“I don’t,” Aisha said, but that was a lie.
“I just…I didn’t want people to know. I thought that’s what you wanted. You’re good at your job, and you can make it on your own merits. That’s what I thought you wanted.”
“I do,” Aisha said, and then she sighed. “But I really like you. I don’t want to be your secret.”
Anthony smiled. “Then you won’t be.”
Aisha had something else weighing on her mind, and she knew she couldn’t put it off any longer. “I’m pregnant,” she said.
Anthony looked at her for a long while without speaking. When he did, his voice was tight but didn’t betray a single thought. “It’s mine?”
A fury rose up in Aisha. “Of course it is!” she snapped, and then she rose from the bed, still nude and sweaty.
“I’m sorry! I was just making sure.”
“How many women are you fucking besides me?”
“No one!” Anthony claimed, holding his hands up. “It came out wrong.”
“I’m going to go take a shower,” Aisha said, and she left the bedroom. That night it was awkward and tense, and neither she nor Anthony seemed keen on arguing further, so they stayed quiet. In the morning Aisha rose first, going downstairs and making coffee. She had just poured herself a big mug when there was a pounding on the cabin's door.
When she went to the door, she saw a woman standing there in a heavy coat and a fur hat. She looked familiar, and as Aisha pulled the door open, she realized she was the tall white woman who had stormed into Anthony’s office that first week of work.
“You slut!” the woman said as she came in, and her hand went across Aisha’s face in a stunning slap.
“Stop it, Kathleen,” a voice called, and both women turned to see Anthony coming down the stairs.
“Who is this bitch?” Aisha asked him, ready to fight.
“Bitch?” the white woman asked. “I’m his wife!”
“Hey now!” Anthony said, but Aisha had heard enough. It all made sense now, why it seemed as though he wanted to keep her his little secret. She took the two steps over to where Anthony stood, at the foot of the staircase, and splashed her hot coffee in his face. It wasn’t scalding, but she hoped it at least hurt. Without a word, she turned and stormed outside.
There wasn’t anywhere to go but into town, and luckily Aisha had thought to grab her coat from the hook just inside the door. Her snow boots were on the porch, and she pulled them on and was walking off the porch when the door opened behind her.
“We’re separated!” Anthony called after her, but Aisha raised a middle finger to him without looking back. She walked into town, which took half an hour in the snow, tears sliding from her eyes and freezing on her cheeks the whole way. She didn’t know where to go, so she found Mary at the hotel and told the old woman what had happened.
“Did you know he was married?” Aisha asked the cook.
“Yes, but he’s been trying to divorce her for years. She won’t sign.”
That made Aisha feel a bit better, but she was still hurt and shocked that he hadn’t told her. And she was pregnant with his child, and still no one knew about them. The whole thing filled her with bitterness and sadness. Mary helped her get home, and she had quit and cleaned out her desk before Anthony even got back.
He sent message after message to her, e-mails, phone calls, but she didn’t speak to him. She found a new job with a smaller firm and settled in. Two weeks after she started, Anthony came to see her.
“What are you doing here?” she asked him.
He just smiled and then clapped his hands. A group of men came into the office, and they each had an instrument. They began to play a song, and Aisha recognized it as the first song they had ever danced to, laughing and drunk in her apartment one night. Tears stung her eyes.
“I love you,” Anthony said as he went to her. Everyone heard him. “I want to marry you, and I want to raise this baby together.”. He took her hands and pulled her close, and they started to dance. “I’m working overtime to get my ex out of my life. She’s asking for too much, but you’re worth it. I’ll give it to her—the money, the cars, all of it. Nothing matters. I want to be with you. Just you.”
Aisha could hardly speak, so she didn’t even try. She simply closed her eyes and laid her head on Anthony’s chest, and they danced slowly to the music while all of Aisha’s new coworkers looked on. She didn’t care if they saw her, and neither did Anthony.
*****
THE END
Mail Order Bride Collection
The Gambler’s Bride – A Clean Western Romance
Chapter One