by Donna Raider
“Some people call my mom the Wicked Queen,” Richie had explained.
Mika sat straight up in bed, her mind racing. Oh God, what have I done? Of course, Nick thought I was sleeping with Leah. The entire town probably thinks that.
Of course they did. Didn’t she spend every minute she could steal with Leah and Richie? Didn’t they attend every function, outing, and party together? Didn’t they touch each other in a familiar way? What had Ruth called them—the town’s power couple?
Leah had offered her assistance, her understanding, and her kindness. Mika had repaid her by ruining her reputation. I must fix this.
The truth was, if she weren’t a priest, she would have slept with Leah months ago. But she was a priest, and it was against the rules.
She had to make this right.
Mika thought about how comfortable she had become with Leah; how right it seemed to catch her hand when they walked. She thought about how much she looked forward to the end of the day when she could sit with Leah and listen to how her day had been, then share with her the happenings of her day.
Mika talked to her God, asking for guidance in the matter of Leah Anthal. Of course, her God already knew how much the priest loved the woman, and her God approved. Mika just had to follow the rules, run the gauntlet of obstacles God had laid out for both the priest and Leah. If either of them failed, the priest was lost forever. Mika knew what had to happen, but Leah didn’t even know she was playing the game. Mika prayed she could guide her to the reward at the end of the quest.
Her mind went to Maria. Maria had shown up at the convent where Leah was serving God. The nuns had taken Maria in and cared for her. She had a tiny baby and nowhere to go. Maria—like Leah—had bordered on madness.
She had stayed by Maria’s side, comforting her, befriending her. Mika had taught her to read and write. She made Maria realize all the reasons she had to live. Mika had watched her blossom and dedicate her life to God. She learned to laugh and sing again. Her baby thrived at the convent with many women to love it.
One day she and Maria had gone to the woods surrounding the convent to pick berries for pies. Maria had been so happy, swinging her basket and skipping backward, facing Mika as they walked. Maria had stumbled over a limb on the path. Mika had caught her in her arms. Maria had kissed her.
Mika had quickly pulled from her embrace. She wasn’t in love with Maria and didn’t want to give her the wrong idea. She explained she was a priest and couldn’t share a life with her.
That night, Maria had committed suicide. Mika had spent years trying to think how she could have saved her. Mika knew she could have been gentler with her. She was so intent on being honest with her that she had hurt her deeply. Maria’s face still haunted her.
The priest knew she had pulled Leah away from the abyss that had been waiting for her and shown her the many things for which she had to live. She was aware that in doing so, she had placed her own soul in Leah’s hands.
Just as Maria placed her soul in my hands, she thought.
She knew she had to make the rules clear to Leah. Tomorrow, she thought as sleep overtook her.
##
Mika’s ringing phone jerked her awake. She looked at the time—eleven thirty—then answered her phone.
“Hey, sleepyhead.” Leah’s soft, sultry voice woke the longing. “Care to join me for lunch?”
“Can’t get there fast enough,” she moaned.
“I have a short meeting, twenty minutes at the most. See you at the diner?”
Mika dressed hurriedly and was at the cafe five minutes early. The lunch crowd hadn’t started arriving yet, so she had the place to herself. Ruth brought her usual cup of black coffee. She caught the waitress’s wrist as she turned to leave.
“Ruth, you seem to keep current on all the gossip in this town.” Her throat went dry, and she exhaled sharply. “Is there gossip about Leah and me?”
Ruth’s eyes narrowed and seemed to change color. Mika shook her head and looked at her again. They were their usual brownish-green.
“What do you mean, Mika?”
Mika gulped her coffee. “What Nick said last night, are there rumors of me sleeping with the mayor?”
“Well, you two are very familiar with one another, almost like lovers,” Ruth answered her honestly.
“Oh, God,” she moaned, running her fingers through her hair, causing strands of blonde tresses to fall onto her forehead. “Ruth, I swear I have never…we never have…”
“I know,” the girl replied. “I tell everyone it isn’t true, and they believe me.” She smiled. “They know I can tell.”
Mika saw Leah through the glass before she opened the door. She was instantly at her side, guiding her to their table.
“I could have found you.” Leah laughed, delighted that Mika had jumped to greet her.
Seeing Samson and Delilah sitting close by, she added, “Even blind, I’d find you.”
Ruth giggled, and Delilah huffed. Once again, Mika had the feeling she was missing a joke shared by the other diners.
“They have tomato stuffed with chicken salad today.” She waited until Leah took her seat, then sat down across from her. “I know that’s one of your favorites, so I took the liberty of ordering for us.” Leah nodded her approval.
“Where is Richie?” Mika inquired.
“Emily is skating with him. She’s off today. She’s becoming one of your biggest fans.” Leah smiled. “After the way you protected him last night and taught him to ice skate and play ball. You know, all those athletic things at which she and I have failed so miserably.”
“Oh, but you bring so much more to the table.” Mika grinned.
Leah looked down then back up at Mika through hooded eyes, and she knew they were no longer thinking about Richie.
As they left the diner, Mika held her coat for her to put it on, then slipped her hand over hers, entwining their fingers.
“Is now a good time to talk?” she asked quietly.
“I suppose it is as good as any.” Leah nodded.
They walked in silence to the mansion.
Mika hung their coats on the coat tree in the foyer, slipped off her shoes, and followed her into the kitchen where she was making a fresh pot of coffee.
Leah handed her a coffee mug and picked up her own, then led the way to the study and sat on the sofa. Mika chose to stand, slowly pacing the floor.
“Leah,” Mika drew a deep, shaky breath, “I am a firm believer in laying all of my cards on the table, and I want to be totally honest and fair with you.”
Leah hung her head. Here comes the big ‘it’s me and not you, but we must break off this relationship,” she thought.
“I love you. I have loved you from the first moment I laid eyes on you. I believe you have feelings for me, too,” Mika continued. “The problem is I’m a priest. I am not supposed to fall in love with anyone. It is the curse of my calling.”
Leah parted her lips to speak, but Mika stopped her.
“It’s no secret that I find you incredibly attractive and desirable. Unfortunately, I can’t act on that.” Mika blushed slightly. “I don’t want us to be dancing around each other wondering how the other feels, so I am going to lay it all out there.
“This is what I can offer you. I can promise always to be there for you and Richie. I will always respect and protect you.
“I will share all your times, the good ones and the bad ones. I will strive every day to let you know that you are loved and treasured above all things on this Earth. I will cherish you and put you above all others. I adore you and worship the ground on which you walk. I will never hurt you!
“What I cannot do is have a sexual relationship with you. I probably can’t marry you.
“I will understand if this is unacceptable to you. I will honor your wishes in this matter if you want to forget about me and move on.”
Leah raised her eyes to meet Mika’s and saw the tears in her eyes. “That is far more than anyone has ever
offered me in my lifetime,” she cried softly. “I accept your terms, Mika. I don’t think I could bear to live a day without you in it. If this is how it must be, then I can live with it.”
Mika crossed the room quickly. Falling on her knees in front of Leah, she buried her face in Leah’s lap and cried like a baby. It was the first time in her life she had ever cried because of love.
Leah stroked Mika’s hair and down the nape of her neck. Her touch was gentle, with no hint of sexuality; just a woman, comforting a loved one.
Except for the no sex part, this is a perfect arrangement for me, Leah thought. I couldn’t marry her anyway. She would insist on a church wedding. If I set foot on consecrated ground, either the church or I would burst into flames. I prefer the church, but I have no guarantees.
After a long time, Mika stood and pulled Leah up to her. She kissed her gently as Leah clung to her. “We need a safe word.” She smiled.
“A what?!” Leah exclaimed.
Mika pulled Leah down beside her on the sofa.
“You know that you have a, umm, certain effect on me.” She grinned. “You say salacious things to me that send shockwaves throughout my body.”
“I don’t—” Leah started to argue.
Mika put her finger on Leah’s lips, cutting her off. “We are putting all our cards on the table. We must deal honestly with this and honestly, you are a heartless flirt.”
“I am,” Leah admitted meekly. “I often try to arouse you, but sometimes it is just teasing. I like to see you blush because then I know you are thinking the same thing as I.
“Okay, my cards on the table.” Leah grinned wickedly. “I daydream about you constantly, about the things I would like to do to you in bed, the things I would like you to do to me in bed. I can’t promise you I can ever stop that. You fill my thoughts twenty-four seven.
“I touch you in ways I know will send you reeling.” Leah tilted her head to the side slightly. “I brush up against you every chance I get just to see your eyes glaze over momentarily. I know you love my lips, so I run the tip of my tongue over them or rake my top teeth slowly over my bottom lip when I know you are watching me.”
“My point exactly,” Mika moaned. “Most of the time I can handle it, but sometimes I get in way over my head. Hence, I need a safe word.”
Leah threw her head back and laughed freely, loving Mika more than ever. “Okay! It needs to be a word that isn’t obviously a safe word. Something others won’t recognize as such. How about chocolate? We can always work the word chocolate into a sentence pretty easily.”
“Chocolate,” Mika repeated it. “Great word. By the way, I could kiss your lips a thousand times a day and never tire of the feel of them against mine.”
Mika leaned down and kissed Leah softly, and just to drive her crazy, Leah moved her full bottom lip slowly against hers.
“Chocolate,” Mika moaned. She cleared her throat. “I have petitioned the church to allow me to marry you.”
Leah’s head snapped up to stare at her, almost angrily. “I don’t think—”
“Please hear me out. I am not trying to trap you into marriage. The petition is just a wasted formality. The petitions never get approved. But from the feedback I received at the party last night, I believe some of the townspeople think I am sleeping with you, and I would like to put that rumor to rest.”
Mika pulled a beautiful ring from her pocket and slipped it on Leah’s finger. “If you would wear this and we could tell the world we are engaged, I could address the rumors from the pulpit and stop any further damage to your reputation.”
Leah couldn’t believe Mika was worried about her reputation. She certainly had a reputation, but not one Mika needed to worry about ruining. Perhaps Mika’s ploy would save her own reputation, so she would certainly go along with it.
Leah held her hand out in front of her. A two-carat brilliant pink marquise diamond was set deep in a wide gold band. Smaller, perfect white diamonds circled the large gem. The band had ancient engravings on it. The brilliant pink diamond was flawless. It made her hand look long and slender and even more elegant than usual.
“This is breathtaking,” Leah whispered. “It is ancient.”
“But not used.” Mika grinned. “I have had it for over three thousand years, and I have never given it to anyone.”
Leah laughed at Mika’s timeline error. “Not even in three thousand years, hmm?
“Okay, Priest, I will enter into this agreement with you. I promise to care for you and honor you. I will let no disrespect come to you because of me. What we have between us, I will always hold dearest in my heart and above all else.
“I can’t promise you I will give up trying to bed you, for I want you more than I have ever wanted anyone.” She smiled mischievously. “I, too, have been smitten with you from the moment you walked into my life.”
“I could ask for nothing more.” Mika kissed her oh so kissable lips several more times.
“We must always talk to each other about any problems or difficulties our relationship causes us so we can take steps together to resolve the issues,” Mika said seriously. “I don’t ever want you to feel that you are carrying a burden alone. I will always be here for you.” A small, cautious voice in the back of her mind whispered, She never said I love you.
Leah stood, looking again at her hand with the ring on it. This arrangement was not what she had dreamed of, but it was close enough. She couldn’t imagine her life without Mika in it. “Might as well see how it plays at the diner.” The ring caught the light and sparkled in her eyes. “I think we need to tell Richie first.”
They found Richie and Emily at the skating rink. The boy’s face lit up when he saw them. He raced toward them, coming to a screeching halt, sending ice spraying on both.
Leah feigned horror at being covered in ice pellets, and Mika laughed out loud.
“Did you come to practice our routine?” Richie grinned happily.
“If that is okay with your moms.” Mika nodded.
“Fine with me,” Emily groaned. “He wore me out an hour ago. I’d let the devil carry him off if it meant I could sit down.” She caught Leah’s gloved hand and dragged her to the benches.
She was shocked to find the mayor had a ring on under her glove. She knew Leah rarely wore rings.
“You’re wearing a ring.” She smirked peevishly. “Did Mika propose?” she asked facetiously.
“Why, yes she did.” Leah smiled her sweetest smile as she removed the glove from her left hand.
The sheriff caught her breath at the sight of the ring, “Leah,” she gasped, “that is the most gorgeous ring I have ever… Wait a minute. She’s a priest. How can…”
“It seems that priests can petition the church to marry. Mika has already taken those steps to get permission, so we thought we would go ahead and announce our engagement.” Leah beamed.
Emily and Leah silently watched Mika and Richie skate. Leah was surprised at the feeling of pride and happiness she had felt announcing that she was engaged to the priest. Emily’s dark countenance told Leah the sheriff didn’t share her joy.
Mika led Richie to the far side of the ice to talk to him about the engagement. She motioned for the boy to sit down on a bench. She wasn’t sure where to start.
“Richie, I must talk to you about something,” the priest began.
“I know you’re not sleeping with my mom,” the boy blurted out. “Emily queried me about it last night after Nick was awful. I told her, ‘No way.’ Then, of course, Ruth backed me up. She told Emily she had never smelled sex on you or Mom. Ruth said she smelled the want to, all the time, but not the deed. I’m not sure what that means.”
Mika was a little perturbed that such a conversation had taken place in front of her son—uh, Richie.
“That is what I want to talk to you about.” The priest looked the youngster in the eyes and said, “I love your mother more than anything, and I have asked her to marry me.”
“Hot damn.” Ric
hie shoved a fist in the air and grinned ear to ear, looking much like his birth mother. “Uh, I mean awesome, Mika.” He skated off, then immediately circled back to Mika. “She did say yes, didn’t she?”
Mika nodded her head, and Richie sped off screaming like a banshee, heading for his mother’s arms.
Leah and Richie were squealing and laughing like two schoolgirls when Mika reached them. Sheriff Carver, not so much. “I suppose congratulations are in order,” Emily said sullenly. “I guess you know you are the luckiest woman alive.”
Mika nodded. She didn’t understand the look of sadness in Emily’s eyes.
“How about we head for the diner and hot chocolate?” Leah tried to walk, but the boy clung to her as if she might disappear, so she patiently waited while he continued to hug her, expressing his delight that she and Mika were going to be married. A pang of guilt shot through her. She hated tricking her son.
Richie held Leah’s hand in one hand and reached for Emily’s hand with the other. Mika walked on the other side of Leah, holding her left hand.
Once inside the diner, Mika helped the ladies with their coats. Leah slowly removed the glove from her left hand as if undecided about how to handle the commotion she knew it would cause.
Mika bent to whisper in her ear, “I do love you.”
The mayor immediately assumed her regal posture and walked toward their booth.
“My mom and Mika are getting married.” Richie was jumping up and down, excitedly making the announcement to everyone in the diner.
Emily explained the petition process to Ruth, who loudly howled.
“Oh, great, Emily just described to Ruth how this works with a priest and a layperson,” Leah whispered furiously to Mika.
The priest chuckled. “Leave it to the ever-articulate sheriff.”
Mika stood and walked slowly to the center of the diner and waited as the room went from a dull roar to total silence. “I know that you are all wondering how this works.” She smiled. “I will explain it before the consecration ceremony on Sunday evening and answer your questions.”
“Congratulations,” Ruth yelled.
“Yeah! Way to go, Mika,” another voice chimed in. Soon most of the diners gathered around Leah and Mika’s table to wish them well and ooh and ah over her ring.
