Seth (Prairie Grooms, Book Three) (8 page)

He
studied her, and then shrugged. “If that’s what you want, then that’s what you’ll get.”

She looked at him, her eyes sparkling, and smiled.
“It’s what I want. And besides, with the whole town there, what could possibly happen?”

* * *

The next day, the ladies sewing circle resumed their work on the dress. Sadie said very little about the fact that Eloise and Seth had been gone so long the day before. Probably because she found out they were at Preacher Jo’s house, and for that, Eloise was grateful. She didn’t want to be questioned by her cousin’s wife. Seth had asked her enough questions the day before after making the decision to have their wedding at the picnic.

Eloise stifled
a yawn as she tried to finish a stitch. She’d tossed and turned all night, wondering if she’d made the right decision by telling Seth that she’d marry him, despite having told him everything about her family history. And even though he agreed to wait until the picnic, she still felt it wasn’t enough time. What if the sheriff didn’t find the culprit behind the attempts on Penelope and Ryder’s lives? Was the assailant lurking somewhere close to town, even now lying in wait to harm one of them? The thought sent a shiver up her spine.

“
What’s the matter with you?” asked Fanny Fig. “Have ya got wedding jitters?”

“
No, not at all,” said Eloise. “I ... had a chill.”

“Speaking of chills,” said Grandma. “I hope it
doesn’t rain on Saturday. There’s been storm clouds hovering over the mountains, and the wind’s picking up. Better pray it doesn’t blow them clouds to town.”

“It wont’
rain on the day of our picnic,” snapped Fanny Fig.

“
How do you know?” Mrs. Dunnigan barked back.

“
Because it
can’t
rain on the day Seth and Eloise are gettin’ married! Wouldn’t be right,” said Fanny with a curt little nod.

Grandma laughed. “What ya
gonna do, Fanny? Perform a dance to keep the rain away?”

“I said no suc
h thing,” she snapped back.

Everyone laughed at
Fanny’s obvious discomfort. Mrs. Mulligan stopped chuckling, set her sewing in her lap, and sighed in relief. “I’m done with my part. How’s everyone else doing?”

“
I’m done, too,” said Mrs. Dunnigan.

“
And me,” added Sadie.

“
I’ll need a little more time,” said Belle. “Sleeves are always trickier.”

Eloise leaned toward her.
Belle was sitting in a chair on the other side of their circle. “How are you feeling today?” she asked.

Bell
e looked up from her stitching, and gave her a weak smile. “I’ve felt better.”

“You look terrible,
” bellowed Mrs. Dunnigan. “In fact, I’ve seen you look a whole
lot
better!”

“Auntie
,” said Belle. “You don’t have to make it sound like I’m half-dead.”

Everyone giggled
at that. Mrs. Dunnigan glanced around the circle, snorted in disgust, and went back to checking her stitches.

“When are you going to tell Colin?” asked G
randma.

Bell
e sighed. “When I’m good and ready.”

“
She’s afraid of how he’s going to react,” said Sadie.

“You
can’t put it off forever,” said Grandma.

“I know,” said Bell
e. “It’s just that once he finds out, he’s going to drive me crazy.”

“How do you know?”
asked Eloise. “Just because Harrison drove Sadie mad, doesn’t mean Colin will do the same thing.”

“Because
, if he’s
anything
like Harrison, then trust me, he’s going to drive me crazy. They
are
brothers, after all.”

A ripple of giggles worked its way around the circle
at her remark. Eloise stopped stitching and pondered what it would be like to have children with Seth. How many would they have? Would they be boys, girls, both? Or would the chance to have children be stolen from them because the unknown assailant, in turn, stole Seth’s life? She closed her eyes at the thought and fought against another shiver. How long would she be able to live like this, knowing someone was out there, waiting to do them harm?

“Have you thought of any names yet?” asked Grandma.

“Oh, please,” pleaded
Belle. “Can’t we talk about something else?”

“We need to talk about
the picnic,” bellowed Mrs. Dunnigan. “Who’s going to be in charge of what?”

“She’s right
,” said Mrs. Mulligan. “We only have four days to organize this. I was in charge of games last year. Who’s gonna do it this year?”

“Oh, let me!” exclaimed Fanny. “
I’ve never done games before.”

“All right, Fanny
has games,” said Grandma. “Who wants to be in charge of the food?”

“I would
do it,” said Belle. “But my belly is starting to feel funny and I don’t think I can handle talking about food for the next four days.”

Sadie laughed. “I’ll
handle the food; don’t worry.”

“Thank you,” said Bell
e.

“
I’ll help you,” offered Eloise, “just as long as you don’t expect me to cook.”

Now everyone laughed. “
Don’t worry,” said Sadie. “We’d be too
afraid
to let
you cook.”

Eloise sat, a sour
look on her face, before she, too, began to giggle. “Best not let Penelope or Constance cook, either.”

“Hey!” protested Constance. She glanced at Penelope, who burst into a fit of giggles.

“Oh, don’t worry,” said Sadie. “We won’t.”

The morning wore on and soon Eloise realized
, along with the rest of the ladies, that they were making better progress than expected. Her dress would be done that night at the latest, and she would have several days to help with plans for the picnic. With any luck, she’d be so busy that she wouldn’t think about the sheriff and his posse. There’d been no sign of any of them since they’d left the day before, and Eloise began to wonder how many more days it might be before they returned. If they returned at all …

Oh, Eloise. Why must you have such morbid thoughts?
Of course they’re going to return; why wouldn’t they?

She went back to her sewing, and tried to think of something else. It was then that she suddenly realized that she’d not seen Seth all morning. Where could he be?

* * *

Seth studied the ground before him. Tracks were everywhere, both from men and horses, but they weren’t enough to tell him exactly what had happened at his brother’s farm. There were definite signs of a struggle between a woman and some men, which had to be when Constance was taken to the barn; but then there were other signs, odd ones … 

In the house
, he found the broken chair and the ropes that had bound his brother to it. From there he followed the signs that led into the barn, where they’d tied Constance to a post. The dead rattler was found near the house, right where Ryder said it would be. After studying everything, Seth came to a very unsettling conclusion. These men had definitely been trying to kill his brother. Question was, why? And if that was the case, why didn’t they just shoot him?

He left the barn, went back to the house, and mounted his horse. He then followed the
tracks that led away from the farm, in the direction of the tree line at the base of the mountain. If the outlaws were in those hills, it was going to be difficult to find them. There were a lot of things that could hinder his progress, time being one of them. The picnic was in four days, and he wasn’t sure he could accomplish everything he wanted to in that short amount of time.

Seth turned his horse and stared in the direction of Clear Creek. Perhaps he should have told Eloise of his plan, but all she would’ve done is worry about him. He’d gotten up early that morning and left in search of clues. He didn’t even tell Ryder where he was going. He just went.

He rode across the prairie, following the outlaw gang’s tracks, and puzzled as to why they took the drifter, Cutty, with them. He’d gone over it for days, ever since he found out what had happened. Unfortunately, he kept coming to the same conclusion: Cutty had to have been in on it. But again, why? Ryder had been nothing but kind to Cutty, so why try to kill him; unless of course it was to steal Ryder’s stallion, Othello. But that didn’t make sense either. Cutty would have had plenty of opportunities to do that himself, what with all the times he’d been left alone with the animal while Ryder went to town for supplies. So if the outlaws were there to steal Othello, then why didn’t they chase after the horse when it got away? Unless… they didn’t know he was gone.

It didn’t take long before Seth reached the tree line, and followed the tracks until they disappeared into the brush. He dismounted and knelt on the ground to get a better look. There were still six or seven riders, one horse carrying two. Cutty was probably one of them.

“What did you do, you old coot? Why steal a man’s horse, then let him go to save him?”

Seth took off his hat, and ran a hand through his hair. Then it hit him.

If Cutty cut Othello loose in order to save Ryder, then that meant his brother wasn’t the target. “Oh, my Lord,” he said to himself. “First Penelope, and then Constance, which means… Eloise!” He quickly mounted, turned his horse, and spurred him into a gallop. He had to get back to town and quick. For all he knew, those lowdown varmints were after his future bride at this very moment! And even if they weren’t, one thing was for sure. Cutty had to be behind it.

* * *

“I don’t believe you,” Ryder said. He looked up at his older brother from the bed. “Are you sure Cutty had something to do with this?”

“
I know you don’t want to believe it, but who else could it be?” asked Seth.

“
Just don’t seem right. The Cutty I know would never do somethin’ so awful.”

“
Well, little brother, people aren’t always what they seem.”

Ryder shook his head. “H
e always helped me out whenever I needed it. Anything I wanted … well, almost anything. Besides that, he’s a good worker. I just can’t believe it.”

“
Whether you believe it or not, brother, the question is, what are we going to do?” Seth asked.

“But you’re talkin’ about my friend here, you’re tellin’ me he tried to murder …”

“Look,” Seth said, cutting him off. “Whether you believe it or not, everything points to him. Now, what can we do about it?”

“Do about it? I saw
them outlaws take him against his will. They tied Cutty up, put him on a horse, and then rode off with him!”

“T
hat may be so, but …”

“
Look, I’ve heard enough. I don’t want to listen to anymore of this! I don’t believe you!”

“Ryder, I’m
your brother; you’ve got to believe me!”

“
I need time to think about this,” Ryder said. “This is too much for me to take in right now.”

“
Well, you’re gonna have to take it in sooner or later. Besides, what are you going to do when the sheriff comes back with your friend and throws him in jail?”

“
I’ll believe it when I see it,” said Ryder. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the pillows, a determined look on his face.

Seth shook his head. “You just ain’t gonna listen to me, are you?”

“
Nope.”

Seth started for
the door. “Well, I guess there’s no help for it. I’m gonna get on back to the hotel; if you come to your senses, come find me, okay?”

Ryder glanced
at him and nodded, with a solemn look on his face. Seth knew his brother was working everything over in his head. Thoughts that Cutty had any ill intent toward him would be hard for Ryder to accept. Worse, he’d have to face the fact that he’d been betrayed by someone he trusted.

Seth left the Wallers’ house more than a little concerned. He’d never had to convince Ryder of anything before. His little brother had always trusted him in the past, and that trust had saved their lives more than once over the last few years. To keep that trust they had to believe in each other, but this whole business with Cutty was going to put their trust to the test. Seth sighed as he walked back to the hotel, and tried to think of something else. Eloise suddenly came to mind, and he felt his chest tighten. He was surprised that just a few hours apart from her could make him feel this way. Should he ride out to the Triple C and see her? No, he had work to do at the hotel, and needed to get things done. The sooner he got his work out of the way, the sooner he could see Eloise. Then another thought struck. He didn’t have
her
full trust yet. That was made obvious by their discussion at Preacher Jo’s house the day before.