Sugar Ellie

by Sarah Hegger

  “At least you’ve stopped working until little Mansfield is born.” Cole guided her around a cart laden with goods on the platform.

  A second Sugar’s had opened in Denver four months earlier. Having decided she wasn’t the type who liked running a boarding house, Pearl had sold up and come from Rattler’s Gulch to run Sugar’s for her. A dress shop was much more Pearl’s thing, and she’d only threatened to shoot one customer so far. To be fair, the woman had made one of Pearl’s seamstresses cry. Of course, the new Sugar’s catered to the needs of the women out west, while Molly ran the New York store.

  Joy had been more than happy to keep her eye on the New York operation, and she and Molly worked well together.

  Theo was making noises about her starting a third store in California, close to where he ranched, but plans would have to wait until little Mansfield was born. Theo had also made a few trips to New York, and Ellie strongly suspected Theo’s interest in Sugar’s was more in the nature of his interest in Molly.

  Three days after her and Cole’s hasty marriage in New York, Jake and the twins had disappeared. They couldn’t say for sure, but they’d heard rumors about three men matching her brother’s descriptions raising hell in Kansas City.

  “Here it comes.” Ellie pointed as the Cheyenne train steamed into the station.

  Amidst hissing steam, and clanging bells, doors opened, and passengers stepped onto the platform.

  Ellie caught sight of Brett first, standing taller than the disembarking passengers around him. Mansfield Bros. had become Denver’s leading shipper of goods between the east and west. As long as Cole and Brett stuck to business, they got on fine.

  They heard her before they saw her. “Get out my way before I shoot your pecker off.”

  A cowpoke leaped out of the way as Joy charged down the platform.

  Brett walked behind her, eyes rolling. “Dear God, Mother. Must you?”

  “Yep.” Joy patted the Colt at her hip. Somehow, she made it work with her fancy New York traveling gown. “I’ve been wanting to say that since I heard Ellie say it.”

  She caught sight of them and grinned and waved. She had insisted on coming west for the birth of her first grandchild. “There you are.”

  “Joy.” Ellie hugged her mother-in-law around her huge belly.

  “And how is my Sugar Ellie?” Joy smiled at her mistily.

  Ellie smiled back. “Sugar Ellie is doing sweet.”

  Sarah Hegger

  Born British and raised in South Africa, Sarah Hegger suffers from an incurable case of wanderlust. Her match? A hot Canadian engineer, whose marriage proposal she accepted six short weeks after they first met. Together they’ve made homes in seven different cities across three different continents (and back again once or twice). If only it made her multilingual, but the best she can manage is idiosyncratic English, fluent Afrikaans, conversant Russian, pigeon Portuguese, even worse Zulu and enough French to get herself into trouble.

  Mimicking her globe trotting adventures, Sarah’s career path began as a gainfully employed actress, drifted into public relations, settled a moment in advertising, and eventually took root in the fertile soil of her first love, writing. She also moonlights as a wife and mother. She currently lives in Ottawa, Canada, filling her empty nest with fur babies. Part footloose buccaneer, part quixotic observer of life, Sarah’s restless heart is most content when reading or writing books.

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  Books by Sarah Hegger

  Urban Fantasy

  The Cré-Witch Chronicles

  Prequel: Cast In Stone

  Vol l: Born In Water

  Vol ll: Purged in Fire

  Sports Romance

  Ottawa Titans Series

  Roughing

  Hooking

  Contemporary Romance

  Passing Through Series

  Drove All Night

  Ticket To Ride

  Walk On By

  Running On Empty

  Ghost Falls Series

  Positively Pippa

  Becoming Bella

  Blatantly Blythe

  Loving Laura

  Willow Park Romances

  Nobody’s Angel

  Nobody’s Fool

  Nobody’s Princess

  Medieval Romance

  Sir Arthur’s Legacy Series

  Sweet Bea

  My Lady Faye

  Conquering William

  Roger’s Bride

  Releasing Henry

  Love & War Series

  The Marriage Parley

  The Betrothal Melee

  Western Historical Romance

  The Soiled Dove Series

  Sugar Ellie

  Miz Peaches

  Kansas City Kate

  Standalone

  The Bride Gift

  Bad Wolfe On The Rise

  Wild Honey