"I heard," he said, his voice a no-nonsense drawl, "that Liberty Wentworth was back in town. You ladies wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

To a woman, they shook their heads and tightened their circle. It was, he decided, almost an engraved invitation for him to storm their protective clutch and find out what they were up to. By now, they should know he was on to them. Oh, he'd let them have their way when they wanted to name the town cafeteria a saloon--they said a saloon sounded so much more dramatic to tourists who wanted that "old west experience."

Liberty Wentworth, his ex-fiancee, had spearheaded that effort, he was sure, with a backing of blue-haired friends. Some silver-haired friends, too, depending on what Holt, the resident hair dresser was mixing up for his clients. Duke was pretty certain the shades were a mixture of Holt's moods, but the ladies loved him, calling him "sympathetic" to their cause.

Mostly, their cause was outwitting the sheriff, and this was only plot number ninety-nine, give or take a few. Duke grinned, edging a foot closer to the ladies. Their faces became darling with round-eyed concern.

"Now, this is Ladies Only Day," Helen Granger said sternly. "Sheriff, you know that means no gentlemen in here."

"Considering there are, what, maybe ten men in this town of fifty residents, I have to take exception to the rule. I think you ladies just like one day when you know I won't be allowed in."

"Is one day of sisterhood too much to ask?" Helen demanded. "One day of female bonding in our saloon? Hentalk can't interest you that much, Sheriff."

The hentalk comment gave them away, Duke decided, nearly drooling to see what they were hiding. Women never called their chatter hentalk, and if a man called it that, he'd lose his hat from the gale wind force of them yelling it off his head. "I notice Holt is excluded from The Rule," he said silkily.

"Well, Holt's different," Pansy Trifle explained, her voice a nervous treble. "You know he is. Not like yourself at all. Not so manly," she said, sucking up and trying bravely to flatter his ego.

Ha. He had no ego. Liberty Wentworth had taken care of his ego three months ago when she'd left him at the altar, her little feet in high-heeled white shoes running as fast as they could away from him, her veil flying behind her like a banner ribbon of surrender to freedom.

"All right, ladies," he said, gently moving Pansy to one side. "Let's see what you're up to this time."

Of course, after he'd parted the women, he would look back and remember that he'd wished he hadn't felt such an urge to play his usual role of plot-buster. Because there in the center of the sheltering circle of her friends was Liberty Wentworth, the blonde bombshell who had detonated his heart, still possessing the face of an angel and wearing the white wedding gown of his never-ending fantasies. Nightmares, really. His heart began an uncomfortable pounding as she stared up into his eyes. If life was fair, he'd whip out his handcuffs right now and snap them on her fragile wrists so she'd be completely at his mercy.

Unfortunately, as much as Liberty in sexual bondage was a highly desirable option, the ladies would beat him to death with parasols, tea trays, and opinions. He had only one course of action left to him, one source of honor for his masculine pride.

He turned on his boot heel and walked out the door, surrendering to the sanctity of Ladies Day. Hiding the pain in his chest that Liberty was clearly planning on marrying another man, in the dress she'd worn to their non-wedding. The woman was a serial marital tornado, he decided, putting himself in a better mood by pitying the next poor sap who was going to get his heart squashed by her now.

He despised Ladies Day with a passion.

Five minutes later, Duke corralled himself inside his office at the jail cell. It was dark and quiet, and that was good. He needed a moment or two to re-group, and to curse privately.

"Howdy, Sheriff."

Duke put his hand up, warding off the greeting from the jail cell's erstwhile occupant. "Not now, Mr. Parsons." Duke sat heavily in the worn leather chair he'd inhabited from the previous occupant of the sheriff's position, Mrs. Gaines. Mr. Parson's silky-haired golden retriever, Jimbo, came to lay his head on Duke's desk, giving him a soulful, sympathetic gaze. Actually, the damn dog was Duke's, and actually, her name was Molly. But about the time Liberty decided to jilt him, Molly had also jilted him, leaving him for the warm and frequent, measured stroking Mr. Parsons offered her. Since Mr. Parsons had once owned a dog named Jimbo he'd adored, Molly had undergone a psychic personality transformation or a theoretical sex change and become Jimbo. The rest was history, Duke thought, staring at his meekly sympathizing dog, who was really a traitor in gorgeous fur come back to taunt him. Much like Liberty. Traitor. "All females are traitors," he observed to Mr. Parsons.

"Not necessarily," Mr. Parsons replied, making his bed and picking up a broom to sweep out his cell. The cell door was open because Mr. Parsons was a volunteer occupant. He kept his cell cleaner than most folks kept their homes, so Duke had quit arguing with him about the fact that eventually he'd have to give up the cell for some vagrant or deserving troublemaker. Mr. Parsons had also deemed himself Duke's secretary so that was a grudging nicety, even if the messages were sometimes a bit indecipherable. "Mrs. Parsons was no traitor, though I often suspected she spied on me for the KGB."

Duke rubbed his head under his hat band. "Liberty is a spy," he said, joining in the conspiracy theory because he was tired, and annoyed, and heartbroken. "She's a spy for the TSG."

"Tulips Saloon girls?"

"Tulips Saloon Gang. Believe me, they are a gang."

"Women have always clumped together in gangs," Mr. Parsons observed. "And that's where the fun is usually to be found. I'd run with their gang if they'd let me."

Duke leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes. Molly-Jimbo's head moved from his desk to his leg, and she gave an empathetic tweet of shared misery, which he appreciated so much that he put his hand down to enjoy the feeling of her silky ear between his fingers. "Just like Liberty's hair," he murmured.

"Pardon?" Mr. Parsons said. Duke ignored him. Truth was, the old man was mostly quiet, and he had Duke's dog, and Duke figured that was as practical a reason as any to let good company hang around. Mainly, he didn't want to be too alone with his thoughts, which always returned in ragged fashion to Liberty Wentworth.

Pathetic.

*     *     *

Liberty adjusted her wedding gown and told her racing heart to subside after Duke left. "Duke only got half the surprise."

Helen and Pansy fluttered around her. "A man doesn't need to be overwhelmed," Pansy said. "I think the sheriff had all he could handle for the moment."

"He asked for it," Helen said crossly. "If a man walks through those doors on our special day, then he's asking to get an education in women's ways." The other ten or so women in the room nodded. One handed Liberty a tissue; another went and loaded up a place of cookies which had been brought over from the neighboring town of Union Junction. The owner of the bakery in Union Junction, Valentine Jefferson, had given them the idea to start a Ladies Only day, because she had kicked off a Mens Only Day in Union Junction which had been a big success.

It had seemed like such a good idea at the time, Liberty thought to herself. A day just for women, where they could bond with each other and share their most personal triumphs and disappointments with each other.

She had come here today just for this comfort. "I'm sorry," Liberty said. "I've put all of you in a bad spot now."

"Nonsense," Pansy said, her posture stout and determined. "As far as Sheriff Duke is concerned, we are always in a bad spot. We like it that way!"

Liberty smiled.

"That's right," Helen agreed. "We're determined to go out of this world raising hell, and Duke makes such an excellent foil for our objectives."

That announcement seemed to center the group because the ladies stopped hovering and fluttering. They sat, reaching for teacups and sweets. Liberty felt like neither eating nor drinking.

Of course, that had something to do with being pregnant with Duke's child, the other half of the shock he would eventually endure. Dread filled her.

"Do you need a toddy, dear?" Pansy asked. "A good, sweet lemonade?"

Since it was a hot September in Texas, that would normally be a refreshing thought. But not today--not since Duke had discovered she'd returned.

"Maybe I should talk to him," she said.

Valentine looked at her. "There is a time for talking, even with someone as stubborn as Duke. I married a stubborn man and truthfully, catching Crockett was the hard part. After that, it's been a lot of fun." She smiled encouragingly.

Liberty felt any courage she might have mustered begin to drain out of her. "I really didn't have catching Duke on my mind, since I technically returned him to the wild on our wedding day."

"There is that," Helen said. She sat down, shifting her black glasses on her nose and peered at Liberty. "It's amazing how well that wedding dress fits you. It was made to be worn on the happiest day of your life." Frowning, she touched the lace near the waist. "I'm not certain the waist can be let out, dear, once you start gaining . . . once baby starts growing more. We're pushing it at seven months, and I do believe it's now or never for your lovely gown."

An awkward silence fell over the room. Liberty stood. "This is my problem, and I've made everyone feel that it's theirs. I'm going to walk down to the jail and talk to Duke."

"You should change first, dear," Pansy observed mildly. "Duke would probably be more receptive to you when you aren't wearing white."

"She didn't mean that the way it sounded, Libby," Helen hurried to say, but Liberty shook her head.

"It's all right." Hugging Pansy to melt the O of dismay on her elderly friend's lips, she said, "I'll wear black. That ought to suit his mood since he clearly thinks I'm the evil witch of Tulips."

"Black is sexy," Valentine noted.

"Yes, but I don't think he's in the mood to see me as sexy. More the villainess of the piece," Liberty said, "and I can't blame him. Unzip me, if you don't mind, Helen."

"Such a pretty gown," Helen murmured.

Liberty could feel her fingers tremble at the delicate shell buttons and zipper at the back. "It's just that Duke's so strong," she murmured to the room at large, as all the women watched the fantasy wedding gown being undone with sad, wistful eyes. "He's very opinionated. I got scared," she said, trying to apologize, or at least explain her actions to the women who cared so much about her. She could feel their heartbreak and their concern. Of course, she'd had no idea she was pregnant. Would she still have jilted Duke?

"Strong is good," one of the younger women murmured. "I like a strong man."

"Mm. John Wayne," someone else said.

"But a man can be too opinionated," Valentine said, and Liberty felt better.

"Depends on where and how he decides to express his opinions," someone commented, drawing a few giggles, though not from Liberty, Pansy, Helen, or Valentine.

The big heavy doors of the Tulips Saloon crashed open. All the ladies gasped, not the least because of the fabulous stained glass design of hot pink and red tulips which adorned the door, but mainly from the shock of being startled from their conversation--again.

"Liberty!" Duke's voice could have equaled a cannon's boom. She whirled to look at him, holding her hands to the sweetheart neckline of the dress so it wouldn't fall from her shoulders.

She raised her chin, not about to answer him meekly. "You snarled?"

"We need to talk," he said, his arms crossed.

"Need has never been one of my favorite words," she said. "I prefer Would like to, or even should."

"Phrased nicely," Pansy said, bobbing her head so that her spectacles danced. "We should talk would sound ever so much more chivalrous."

"I'll wait for you outside." He tipped his hat to the room in general and left.

Liberty looked at her friends. "That is the definition of strong."

"Well," Valentine said, "he is upset."

"He does need some sugar on that temper of his," someone suggested.

"Of course, he was devastated when she left," another matron sympathized.

"Well," Helen said with a sigh, "go change, honey. Let him cool his heels a minute. I'll tell him you'll be right out, and maybe that will settle him." She picked up a delicate tea cup, poured some fresh tea in it, and bravely headed outside to offer it to the sheriff.

Liberty went into a back room, slipping out of the beautiful gown with Valentine's help. Valentine hung the dress for her, covering it in plastic. Even beneath the cover, the dress shimmered with hope and dreams of happiness. Liberty had sewn every single one of those sequins and crystal beads herself, had cut the satiny fabric with trembling fingers while Pansy and Helen helped her keep it from snagging or getting dirty. It had been a labor of love on all their parts.

"The ladies say he really is a teddy bear," Valentine said.

"He is," Liberty agreed, "when he's not being a horse's ass. You don't get one without the other with Duke."

Valentine giggled. "I heard his brother, Zach, is the same way."

"Zach may be worse. Although Pepper takes the cake," Liberty said. "Little sister knows exactly how to tame those brothers of hers."

"Where is Pepper, anyway?" Valentine carefully hung the dream dress on a wall hook.

"I don't know. Off being a wild woman." She smiled as she put on jeans and a white sweater. "I think the fact that Pepper and I were best friends growing up gives me insight into the family. Zach and I were close, almost as much as Pepper and I were. But not Duke. I think I fell in love with him when I was five years old. I was watching him catch tadpoles, and I remember thinking he could do anything." He had been her hero.

A part of her still thought he was.

She shook her head as she kept on her high heel wedding shoes. There wasn't going to be a wedding--she might as well wear them, even if they might be the color of sin in Duke's eyes. The heels would make her a little taller when talking to Duke--and a little sexier, despite her pregnancy.

"Your shoes and sweater match," Valentine said. "You look so pretty, Liberty. No one would ever guess you're seven months pregnant. I hope you don't mind me saying so."

Liberty smiled. "Thanks.

"I'm going to head back to Union Junction. I'll give your dress to Helen and Pansy." She hugged Liberty. "In the meantime, good luck with Duke."

Pansy poked her head around the door. "Duke says he's gotten a call and he's leaving, so you'd best hurry, dear."

She hugged Valentine again and followed Pansy out, waving to her friends who watched her leave with some concern. Outside the saloon, Duke stood on the sidewalk, sexy as all get out and clearly disgruntled.

"I have to leave," he said. "I have a call. But we should talk."

Noting he'd used the ladies' more courteous phrasing, she gave him points for trying and nodded. "All right."

"You can ride with me if you like." He eyed her wedding shoes. "Although we'll be going into the country on a family crisis call."

"Who is it?" She followed Duke.

"The Carmines. Mrs. Carmine says her husband left last night and she wants someone to talk to. She thinks he may have gotten lost."

"Again," Liberty murmured. Bug Carmine frequently departed to his fields, with a bottle of whiskey and a shotgun. The shotgun was in case he saw a deer or duck he wanted, though in his ten years of disappearing, he'd never brought home food nor trophy, and people suspected he couldn't see more than five feet in front of him. His disappearance upset Mrs. Carmine after a few days. She would call someone to fetch him from the five hundred acres he could hide himself in, and he'd come home sheepishly, bottle empty but shotgun still loaded.

They got in Duke's truck. He glanced over at her, and Liberty's nerves tightened.

"So," he said, "Who's the lucky guy?"