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Liberty smiled. “I guess that’s why we make such a good team.”
“It is.” She paused. “But I’ve come to realize we aren’t always going to be a team.”
Liberty sat up. “What are you talking about? Of course, we’ll always be a team. We’re the Liberty Belle.” She held up her fist. “Together, we ring loud and clear.”
Belle laughed at the motto Liberty had come up with when they’d been eight. “That’s still the worst motto ever.”
“It is not. We can’t ring without each other.”
Belle had thought that once too. Now she knew it wasn’t true. “You can ring just fine without me, Libby.” She smiled with her lips . . . and with her heart. “And I can ring just fine without you.”
Liberty’s eyes narrowed. “What happened while I was gone?”
“Nothing happened. I just realized I can make decisions for myself.”
Liberty studied her. “No, something else happened. You look different. You look all flushed and happy like . . .” Her eyes widened. “Like I looked after I fell in love with Jesse.”
Damn, Belle had forgotten how perceptive her sister was. Still, she wasn’t about to confirm her suspicions. Especially to herself.
“I don’t love Corbin.”
Liberty’s eyes widened and Belle instantly realized her mistake. “Corbin? As in Jesse’s half brother?”
Belle wanted to backpedal, but it was too late. Besides, she really needed to talk to her sister about everything that had happened while she’d been gone.
“Corbin and I kind of started . . .” She tried to find a word, but before she could, Liberty found it for her.
“Having sex?”
Since she couldn’t deny it, she only shrugged. It was a mistake. Liberty’s eyes bugged out of her head and she jumped to her feet.
“Jesse!”
Belle got up. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to freak out because I had sex. I’ve had sex before, Libby.”
“Oh, it’s not the sex. It’s who you had it with.”
Jesse appeared at the top of the stairs. “Did you need something, darlin’?”
Liberty pointed a finger at him. “You said that Corbin was a nice guy. You said all I had to do was trust you and your plan. Well, I trusted you and your plan and not only hasn’t Corbin given my family’s ranch back, but now he’s seduced my sister. And I’m done trusting. I’m going to kill him!” She started to stride past Jesse, but he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off her feet.
Which was the worst thing he could possibly do. Belle knew her sister, and you never used physical force with Liberty unless you wanted her to reciprocate.
“Ouch!” Jesse released Liberty and held his chest with a horrified look. “Did you just titty pinch me?”
“I sure as hell did and I’ll do it again if you don’t get out of my way.” Liberty started for the stairs again, but this time, Gilley came charging up the stairs and stopped her. The dog jumped on her, covering her face in wet kisses. Belle didn’t know if the dog thought Liberty was her or he’d just realized that there were two identical women he got to love.
“What the hell!” Liberty tried to push the dog away, but Gilley wasn’t having it. He knocked her back a few steps, which had Buck—who had just made it up the stairs—growling and waddling over to protect his mama. Jesse scooped him up as Belle grabbed Gilley’s collar and pulled him down.
“You need to get a grip, Libby,” she said. “I’m a big girl who can handle having sex.”
Liberty studied her. “I know you, Belly. You can’t tell me it was only sex.”
“That’s all it was.”
The deeply spoken words had Belle turning to find Corbin standing at the top of the stairs. His eyes were cold and hard and his jaw was clenched. For a brief second, she wondered why he was so angry, then her mind keyed in on what he’d said. Not the agreement that it was only sex, but the verb he’d used.
Was.
