Page 133 of Samuel

“I promise, sweetheart, never again. Now, tell me about these pains.”

“It’s nothing,” she whispered, turning her face into his chest. He could feel her holding her breath, every bit of her tense.

He swept the wet hair that had fallen down out of her face before tipping her chin towards him. “Breathe. How long has this nothing been happening?”

“Since this morning.”

“Evelyn.” He couldn’t hold back the growl that resonated in his throat. “Why didn’t you tell me when I saw you in the office?”

“Samuel,” she said, letting out a large sigh. “I’m fine. This is fine. It’s just some Braxton Hicks ramping up because I was worried about you. They’re erratic.”

“Are you telling me that, or trying to convince yourself that’s the truth?” His question was met with a glare, so he tabled it in favor of getting her more comfortable. “You’re still shivering. Let’s get you laying down and try to warm you up.”

“I’ll only lay down if you promise to join me.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time.”

Sam laid on the edge of the mattress, giving Evie as much room as possible to get comfortable. It certainly wasn’t meant for more than one person, and definitely not meant for that one person to be pregnant, but they made it work.

“I’m sorry, Evie.”

“You don’t have to apologize again. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

He laid his hand on her belly. “Yes, I do. Because I should have known how upset you would be during this storm. I should have remembered that it would bring up bad memories for you, and I should have made sure nothing kept me from getting back to the house before it rolled through. That’s a mistake I’ll never make again.”

“Thank you.” She sniffled and Sam reached up, cupping her cheek before turning her face so he could see her. “I never got an apology from them. Do you think they thought about me in those last few moments?”

“Baby, I bet you were the only thing on their mind.”

“Do you think they forgave me?”

“There was nothing to forgive you for, Evie. They left when you were upset. They should have told you why they had to go. They should have made sure things were right before they left. That’s not on you, sweetheart. It never was.”

A pounding on the door jolted Sam awake. Darkness surrounded the small building. Shit. It must be the middle of the night. Sam groaned as he slipped out from his hold on Evie and stretched his sore muscles. Yep, he was officially getting too old to be reckless.

Evie stirred next to him. She had a few random contractions after they first laid down, but he wasn’t even sure she’dfelt them in her sleep. He’d kept his hand firmly over Jellybean, even after they finished their nightly game of ‘kick daddy’s hand’.

“Who’s knocking?” she asked.

“Don’t know. I’m going to go see.”

“Help me up before you do. I need to put my dress back on, or did you forget that I’m naked under this blanket?”

“Evie, do you really think I could forget something like that?” he asked as he pulled his jeans up.

She laughed for a second before groaning as she put her feet over the edge of the bed.

“Have you had any more pains?”

“They stopped after I fell asleep.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Her eyebrow quirked up in the cutest way.

“What? You know Jellybean and I play through your belly every night. She was very active after you fell asleep. And I might have left my hand in place after she fell asleep, too.”

Another loud bang came from the door. “Boss Man? Are you guys okay in there?”

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