Page 6 of Leather and Lace
“Never had a lady tell me something pretty like that.”
“I told you before. I’m no lady.”
Alex rested her hand in the space between them. She moved it then, to the side, hand sliding until it was nearly brushing the edge of Mary’s skirts. “Liar,” she said, but her voice was light and teasing, the sound of it making Mary smile.
“For some reason I do not guard my words with you,” Mary said. “Scarcely an hour and I’ve already told you a secret.”
“And I you. Concerning, isn’t it?”
“Truly, but you already knew that, didn’t you?” Mary asked. She was never this...direct, hadn’t been in quite some time and she liked the feel of it. Like an older worn and loved coat, a favorite that she had lost track of and that she had now found. She reveled in the familiar feel of it.
“I did, I did,” Alex admitted with a grin and a wink. “I would be lying if I didn’t admit I hoped for such a secret when I first saw you, but the second secret is a different matter altogether.”
“Ah, yes...that.” Mary smiled ruefully. “I should guard my words, but it has been a long time since I have been able to speak so freely. I feel more myself and that is because of you. Thank you, Alex.” She looked down to where Alex’s hand still rested beside hers and hesitated before moving it closer.
“My pleasure, Minnie.” Her hand inched ever closer until their pinkies touched and Mary sucked in her breath. “You can keep talking to me. I’ll not breathe a word of it to another soul.”
“Why would you do that for me?”
“Because once upon a time, someone did that for me, and it made me who I am.” Their pinkies slid against the other in a gentle stroke. Mary’s hand tensed at the gentle brush of Alex’s finger, but she relaxed a moment later and scooted closer to her.
“I’m pregnant,” she whispered, voice thick with emotion. “My mother brought us here after I proved inept at securing a marriage to the father.” She frowned and sighed quietly. “I never did understand men very well, but that is...to be expected.”
“Men are challenging. Women are not.”
Mary smiled at the gentle stroking of Alex’s finger against hers. It was soothing in the very best way and it kept her talking when she knew she should have kept her mouth shut.
“I don’t know about that. I’ve known quite a few challenging women in my time, but they do come with less...complications,” she said, her free hand coming to rest on her stomach.
“You don’t have to keep running. It doesn’t matter if you have the baby.” Alex paused and swallowed. “Do you wish to keep the baby?”
“Yes, with all my heart,” Mary answered in earnest. “The father meant nothing to me, not in any sense of the word. I did what I did because of my mother.”
“Your mother?”
Mary gave a quick nod, just a tilt of her chin but it was a nod all the same. “Yes, my mother. She has certain expectations for me and for us. She thinks Gold Sky will be a new place for us to start over but in order for that to happen--”
“You need a husband.”
“Yes.” Mary bit her lip. “It’s a complicated thing.”
“I don’t know about that,” Alex replied, and she moved until she was covering Mary’s hand with hers. Alex’s hand was warm, gentle, and most of all strong. She could practically feel the strength radiating from Alex and into her from that simple point of contact. Mary sighed in relief welcoming the grounding touch. She turned her hand up so that they were touching palm to palm.
“Why do you say that?” she asked.
“If you need to be married that’s one thing, but why must it be to a man?”
Mary’s eyebrows rose in surprise at the question. “Because I am only allowed to marry a man?” she asked in some confusion, but from the snort Alex gave her she wondered if there was another solution she had not considered.
“Not in Gold Sky. You know of its accepting nature, yes?”
Mary blinked in surprise. She had heard stories of the town’s progressive stance, knew firsthand from seeing the way people lived here. Why there was even a woman with two husbands! But what did that mean when it came to her and her situation?
“What do you mean?” she asked when she trusted her voice not to waver.
“In Gold Sky there is more than one way to be married, Minnie, and one of those ways iswithouta man.”
Chapter 3
