Free Private Sins (Three Rivers Series: Book 1) by Brenda Barrett Page A

envisioned it would cause always held her back. Today might just be her Waterloo.
    “Looking great in red, Sister Kelly.” Erica came behind her.
    Kelly jumped, “Oh, it’s you.”
    “Yes me,” Erica felt her cheek, “are you feverish or something? You look spooked.”
    “Can you believe that Hyacinth Donahue just threatened to tell Theo that Mark is not his child?”
    Erica gasped, “She knows?”
    “Yes,” Kelly said frustrated, “it seems as if Chris went and blabbed to his parents.”
    Erica whistled, “That woman is going to hound you. The whole clan will want to have something to do with your child.”
    “That’s not all,” Kelly whispered fiercely, “her grandchildren, all three of them, will be singing on the choir today and you know how much they look alike.”
    “Mmmm,” Erica murmured, “why is that a big deal, nobody in their right mind would conclude that your baby is a Donahue just by that.”
    “Yes they will,” Kelly's hands and lips started to tremble, “Valda is here, she has been mumbling all week about the baby's lack of resemblance to anybody in her family. I am doomed,” Kelly whimpered.
    “You are paranoid,” Erica whispered back, waving to a couple who had just entered the foyer, “pull yourself together.”
    “I can't,” Kelly shook her head, “I am getting it from all sides. My husband is going to leave me and take away my children. The whole world is going to know that I had an affair. The Donahue's will take away my baby and you and Mom will send me to the mental hospital.”
    Erica chuckled at the last statement.
    “Stop laughing,” Kelly said forcing a smile at a church sister who was looking in their direction, “God is punishing me for all of this. You wait and see. I'll be punished so badly. I think I am losing my mind. Why is it that today, of all days, Hyacinth Donahue had to accost me in the parking lot.”
    “She's jealous,” Erica said glancing around. “Theo's mother is getting grandmotherly privileges and she isn’t.”
    “I never thought of that,” Kelly had tears in her eyes. “I am going home.”
    “No you are not,” Erica grabbed her arm. “We are going to the ladies room. You are going to wipe those tears, and then walk confidently into church, we are going to sit beside Valda and thwart every suggestion that she makes about anything concerning your child's paternity.”
    Ten minutes later they entered church. It took Kelly all of five minutes to get composed and another five for Erica to convince her to stay. Kelly almost ran outside when she saw that Valda was sitting in the same pew with Chris' sisters and their spouses.
    “Uh oh,” Erica had whispered. “Chin up, don’t worry.”
    Kelly smiled politely at everyone and sat beside Valda but the row was so full that Erica had to sit behind them; her one ally was out of earshot and that contributed to Kelly's unease even more.
    Chris' sister, Marie, kept glancing over at the baby and his other sister Fiona was looking at her fixatedly as if she had seen a ghost. Kelly could barely go through the motions of worship, she felt as if she was in a war and surrounded by hostile enemy.
    The platform party entered the podium and she could barely meet Theo's eyes, he was staring at her with a slight frown and she wondered feverishly if Hyacinth had gotten to him yet.
    She felt sick to her stomach and almost forgot to open her Bible for the scripture reading at the prompting of the person at the podium; a timely poke from Erica had snapped her out of it and she had taken up her hymnal instead.
    All of this had not gone unnoticed by her husband who was watching her keenly. They sat down for the special song, which was done by the children's choir. She couldn’t even drum up a smile for Thealyn and Matthew who were in the front row—her eyes kept darting to the Donahue children in the front.
    Valda whispered to her, “they look adorable in their purple and white choir robes.”
    Kelly nodded and