Leadville, Colorado, 1881
Someone was following her.
Each time Mary Stone looked around or tried checking behind her, she didn’t spot anything unusual. But she was no fool. She’d learned to trust that feeling deep in her gut when she knew something wasn’t quite right. If only she’d accepted her friend Polly’s offer to accompany her on her errand to the mercantile. Selfishly, Mary had wanted just a few minutes to herself, away from her siblings’ squabbles and the work of putting together their new household.
Selfishness never profited anyone. Maybe it wasn’t an exact quote from the Bible, but it had to be in there somewhere. And now Mary was paying for that decision.
Teeming with saloons and miners celebrating the receipt of their wages, the busy street wasn’t an easy place to find refuge. Two blocks ahead was the Rafferty Hotel, a respectable place where they’d stayed when they’d first come to Leadville. If Mary could get there, she could talk to Mrs. Rafferty and see if one of her hired men could escort her the rest of the way home. That was, if she didn’t lose her pursuer first.
A wagon rolled by, kicking up dust and the loose slag that passed for a road. Mary coughed and pressed her nose into her handkerchief. Raucous laughter jolted her further as the doors to a saloon opened and several men lumbered out.
One of the men, having clearly imbibed too much of the drink, grabbed her. “Yer a pretty one, ain’t ya? My ship’s come in at the card table. Maybe you’d like to help me be respectable by marrying me.”
His foul odor stung her nostrils, and as much as she wanted to get away, to loosen the man’s grip on her arm, her legs were frozen to the spot.
Worse, she felt someone’s eyes on her back. Her pursuer had caught up with her.
“Please. You’re hurting me. Let me go.” She tried jerking her arm away, but the man tightened his grip and pulled her toward his companions.
“Lookee here! I found me a wife.”
The others, clearly miners who’d had just as much drink as their friend, laughed.
“She’s sure a beaut,” the one closest to her said as he tripped forward, extending his hand. “Name’s Lucky. But Tom here’s the lucky one if you’re marrying him.”
“I’m not marrying him.” She gave her arm another tug, freeing herself from Tom’s grasp and sending him sprawling to the ground in the process.
Freedom. But the only way out was through the man’s friends, stepping into a dangerously busy street, or turning back to—
She spun, running directly into a sturdy chest.
“Is there a problem?”
The deep voice jolted her, almost as much as the feeling that she somehow knew this man.
“Y-y-yes,” she managed to mutter. “These men, they—”
“Hey, now.” Tom staggered to his feet. “No problem here. I just come into a bit of money. Was making this lady here the offer of her life.”
A shudder coursed through her body. No way would she waste her life on a gambling drunk. She’d seen where that had gotten her poor mother.
“I don’t think the lady’s interested,” the stranger answered for her.
Tom stepped forward, a determined look on his face. “Now, you see here. I promised my friends I’d turn my life around and marry the first respectable woman I saw, and that’s what I aim to do.”
Tom gave Mary a broad smile. “So, pretty lady, what’s it going to be? You gonna marry me?”
“No,” she said without hesitation. “But if you’re serious about turning your life around, you can start by visiting Pastor Lassiter at the Leadville Community Church. He’ll help you far more than marrying me would.”
Pastor Lassiter, or Frank, as he’d asked them to call him when Mary’s brother married his daughter, was always talking about how these men were lost and needed to be shown the Lord’s love. Most of the time, though, when she encountered them on the streets, they always scared the words right out of her.
Until this moment, she hadn’t even had the good sense to ask the Lord for his assistance. Well, that was something she could rectify. With a quick help me, along with a forgive me, she hoped her silent prayer would do for the intensity of the situation.
“Church?” Tom and his friends guffawed at the same time. The friends came around and slapped Tom on the back. “Boy, you just got lucky again, escaping that noose.”
They continued down the street, Mary’s safety again assured. She turned to the man who’d come to her aid. “Thank you for your assistance.”
For the first time, Mary took a good look at her rescuer. Or rather, up at him. Though she wasn’t nearly as petite as some of the dainty women at church, this man towered over her. Deep brown eyes stared back at her, not in the lustful way Tom and his friends had, but their intensity still left her feeling uncomfortable. This was a man who could see into a person.
If her sister Rose were here, she’d surely collapse into a fit of giggles about how romantic it was to be saved by such a handsome man. But Mary knew how deceptive looks could be, and a simple thank-you was as far as she’d take her gratitude.
“It’s no trouble. I’m sorry you had to deal with those men to begin with. Had I approached earlier, I might have saved you the distress.”
Mary swallowed the fear that started to rise in her throat and reminded herself that God had not given her a spirit of fear. If only that belief were easier to live out.
“Why would you approach me? Do we know each other?”
“No.” He took off his hat and gave a friendly smile. “Will Lawson, at your service. I’ve been looking to speak with you on a matter of, uh...delicate nature.”
Which was not at all comforting. He may not have been as aggressive as the miners who’d accosted her, but he certainly didn’t seem like the sort of man she should be speaking with. There was a reason she didn’t talk to strangers. “I’m afraid it wouldn’t be proper at all. While I appreciate your aid with those ruffians, I can’t be of assistance. I’ve been too long on my errand. I’m sure I’ll be missed. Good day.”
Will studied her in a way that made her collar feel just a little bit too tight. Mary took a deep breath, ignoring the strange sensations in her stomach. Oh, they weren’t unfamiliar, but she knew that just because a man made her feel slightly giddy didn’t mean she could trust him. Even if he had a warm smile.
“I’d be happy to escort you home. We can talk then. A lady such as yourself shouldn’t be walking the streets alone.”
No, she shouldn’t. A fact she was sure the older women in residence at the Lassiters’ would remind her of as soon as she returned. She’d thought herself so clever, refusing Polly’s offer of an escort and slipping out before Maddie, the housekeeper, or Gertie, Polly’s mother, got wind of her plans.
“My family