comes she always smiles." With that Laura put

  her face in her hands and sobbed. Kate was sitting closer

  than Duffy, so she was the one to move and put her arms

  around the little girl. It took some time for her to calm, the

  others quietly waiting.

  Laura would not look at anyone, but they all had eyes

  on her. Duffy waited but could see that she was going to

  keep her face burled against her mother's side. He went to

  her, hunkered down in front of both his wife and daughter,

  and spoke quietly.

  "Laura, you need to look at me."

  Laura obeyed at once, her little face blotchy and

  tearstained.

  "I know you meant well, but Slater and Libby's relationship

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  is not your business. If you have questions, you

  may ask Mam or me, but you can't just sit and give your

  opinion whenever you feel like it. Understood?"

  Every Little Thing About You 161

  Laura nodded, and her father gave her knee a little

  squeeze.

  "You need to apologize." This said, Duffy returned to

  his seat, fully expecting to be obeyed.

  "I'm sorry, Libby/' Laura said to the big sister who sat

  across the room.

  "I forgive you, Laura."

  "I'm sorry, Slater."

  "Thank you, Laura, and I want you to know that I do

  appreciate the nice words you said."

  "I can be nice sometimes," Laura told him, "but not

  always."

  Slater had to smile over this. He looked over at Liberty

  to find her smiling at Laura too. He was still watching her

  when she noticed him. Duffy asked Zach a question just

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  then, and the little boy began to answer, but it took several

  minutes for Slater and Liberty to hear.

  "I want to talk to you/' Dakota greeted Slater the

  moment he walked in the door.

  "All right. Let me get my coat off."

  Dakota waited with ill-concealed impatience, and

  Slater wanted to laugh. It was always clear to him when

  Dakota had a mission.

  "When are you headed back to work, Dak?" Slater

  asked as he sauntered his way toward the living room and

  took a seat on the davenport

  "Not until I'm through with you, at the very least Now,

  I've been doing some thinking."

  "About my life or yours?"

  "My life is fine," Dakota clarified for him. "Yours could

  use a little work."

  Slater laughed, which only got him glared at

  "Are you going to listen?"

  "Yes." Slater schooled his features and worked not to

  smile.

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  "Now, I think the most logical thing for you to do is

  apply as deputy of Shotgun. You're good enough to be the

  sheriff, but Griffin already has the job, and he's doing fine.

  However, a man with your talents has no business

  pounding nails for a living, and I don't want to hear any

  arguments.

  "My first choice would be to have you come back to the

  Rangers, but since you're being mule stubborn about that,

  this is the next best thing. I'll also concede," Dakota went

  on even as both men heard the back door open and close,

  163

  164 lori wick

  "that there's a very sweet lady in town who makes staying

  a very palatable option. But, if I find out that you've let her

  get away, you'll have some fast explaining to do."

  "Hello," Griffin greeted the men as he walked in and

  took a chair. He saw that Slater was on the sofa, relaxed as

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  a cat, but Dakota was standing as though giving a lecture.

  Griffin, not worryin
g about offending anyone, spoke to

  Slater.

  "Did you tell Dakota about the job as deputy?"

  "Not yet," Slater replied and let his gaze swing back to

  his older sibling.

  Not surprisingly, Dakota was looking right back at

  Slater.

  "You could have stopped me," the older man said.

  "That wouldn't have been half as much fun."

  Dakota dropped into a chair and shook his head.

  "Someone should fill me in," Griffin suggested.

  Slater did the honors, and both men had a laugh on

  Dakota.

  "How's Tess?" Slater asked when the laughter died

  down.

  "She's fine."

  "Price asked me this morning if the two of you had a

  date."

  "That seems to be the common question. Tonight Tess

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  suggested that we just up and marry."

  "That would be fun," Dakota agreed.

  "Spoken like a man," Griffin stated. "I know I would

  like it, but somehow I think the women in my life, namely

  Kate Peterson, Liberty Drake, and Rebecca Locken, would

  not find it so amusing."

  "You never know/' Slater put in. "Our mother wanted

  to elope, but our father wouldn't hear of it."

  "Did she really?"

  "That's what they've always told us," Slater confirmed.

  "Our father hailed from modest means, and our mother

  had been reared in the lap of luxury. Her mother desper-

  Every

  Little Thing About You 165

  ately wanted a large wedding, the kind befitting a young

  socialite, but our mother had had that her whole life. I

  guess Grandma Slater, who had a terrible time accepting

  our father, was won over in an instant when he took his

  future mother-in-law's side and opted for a grand wedding."

  289

  "What did your mother say?f

  "She was ready to call the whole thing off," Dakota

  continued. "She can be rather stubborn, but our father

  talked her around."

  Griffin looked between the two of them, so mismatched

  in appearance.

  "By the way, where do you two get your coloring?"

  Both Rawlings laughed.

  "He should see Cash," Dakota said to Slater.

  "What does Cash look like?" Griffin took the bait.

  "Dark red hair, brown eyes."

  Griffin's brows rose. The two men before him were so

  different. One was blond with blue eyes, and the other had

  black hair with eyes so black you couldn't even see the

  pupils.

  "And you all have the same mother and father?"

  Griffin clarified.

  Both brothers nodded, smiles on their faces.

  "No sisters?"

  "Nope," Dakota supplied, "but if you're giving up

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  Laura, 111 take her."

  "She's a card, all right," Griffin agreed with a small

  sigh. "She's another reason not to just up and marry."

  "She gets to watch it happen/' Slater supplied the

  words, "if she's quiet."

  "I'm not sure that's possible." Griffin's tone was dry.

  "Actually, I shouldn't be surprised at how different you

  two look; considering Zach and Laura are like day and

  night in personality."

  "Zach's a nice little guy," Dakota said, and with that the

  men fell quiet. It had been a long day, emotionally and

  166 lori wick

  physically. And speaking of the children reminded them of

  a little girl who no longer had a mother. It wasn't long

  before all three men opted to turn in, knowing that the next

  few days promised to be just as draining. On Wednesday

  they would all be attending the funeral of Desna Frank.

  -3-^Are

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  you up to this?" Duffy asked Kate Wednesday

  morning. She had been crying since she rose and hadn't

  wanted anything for breakfast. She now washed the dishes

  with slow, distracted movements.

  Kate shrugged. "Even if I'm not, I can't stay away.

  Desna was my friend, and I need to see Lloyd and Josie."

  Duffy eyed her face. Her color wasn't good, and he naturally

  thought of her condition.

  "Stop looking at me, Duffy," she told him as she

  handed him a plate to dry.

  "That's like telling me not to be a doctor, Kathleen," he

  replied firmly. "Now, you're not going if there's more than

  grief going on here. Do you hear me?"

  "Yes, but it is grief, Duffy; I know it is. That can bring

  about problems of its own, but I'm not feeling that feeling

  or anything like that"

  To just about anyone else, those words would have

  been cryptic, but to Kate, who had been expecting so many

  times, and for the doctor she was married to, it made perfect

  sense that she was in tune with her pregnancy. Duffy

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  continued to watch her for a moment, and finally Kate

  came to him. Duffy slipped his arms around her and held

  her close.

  "I don't want to lose you, Duff," she admitted. "I want

  you here with me. When I think of Lloyd I can hardly stand

  it."

  Duffy pressed a kiss to her temple; he'd had the same

  thoughts about her. He held her a little closer, already

  feeling the baby between them. He never tired of touching

  Every Little Thing About You 167

  or holding her. He wasn't a lot taller than she was, but the

  difference in their heights gave him wonderful access to

  her soft hair and brow, where he kissed her again.

  "We should always have the attitude that we're not

  staying here permanently, but there's nothing like a death

  to remind us of how frail we are."

  "I'm glad school was canceled. I want the children with

  me."

  "I'd have kept them home anyway," Duffy told her.

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  "Laura told me she wants to talk to Josie, but I told her I'd

  have to think about it."

  "She means so well, but I'm a little afraid of what she'll

  come up with."

  They heard noises behind them then and weren't surprised

  when Zach came forward and hugged his father

  from the side. Duffy slipped an arm down to hold him.

  "Where are Libby and Laura?"

  "Both crying in Libby's room."

  "Maybe I should go up," Kate said and moved a little,

  but steps could be heard on the stairs. Sure enough, the

  teary-eyed sisters joined the family in the kitchen, and 15

  minutes later, they headed for the cemetery.

  *gr 3Second

  Corinthians 5 says, Therefore, we are always

  confident, knowing that, while we are at home in the body,

  we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by

  sight. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be

  absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord/"

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  Pastor Caron read these words to the crowd as they huddled

  close against the cold wind. Rain was threatening.

  "Can there ever be good news at a funeral?" the pastor

  asked. "I just read verses to you that would give a

  resounding yes!" Pastor Caron went on to say, "Desna

  Frank was 24 years old. She was born in Dallas on May 1,

  1857
, to the late Henry and Lottie Jeffers. She lived most of

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  her life in Dallas and moved to Shotgun after she married

  Lloyd Frank in 1876. Her daughter Josie was born to her in

  1878. Desna is also survived by two sisters and a brother,

  all of whom live in the Dallas area.

  "Desna wanted to be a schoolteacher but met Lloyd

  before she completed her training. She was actively

  involved in the church where she attended and was a regular

  at the women's Bible study. Desna also enjoyed

  attending the quilting bees that the Ladies' Legion holds

  each month. She was quoted just a few weeks back as

  saying, 'I love Shotgun. I hope we can raise all of our children

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  here/"

  Pastor Caron took a moment to compose himself. He

  had just recently learned that Desna had been expecting.

  For an instant he wanted to sob with the loss of both lives.

  Almost a minute later he took a breath and continued.

  "I had a long talk with Lloyd yesterday. He talked to

  me about Desna, a woman he'd known and loved for more

  than six years. Lloyd is confident, as am I, that Desna is

  indeed present with the Lord. Lloyd was with Desna the

  day they both realized they needed a Savior. He told me all

  about the camp meeting where they both sat, hungry for

  the truth about eternity, and how they needed to fill the

  ache inside, an ache that was spiritually based. Both Lloyd

  and Desna were saved that day.

  "I didn't know Desna before she and Frank moved to

  Shotgun and began attending the church where I pastor,

  but we spoke many times, and on several occasions she

  told me about her life. Frank wanted me to talk about

  Desna today, but also to let you know that you can have the

  same hope in Christ that she had.

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  "I don't say that Desna is in heaven because she was a

  good person. Those of you who know me know that I

  would make no such claim. She's in heaven today because

  she repented of her sin and accepted God's Son as her

  Savior."

  Every Little Thing About You 169

  Taking in the words as best she could, Liberty stood

  very still at the graveside. She felt like her insides were

  crumbling, but she didn't want to break down. She was

  thankful beyond what she could express that her friend

  was in heaven, but Lloyd's pale face and Josie's confused

  eyes were almost too much to bear. When the service

  ended, many people went forward to have a word with

  Lloyd, but Liberty hung back until they were almost all

  gone. Griffin was close by, Dakota and Slater behind him.