"A showdown of lust and love!"
Reviewed by Jennifer Vido
Posted September 4, 2006
Romance Series
Liberty Wentworth knows how to work a man with a simple
bat of an eyelash mixed with the mesmerizing sound of her
sugary southern drawl. Unfortunately, it looks like she
has finally met her match in Duke Forrester. Leaving him
at the altar was not this beauty queen's finest hour and
now she must find her way back into his heart. Arriving in
Tulips, Texas, a small town known for its juicy gossip and
somewhat questionable ways, Liberty can't hide the fact
that she is carrying her jilted lover's baby. Always the
one to work any situation to her advantage, Liberty
manages to get the townsfolk on her side as she
desperately tries to convince herself and her one true
love that the place she needs to be is safely nestled in
Duke Forrester's loving arms. Brazen, stubborn, and perhaps rough around the edges,
Sheriff Duke Forrester does his best to keep the peace
while trying to avoid the constant criticism from the
noisy blue-haired ladies who love to cause a ruckus and
enjoy making him squirm. Even his own dog has been known
to choose sides, with Duke almost always coming up with
the short end of the stick. When word spreads that the
source of his constant heartache has strolled into town,
Duke decides to confront his former lover and put the past
behind him. If only it were that simple. Why is she back?
And more importantly, does she still have a place in her
heart for him? MY BABY, MY BRIDE is the first of three books in The
Tulips Saloon miniseries by Tina Leonard. Known for
delivering a story that warms the heart and entertains the
soul, Leonard once again grabs the reader with her
colorful characters and amusing plotline. MY BABY, MY
BRIDE kicks off the series with a definite bang and makes
the reader want to stick around to see what will happen
next.
SUMMARY
A Simple Recipe For Winning Your Woman
Liberty Wentworth may have abandoned Duke Forrester on
their
wedding day, but when she returns to Tulips, Texas,
pregnant
with their child, Duke knows he'll do anything to win her
back. But how? Liberty's claiming he's as ornery as ever,
and she can't live with a bullheaded man like him for the
rest of her life. So Duke takes some advice from an unlikely source--the
ladies of the Tulips Saloon. These women have brought him
much pain with their meddling, but i he's ever going to
marry the woman he loves, he'll have to follow their
"recipe" for success. Because no matter what it takes, Duke
is going to spend his life with Liberty--even if that means
softening up around the edges. After all, a man has to do
what a man has to do! The Tulips Saloon
New Town, Old Friends
Excerpt"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?"
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