Page 16 of Samuel

“Alright, lovebirds,” Daisy laughed. “Let’s not overwhelm Evie on her first trip into town.”

“I think that ship probably sailed for her the minute she walked over to your booth.” Grace laughed.

“Hi, furry baby. What are you doing out here by yourself?”

Evie bent down to pet Shep and Sam had to stop himself from laughing. He had a feeling she hadn’t noticed him standing by his truck, not that he minded. It gave him the perfect opportunity to study her. And he wasn’t ashamed to admit that’s exactly what he was doing.

“Where’s your daddy? I can’t imagine that he let you be out here all by yourself.” Evie scooped Shep up into her arms and started looking towards the farmhouse.

“He wasn’t out on his own.” Sam pushed off the truck and stalked towards her.

“Oh lord! You were standing there the whole time?”

“Yep.”

“Well, here. Take this little cutie. I’ve got some treasures from the farmer’s market I need to get upstairs.”

“That’s where you were all day?”

“Keeping tabs on me?” she sassed back.

“Nope.”

“Right. Well, I saw Daisy, and met your sister and niece. Not that youneedto know this, but we went to Sprinkles and I got to meet Jackson and Grace and their little boy. I even got to thankmy bossfor the opportunity to work here. He was very nice. In fact, everyone was so nice to me. It’s hard to believe you fit in with them.”

Ouch.

Ignoring the dig as best he could because he knew he deserved it, Sam took Shep out of Evie’s arms and set him down on the ground.

“You need any help?” he asked.

Her hair flipped over her shoulder and she smiled back at him.

“I’m good. I’ve been bringing in groceries by myself my entire adult life. I think I can handle some artisan pickles and the lemon-blueberry muffins I got from Emma.”

He watched as she grabbed two bags out of the back seat, stood up and hit the door with her hip to close it. The rust bucket protested with a loud squeak and Sam groaned.

“That car’s a piece of shit and you shouldn’t be driving it around here.”

“Opal is perfectly fine. She got me here all the way from Wisconsin. I’m sure she’ll last a little while longer.”

“That’s what you want for your baby? Something that will last just a little while longer?”

“Can I help you with something, Sam? You do actually know today is my day off, right? So what I do with my time is my own concern, including where I drive my car.”

“I know what day it is. I was just getting some air and then I heard the death rattle coming towards the ranch. Figured I better watch and make sure you made it back in one piece.”

“You weren’t just out walking Shep?” Her eyes sparkled as she raised one eyebrow. “You were making sure I made it back to the ranch safe?”

“That’s not what I said.”

“Careful, Cowboy. I might start to think you actually care about me.”

Cowboy.Holy shit. The way she said that had his pulse racing.

“The only thing I care about is if one of my employees is doing something dangerous on the ranch that could lead to them suing me.”

“Hm. I’m not an employee today. On the weekends, this is just my home. So, thank you.”

---