Page 93 of Samuel

“Okay. If you’re ready, I’ll support you.”

Evie walked over to her desk, eyeing the new chair waiting for her.

“Did you get this for me?”

“Well, yeah,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “Your back’s been bothering you. I looked up one that has good lumbar support while you were napping the other day. It took forever to get here after I asked Abby to order it, but putting it together this morning wasn’t so bad. Ialso got a new pillow wedge for the bed. It’s supposed to help with your back pain and reflux at night.”

“Thank you.” She shook her head. “You didn’t have to do all that.”

“Yeah, I know. But I wanted to. I want you to feel cherished. And safe.”

“Is that why I found your mom sitting outside my apartment with a shotgun next to her?”

Sam just shrugged his shoulders. “I told you, I’m not leaving you alone again, Bluebell. If I have to go somewhere, I’ll make sure someone is with you.”

“You didn’t need to do all that.”

“I just want you to be comfortable.”

“I am. Thank you.” She pulled out the chair, sighing as she relaxed into the extra padding. Oh, lord, it was like sitting on a cloud. She should ask him to bring it up into the apartment at night. No. Although he was still groveling, that would be too much. “We should get together a list of vendors and see if any of them are matches for recent withdrawals. I haven’t even gotten to the records for last year. I’ll start there and see what I can find.”

A gentle knock at the office door had Evie swiveling in her chair. Sylvie walked in with a bright smile on her face.

“Mom? What is it?”

“I was just on my way back up to the house, but a courier dropped off this letter for you. I assumed it’s something about the insurance claim with the cattle, but that’s only because I saw the agent’s name on the top. Your father had such a good relationship with Anton. He still sends me a birthday card every year.”

“You can set it over here.” Evie stood and held out her hand for the envelope. She swayed forward as her center of gravity shifted, bumping against the desk.

“You okay?” Sam asked, concern etched between his brows.

“The baby is throwing off my center of gravity, I swear. I’ve been bumping into things more often.”

Sylvie walked around the desk and her hands found their way to Evie’s belly, where she gave it a little pat. “The true sign of carrying a girl. I was so clumsy when I was pregnant with Abby. Their father caught me a time or two before I took a real hard tumble. She came out and was all grace. Walked like a champ before she was even a year old. She took every ounce of balance I had and kept it all for herself. Anyway, do you two want to come up to the house for dinner tonight?”

“You up for it?” Sam asked.

“Of course.” Evie thought back to the first time she went to dinner with his family. Things had changed so completely since then. “Sylvie’s cooking is my favorite,” she teased.

Sam’s growl had both women laughing.

“You two play nice together. I’ll see you both around five. Come on, Shep. Goddess needs your help in the garden, yes I do!” Sylvie smiled as she walked out of the office.

“Stop fussing. You look really nice.”

“Ugh, I don’t know. I thought this dress from Daisy fit okay, but now it feels too tight around my waist.”

“You’re nervous, that’s all.” His fingers slid into hers.

“I don’t want to rehash everything again. I just want to move forward. And I’m ticked off that the insurance company denied the claim.”

“I am too. But we’ll figure it out. Let’s get through this and we can slip away from dinner so you can rest.”

“Your mom invited us and cooked a whole meal. We can’t just slip away.”

Sam pointed to a familiar truck in the driveway. “We aren’t the only ones she invited.”

Abby, John, and Katy greeted Sam and Evie as they walked into the farmhouse.

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