Love Her Softly

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

Liam whirled around to face his aunt. "What did you do to her?!" he demanded.

Anita's eyes narrowed from her perch upon the cart. "Don't use that tone with me, Liam. I didn't do a thing to Emma. She had a run in with Bethany Ryan."

Liam groaned and pinched his nose between his fingers. He truly hated that woman. "Emma ought to know by now not to listen to a damn word that woman says."

Anita simply sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "You know as well as I do that Bethany Ryan is the worst kind of woman. I put the girl in her place and I tried to reassure Emma but I believe she needs your reassurance—not mine."

Anita tipped her had toward the back of the cart. "Get these things unloaded and then go tend to your wife, Liam."

Liam used his good arm to unload all of Emma's purchases—mostly baking supplies for her orders. He stacked it all on the porch as he attempted to understand women. Why in the hell would Emma pay a single bit of attention to anything Bethany said? Hadn't Liam proved it was Emma he wanted and not Bethany???

Hell, he hadn't married Bethany!

Liam watched his aunt ride away. Patrick stepped out of the barn once Anita was gone. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Liam simply shook his head. "I'm not sure. Just let us have privacy for a while, okay?"

Patrick nodded. "Sure son. Whatever you need."

Liam took a deep breath as he turned to face the door. He was definitely entering uncharted territory for him. He didn't want a repeat of the morning after he'd married her—he had to stay calm and just keep in mind that Emma had lived a violent but sheltered life on that mountain.

She wasn't used to dealing with venom-mouthed harpies like Bethany. And Emma wasn't used to being happy or having good things happen to her. Bethany, like all predators, seemed to have found Emma's biggest weaknesses and was using them to her advantage.

Stepping into the cabin, Liam found Emma at the kitchen counter, peeling potatoes. Her tears seemed to have stopped but she was wielding that knife with much more gusto than necessary. Was she angry??

"Emma? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she mumbled without looking his way. "I'm fine."

Liam was tempted to take her word for it. He wasn't eager to have any kind of talk that could lead to what had happened between them a little over a month ago. But, he knew she wasn't truly fine. And, as her husband, he owed it to her to attempt to soothe whatever hurt she was feeling.

He stepped slowly toward her, stopping when her shoulders tensed. Liam didn't know much about women but he knew animals—and tensing up was always bad. He was clearly walking near rough waters.

"Anita said you had a run-in with Bethany. Did she say something to upset you?"

Emma turned very slowly, the knife still clutched in her hand and her gaze on the floor. "She always upsets me, Liam...." Her voice was trembling, making it clear she was holding back tears. "Because she tells me the truth and I don't want to hear it."

Liam frowned. Bethany spouted a lot of things from that mouth of her but the truth sure as hell hadn't ever been one of them. "And just what truth did she tell you?"