Page 100 of Samuel

“If you’re sure?” Zeke’s concern pulled her back from her building rage.

“Of course I am. Thank you for your help. Sorry to have been a bother.”

“You’re never a bother, Evie.” He tipped his cowboy hat towards her and ducked out of the room.

She sat, switching between taking sips of water and absentmindedly rubbing her hand over her belly for the next few minutes. Her mind was running a marathon, trying to think of anything she’d seen in the records that even pointed slightly to the devil standing in the driveway with Sam.

“Evie?” Sam’s soft voice was full of concern as he crouched down in front of her but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. He would know something was wrong if she looked at him, and she’d be safe to fall apart. But she didn’t want to fall apart. She wanted to be strong. She wanted to return to the happy bubble she’d been in not even an hour before. The fear from her attack was just starting to fade. Maybe he knew. Maybe that’s why he’d shown back up.

“Sweetheart, Zeke came and got me. What’s the matter?”

Oh lord, her chest felt so tight as her breath sawed in and out of her chest.

“Evie, I’m worried to hell here. Please, tell me what’s going on. Are you not feeling well?” He swiped away a tear from her face before placing his hand over her belly. She took a breath and set her hand over his, sinking into the warmth and strength he was pouring into her. “Is Jellybean okay?”

“We’re okay.”

“What’s got you so upset then?”

Maybe she’d been wrong. Maybe his voice had only sounded enough like the intruder that it set off some sort of alarm in her brain and she overreacted. No. The way he looked at her, like he was enjoying seeing her recognize him, it had been eerie.

“I’m so angry, Sam.” She laughed, but there was no humor behind it. “I recognized him. His voice.”

“Who?”

“Garrett.”

“Okay.” Confusion splashed across his features. “How do you know him?”

“He was here last month.”

“He hasn’t been here in years, Evie. Since my father’s?—”

She grabbed onto his forearms, begging him to listen to what she was trying to tell him. “Since your father’s funeral. I know. I know you think that. But I know his voice. It’s seared into my memory. It’s the same voice I heard threatening to cut Jellybean out of my belly if I didn’t stop looking for the missing money.”

Sam blanched, finally understanding what she was telling him.

“A-are you sure?”

“Yes.”

In an instant, Sam’s strong arms were pulling Evie into his chest.

“He’ll never step foot on this ranch again, Baby. I promise you. He’ll never be back. I’ll call Hank and give him every piece of information I have. I’m sure he’ll look into it immediately.”

“You can’t! You can’t just turn him over to Hank for something we have no proof of him doing. He’s an investor here. We have to be smart or you could end up losing everything!”

“You think I fucking care about losing this ranch when he threatened to kill you and the baby? You’re more important than anything! If the ranch has to go to someone else after a hundred years, then so be it. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

“Don’t say that, Sam. I’m not more important than this land. It’s all you have left of your father. Sylvie’s told me a hundred times what this land means to you, to your family. I won’t be the reason it gets sold to some corporation, or folded into his property portfolio, or whatever the hell Garrett is playing at. I won’t be the reason you lose everything. We will just keep going like nothing happened.”

“No we won’t. It’s time to call Sebastian and ask about that forensic accountant.”

Twenty-Seven

Evie pushed back from the desk, standing up to stretch her back for the millionth time that day. Thank goodness she was about to be on her way for some girl time with Sylvie, Abby, and Katy. Since the revelation about Garrett, things had been more tense than ever. It felt so important that she not waste a single second on anything other than tying Garrett to the missing money, or the dead cattle.

They’d had several video conference calls with Sebastian’s accountant in Virginia, but without all the records digitized, it was an uphill battle.

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