Free His Heartbroken Bride (The Brides of Paradise Ranch - Spicy Version Book 4) by Merry Farmer Page A

snapped. There was no point in pretending courtesy, even though he’d barely met the man. Too many things had just come clear in Mason’s mind to bother with niceties, the reasons Libby was afraid among them.
    “Married?” Hector crushed his fist around his hat and glared at Libby. “ We were supposed to get married.”
    “No, Hector,” Libby whispered.
    “You do not tell me no.”
    Their watching friends and family gasped. Pete and Luke stepped toward Hector. Mason jerked toward the man too, hands forming fists. “Don’t speak to my wife like that.”
    Hector squared his shoulders and gaped at Mason in disbelief. “Do you even know who she is?”
    “As a matter of fact, I do.” Mason edged sideways so he could shelter Libby from the interloper with his body. “I’ve been friends with Libby—and with Teddy—for more than ten years.”
    Hector narrowed his eyes. “I see.”
    “I hope you do.”
    A nasty grin spread across Hector’s face. “I suppose she’s told you that she’s pregnant?”
    A ripple of shock spread through Libby’s friends and family—not, Mason supposed, because they didn’t know, but because this man who had just walked into all of their lives did.
    “In fact, she has,” Mason said.
    Hector’s vicious smile grew. “Did she tell you it’s mine?”
    Dead silence filled the church. The air crackled, as if a storm were about to break.
    “That’s a damn lie,” Mason growled.
    “Mason.” Libby whispered his name, resting her small, shaking hand on his back.
    “You’d better get out of here before I do more than call you a liar,” Mason went on, narrowing his eyes at Hector.
    Hector snorted. “I’m no liar. Ask her.” He pointed. “Ask Libby. She knows the truth.” Victory and lust burned in Hector’s eyes.
    “I’m not interested in anything you have to say.” Mason didn’t tear his eyes off of Hector’s seething grin.
    “No? Well you should be.” Hector shifted his weight to his other foot, crushing his hat in his other hand. “You say you just married her?”
    “Yes.”
    “Well, you married a whore who gives herself to one man, then turns around and marries another before any promises can be fulfilled.”
    Josephine and Wendy gasped, and Josephine tried to cover Muriel’s ears. Muriel was too old for that, but gaped in horror all the same. Pete—who had been holding back, letting Mason handle things—stepped forward.
    “Mister, I don’t know who you think you are, but you’d do best to get your sorry ass and your shameless lies out of this church before—”
    “He’s not lying,” Libby said, almost too quiet to be heard.
    Once again, silence rattled the church. The hair on the back of Mason’s neck stood up, as if pushed by fury. He already had his hands balled into fists, and now more than ever, he wanted to use them.
    “It’s all right, Libby,” he managed to squeeze out through clenched jaw. “I’ll take care of this lowlife turd.”
    Hector stiffened in offence.
    “But he’s not lying.” This time, Libby’s whisper was so low that only Mason could hear her. “He…he is the father of my baby.”
    The shock of the truth made Mason’s hands and feet numb, but not with anger. At least, not toward her. Libby’s hand was still on his back, her other one on his arm, and both were shaking as if they were standing in the snow. Hector looked on with a sneer. None of it added up. Facts or no facts, the situation wasn’t what it appeared to be.
    “She’s my wife now.” Mason broke the silence, sounding far more confident and solid than he felt.
    “What?” Hector blinked, then frowned. He shot a fierce look past Mason’s shoulder. “Libby.”
    “I will not marry you, Hector.” Libby answered as if it wasn’t the first time she’d spoken those words. “I’m married to Mason now.”
    Hector worked his jaw in frustration. “I went through all that trouble to trace where you’d gone, I left my work to come after you to bring you