Free Rocky Mountain Wife by Kate Darby Page A

her mother to stay, but Ma was already tapping down the hallway.
    “Now, sit down here and let me do your hair,” Lucy ordered, pulling over a chair to face the beveled mirror. “You aren’t going to get married in braids. Not while I’m alive and breathing.”
    “Braids are practical. I wear them every day,” she argued lightly, settling into the chair reluctantly.
    “This isn’t just any old day,” Georgia corrected, unwrapping Susannah’s something borrowed—a fragile, breathtaking pair of crocheted lace gloves. “This is the day your life will change.”
    “Not as much as you might think.” She almost felt ashamed. Her friends had come full of celebration and hope for her marriage, but the truth was far from that. “Nothing will change. Well, except that Joshua’s name will be on the property deed. This is strictly a marriage of convenience.”
    “Well, that’s a shame.” Georgia wrinkled her nose. “I got a good look at that man. A good look. He is a sight for sore eyes.”
    “No argument from me,” Lucy added saucily and winked. “He looks like he has a nice everything. And I mean
everything.”
    Claire blushed, ignoring the slight tug as Lucy unplaited her braids. How did she admit that she’d noticed that same thing?
    “And did you see the size of his hands?” Lucy asked. “And his feet. What? Everyone knows what that means—”
    “I certainly don’t,” Georgia interrupted and blushed primly, although her eyes sparkled. “He was in town this morning buying corn and wheat seed, and I watched him through the window. I had to get a good look at the man marrying our Claire, didn’t I?”
    “Absolutely,” Lucy agreed, reaching for the brush. “I eyed him up real good myself, and I approve. If I were Claire, I’d do it with him.”
    “What?”
Claire nearly fell out of her chair.
    “Sure.” Lucy didn’t even blush as she parted Claire’s hair. “If I were you, I wouldn’t hesitate. So what if it’s a convenient marriage? Why not have convenient sex?”
    “Convenient sex?” Georgia wrinkled her brow. “I’m not sure I would like that.”
    “Real love comes around once in a blue moon,” Lucy continued on, talking around a few hairpins she’d stuck in her mouth. “A girl could wait forever to find true love again, especially in this town. I say, why not grab a hold of that man and hang on for the ride?”
    “That’s what I did with Noah,” Josie confessed, coming around to hold shanks of hair for Lucy, who was busy twisting and pinning. “Look how well it turned out for me. I have to admit, before we were married we did it. What can I say? I wanted the man. Noah is just so—”
    “Upstanding?” Georgia offered hopefully.
    “Simply delicious.” Josie turned pink. “And now we are blissfully in love.”
    “When you think about it, it’s the best of both worlds.” Lucy tucked the final pin into place. “You girls know what I mean when I say you get used to certain pleasures as a married woman. Men have needs, too. Why not invite him into your bed? There’s no harm in mutually satisfying each other. If I had someone who could satisfy me, I would drop my drawers for him in a second.”
    “You would,” Georgia teased, and they all laughed.
    “That’s not going to happen with me and Joshua.” Claire felt she needed to be clear about that. She didn’t want to mislead her friends, or maybe she couldn’t admit how close to the truth they’d gotten. As much as she couldn’t let herself want the man, her body had a mind of its own. “I already had the love of my life. Besides, Joshua isn’t interested in me that way.”
    “You just keep telling yourself that,” Josie advised. “Maybe one day, maybe even you will believe it.”
    Claire sighed. She wished she could tell Josie that she was wrong.
    Lucy came over with the dress. The instant Claire stepped into the bell skirt and slipped her arms through the dainty lace sleeves, she felt like a princess. Her