Page 148 of Samuel

Sam placed his hand on the baby’s head. “I think we both knew I would be head over heels in love with her. Just like I am with her mom.”

Evie shifted in an attempt to situate herself better to nurse Sammy. The controller for the bed slipped off the mattress, crashing to the ground.

She flinched, the sound immediately taking her back to the office. Jake had laid across her, and the baby, while Sam fought for control of the weapon. She’d heard their friends burst into the room, and it was mayhem. The gun went off and all Evie could think of was losing Sam in that moment.

No one had been hurt by the stray shot. But the shock of it was enough to make Derrick pause. Hank, Sebastian, and Sam were finally able to restrain him.

Everything after that was a blur. She remembered how Jake got up, immediately trying to check on her and the baby like he didn’t have his own injury to attend to. Daisy forced him to sit on the couch while Emma took over tending to Evie. The paramedics bundled her and the baby up and by the time she arrived at the hospital, it had been so hard to keep hereyes open. Every last bit of energy had left her body, but Sam was right there, encouraging her to sleep while he watched over the baby.

“Bluebell,” Sam’s warm hand cupped her cheek. “You okay?”

“I’m good. Things could have ended so differently for us last night. I guess I’m just feeling a bit overwhelmed, and yet, very, very blessed right now.”

“I know what you mean. My chest hasn’t felt right since Sammy was born.”

“Are you okay? Should I call a nurse?”

“No, baby. I’m fine.”

“But what if it’s your heart?” She panicked. “I heard that gun go off a second time and I thought… If you got hurt…If I lost you after everything…”

“Stop. We both know that one day my heart is going to stop beating. Whether it happens tomorrow or fifty years from now, I’ll go knowing the only reason it ever got a second chance at beating again was to have the honor of loving you and our little girl.”

“Where’s my girl?” Sylvie’s voice drifted in from the hallway and Sam smiled as his mom walked into the hospital room. It was hard to see her behind all the flowers and balloons she was carrying.

“Here, Mom. Let me take those for you.”

“Thanks, Honey.”

Sam grabbed everything out of her arms and placed it on the table next to Evie’s bed.

“She’s in the bassinet right now, much to Sam’s dismay.” Evie giggled, and it was music to his ears.

Evie was trying so hard to focus on the positives, but heknew there would be a time when she’d crash. And he’d be there for her when it happened.

“Oh, Evie. She’s beautiful,” Sylvie said as she glanced over to the baby. “But I didn’t mean her when I asked where my girl was. I meant you.”

He watched as his mother hugged Evie. Her shoulders stiffened before she leaned into Sylvie, and then the tears started.

“Shh, baby. I know. You just let it all out. It’s okay to feel the weight of what happened last night. It’s okay. You’re doing great.”

“I just hate how her birth is dirty now in my mind. It was wild, and raw, and uncontrollable, but Sylvie, it was so incredible too. I felt power surge through my body from a place I didn’t even know was possible. That high from bringing her into the world was taken from me so quickly. By someone we trusted. How do I ever trust someone around her? How do I get past this?”

“You don’t have to get over it today.” His mom kept a tight hold of Evie as Sam reached down into the bassinet and picked up their daughter. He wanted to memorize every word she was saying to Evie because he knew that this wouldn’t be the only time she needed support.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get over it.”

“You will, sweetheart. There will come a time when the sharp edges from last night fade. Things will look clearer when you don’t have all sorts of hormones going crazy trying to take your body from baby bakery to food factory overnight.” Evie gave a soggy giggle at his mom’s words. “You’ll remember and pull from that same source of power you felt flow through you last night as you brought your baby into the world. You want to know why?”

He watched his incredible fiance nod against his mother’s shoulder.

“Because that power came from within you. There was no other source. You did what mothers do, Evie. You found the strength within yourself. And you’ll do it again. And again. Countless times as you raise that little one. We will not speak his name again. He does not get to take last night from you and Samuel. He does not get to take yesterday from Abby and Johnathan. You’ll pull from that strength, Evie. And when you feel too weak, Sam and I, and the rest of your family— who are all sitting in the waiting room patiently waiting for their turn to come in and love on you while they meet your daughter by the way— We will bear the burden until you find it again.”

“I just don’t understand why he didn’t come to us after everything fell apart with his plan with Garrett. I would have wanted to help his sister. I would have wanted to help him.”

“Bluebell, he stole from us. For years. He killed our cattle. At the very base of everything, he lied about who he was. He knew there was no way to come to us for help without getting caught for his crimes.”

“I still feel like we could have helped in some way.”

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