Page 116 of Samuel

“My water broke!”

“I know, beautiful. Emma told me. We should have stayed home.”

“And miss out on Girls’ Night?” She let out a soggy laugh and Evie felt her heart swoop as Jackson placed a kiss on Grace’s forehead.

“Let’s get you out to the truck before you have the baby on Abby and John’s couch.”

“As much as we’d love bragging rights to where our nephew is born,” John laughed, “I fully agree with Jackson for once. I can give you guys an escort into town if you want.”

A warm hand landed on the small of Evie’s back and she jumped.

“Sorry,” Sam whispered in her ear. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“What do you guys need us to do?” Hank asked as Evie’s attention went back to the flurry of action in front of her.

“No.” Daisy turned from her husband towards Grace and Jackson. Grace groaned and leaned over, clutching her belly. “Don’t worry about anything. Jackson, you get her to the hospital… as soon as this contraction is over. Hank and I will swing by your house and get things together for you. John, call your mom and make sure it’s okay for Jack to stay there. If not, we can take him for a couple days, no problem.”

“Sure, but Abby and I can watch him, too.”

“Right. We’ll figure it out.”

“Thank you, guys. I don’t… he’s not supposed tobe coming right now.” Grace’s voice hitched and Evie felt her own emotions swell.

“You’re going to be fine. He’s just impatient like all the Boone men,” Abby joked.

Emma pulled Grace into a hug. “You are a badass, Grace. You’ve got this.”

Thirty-Two

“You’re awfully quiet over there.” Sam squeezed Evie’s hand as they walked back to the ranch. His sister had insisted on bringing everything from the shower over in the morning so they didn’t have to worry about hauling it all back right then. And he was grateful for that, because as soon as he’d walked back into the living room to find Evie, he’d known something was off. “You okay?”

She nodded, but even in the darkening light of twilight, he could see the rosy color hadn’t returned to her cheeks. “I think it just made everything so much more real for me.”

“And that’s scaring you?”

“No.” Her whole face scrunched up. “Yes.”

Sam stopped, wrapping his arms around Evie as he pressed a kiss to her lips. “You’re going to be absolutely fine. And so is Grace. You’ll see. By morning, we’ll have a text with a picture of the baby and a new little life will join our wild and crazy group. And then, in a little over a month, it will be our turn with Jellybean.”

Something was still clearly bothering her. She looked up athim, her eyes filled with worry. “Are you sure you want to do it? You can back out, you know?”

His hands cupped her cheeks. “What are you talking about?”

“You aren’t legally bound to us. You don’t need to be there for us. You can change your mind and walk away before there’s a picture of us looking happy in the hospital.”

“Stop.”

“I’m just sayi—” Sam playfully covered her lips with his finger, laughing as the last little bit of her argument came out a string of mumbles he couldn’t understand.

“The words that are coming out of your mouth are not yours right now. They belong to that pesky voice in your head that lies when it tells you everyone is going to leave because you are not enough. Let me make this clear to you right now before this goes any further.” Sam tapped gently on her forehead. “I. Am. All. In. With. You. And. Jellybean. Now, waddle a little faster so there’s time for me to rub your feet before you fall asleep.”

She slapped her hand across his arm. “I do not waddle. I’m gracefully shuffling, if you must know.”

“Mhm. And are you declining the foot rub?”

She stepped back from him and gasped. “Never. Maybe I can have a little snack to keep me awake?”

“What are you craving? Peanut butter and hot sauce oatmeal? Steak with lemon pie?”

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