Seth (Prairie Grooms, Book Three) Read Online Free PDF Page B

clearing her throat.”
    “She bl oody well was not!” Eloise said, then spun to her sister. “What is it? I know you know something !”
    Penelope also turned to Constance. “Is there anything you want to share with us, sister?”
    Constance shook her head, her face red, and quickly bent over the dress. Belle laughed at her, set her sewing down a second time, and again stretched, then put a hand on her belly.
    “Ah ha!” Grandma cried. “I knew it!”
    Mrs. Mulligan dropped her needle. “Land sakes! Warn a body, will ya? I could’ve stabbed myself silly!”
    “How , when you dropped your needle?” Mrs. Dunnigan pointed out.
    Sadie ign ored them and fixed her eyes on Belle, who looked at her, and shrugged.
    “Never mind that!” quipped Grandma. “So, does Colin know?”
    Belle froze. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
    “Don’t ya?” Grandma said in a teasing tone.
    Now it was Sadie’s turn to set her sewing down. “No, he does not! And we want to keep it that way for a while, if you don’t mind.”
    The ladies looked at one another as comprehension dawned, one face at a time. “Irene, where’s Wilfred?” Mrs. Mulligan asked, with a wide smile.
    “Upstairs , I reckon,” said Mrs. Dunnigan.
    All the women sighed , glanced at the ceiling, and then at once, broke out in a cacophony of questions and congratulations. Belle was pregnant!
    Constance shrank into her seat, as if the outburst was her fault. Belle smiled at her, then sent Sadie a pleading look. Eloise still sat, trying to figure out what just happened. How did she not know? She lived with Sadie and Belle!
    “Hush, all of ya!” Grandma said as she stood and waved the others into silence. “If Belle doesn’t want Colin to know, then we need to keep this quiet.”
    “Doesn’t want Colin to know what?”
    All he ads turned. Wilfred was just walking behind the counter, a puzzled look on his face.
    The women, as one, froze.
    “Well?” he said. “Ya all gonna sit there lookin’ like ya done been hornswoggled?”
    Belle put her face in her hands and groaned.
    “I say,” said Eloise. “But was this supposed to be a secret?”
    Wilfred laughed behind the counter. “Ain’t no secrets in this town!”
    “Belle’s pregnant,” Mrs. Dunnigan said flatly.
    “Except that,” stated Wilfred. He then shook himself. “A baby! Just think, a grand- niece or nephew is on the way.” He looked at Belle. “Are ya feelin’ all right? Do I need to get ya anything?” He then paled. “Jumpin’ Jehosaphat! If Colin’s anything like Harrison, he’s gonna faint when he finds out!”
    “That’s why he is not going to find out!” Sadie said as she stood. “ Is he , Wilfred?”
    The rest of the ladies also stood, all with the same threatening gleam in their eyes. Wilfred audibly gulped. “Er, ah … course not. He ain’t gonna hear nothin’ from me!”
    “See that he doesn’t!” his wife snapped. “Or you’ll rue the day, Wilfred Dunnigan!”
    “Yes ma’am.” Wilfred said as he took a step back, reached behind him, and grabbed a candy jar. It was his only defense. “Peppermint, anyone?”
     

     
    Four
     
    By the time Seth made it back to the mercantile to check on Eloise, the sewing had ceased, and the candy licking had commenced. Every woman in the room had a peppermint stick in her mouth. Wilfred stood behind the counter, a relieved look on his face, and picked up a feather duster. “Afternoon, Seth. What can I do for ya?”
    Seth crossed the mercantile , glancing at the women as he did. “They didn’t eat all the peppermint sticks, did they?”
    Wilfred chuckled. “Nope, I still have a few left.”
    Seth’s eyes sought Eloise. S he blushed when she looked at him, her candy still in her mouth, and turned away. The action made him smile. She was fresh, pure, and reminded him of a white rose. He fought the sudden urge to ball his hands into fists. The thought of anything happening to her set his blood to boil, just