Page 33 of For Love of Liberty

“Hey, Libs, where’s Finn going in such an all-fire hurry?”

She turned on Milo Parks like a desert dust storm, ready to spew on Finn’s best friend like she just had on Finn. Eyes weighting closed, she forced herself to calm down, hand pressed to her stomach to keep from railing on her boss. “I don’t know and I don’t care,” she whispered, as furious over the tears blurring her eyes as she was at Finn.

Cocking a hip, Milo nudged his hat up. “Well, you should, because he sure in the devil cares about you.”

“Ha!” She clutched her arms to her waist, thrusting her chin to keep it from trembling. “Finn McShane only cares about two things, Milo Parks, and that’s his almighty bank account and breaking women’s hearts.”

“That so?” Milo matched her stance with a loose fold of arms. “Then suppose you tell me why he didn’t win the contest?”

Her jaw notched up several degrees. “The women of this town finally wised up?”

“Nope.” Milo scratched the back of his head, gaze glued to hers. “He withdrew.”

She blinked, then blinked again. “I don’t believe it. That prize money would go a long way in helping to pay off his almighty loan.” She flung an arm towards the V&T steam engine, nose scrunched as if she could still smell that blasted smoke. “He went to all that trouble to dazzle his admirers, so why in blue blazes would he withdraw?”

“I don’t know—maybe ’cause he cares more for some hot-headed woman than he does the money? You tell me.”

“Prairie Poop!” she shouted, not giving a flip who heard her swear. “Maybe you should ask the woman he plans to marry.”

Milo leaned in with a hard gleam in his eyes, hands on his hips. “I-am.”

Liberty swallowed hard, hands shaking as she balled them at her sides. “What are you talking about, Milo? He took Jo Beth home from the dance last night, right after he had the nerve to kiss me, when he was planning to propose to her all along.”

Milo bent in, practically nose to nose. “Says-who?”

Libby thrust a thumbnail to her mouth, chewing a sliver off before spitting it back out. “Jo Beth, of course. I overheard her tell Bettie that”—Libby plastered a hand over her heart with a toss of her head, mimicking Jo Beth with an exaggerated bat of her eyes—“‘I think that gorgeous man is finally going to propose.’” Another splinter of nail sailed through the air

Milo pinched the bridge of his nose, smile flat and tone dry. “Of course.”

“Well, he took her home last night, didn’t he?” Liberty countered with a purse of her lips, “and Nellie Sue told Kristi Lemp that Finn came in to buy Jo Beth a wedding ring just two weeks ago.” Liberty crossed her arms with great drama, her anger helping to temper some of her hurt. “So how do you answer that?”

Milo gave a slow nod. “Yes, he took Jo Beth home last night because it was her birthday and he promised to celebrate it with her and her family months ago.”

Pthu! Another shred of nail shot into the air. “Well, smarty-pants, how do you explain the wedding ring, then?” she challenged, staunch in her efforts to keep any and all tears at bay.

Milo shook his head, lips skewed in disbelief. “You know, Liberty, you may have been valedictorian at Vassar, but when it comes to love, you can be pretty darn stupid.” He angled in, gaze sharp as he gave full vent to a scowl. “He bought a ring all right, Miss O’Shea, but not for Jo Beth.”

A cold chill chased all blood from her face. She gulped. “F-for who, then?”

“For you, you mule-headed woman. Blue blazes, Liberty—I didn’t even know the man liked you, much less planned to marry you! May as well whopped me with a dad-burned two-ton press—couldn’t have stunned me more. Told me just this morning he planned to propose after he paid off his loan, which if Jo Beth finds out he broke it off with her this morning to take up with you, may take a whole lot longer than he hoped.”

An odd mix of joy and grief rolled in her stomach. “He … he broke it off with Jo Beth?”

Milo’s lips took a twist. “Don’t know if they taught you this in that fancy school of yours, Libs, but bigamy is frowned upon in these here parts.”

Liberty cupped hands to her mouth, heart suddenly light as air. “He wasn’t lying to me,

then …”

“Uh, no, because contrary to your long-held beliefs, the man is rather partial to the truth.”

The truth. Liberty gasped. “Oh, no!” She peered up at Milo with frantic eyes. “I said awful things to him, Milo, hateful things about both him and his father.”

A low groan slipped from Milo’s lips. “Sweet soul-saving mercy, Liberty, the man has spent his entire life trying to be everything his father wasn’t, desperate to erase the damage done to both his family and his name. And you throw it all in his face?”

“I … I didn’t know …” she whispered, heart aching over the damage she’d done.

“Well you do now, woman, so you need to fix it. But I’m warning you—it won’t be easy. I’ve been Finn’s best friend since we’ve been crawling in cow pastures, and the one time I compared him to his old man, he didn’t talk to me for nigh on three months.”