Page 23 of Samuel

Their conversation slowed as they made their way out of the barn. Evie took a deep breath in, the fresh air of Bell Ridge never ceasing to amaze her. They walked past Sylvie, busy pulling weeds and old plants from her garden.

“Mom, you know I’ll be more than happy to help you with that later.”

“Nonsense. I need to get it taken care of before I start planting tomorrow. It’s good for me to get my hands dirty. You two have a nice time on your walk. Oh Sam, do you have your?—”

“Yeah, Mom. Don’t worry. I’m carrying the satellite phone too.”

“Good. Well, have fun. Don’t get into too much trouble!”

Evie waved to Sylvie.

“Your mom is great.”

“She is. She’s also pretty eccentric.”

“I love that. You know, she’s been telling me things about Jellybean. I’m excited to see if she’s right.”

A crease formed between his brows. “Things like what?”

“Oh, just what color eyes she’s going to have, or her hair color.”

“Really? Well, I mean, it’s pretty much a fifty-fifty guess, right?”

“Idon’t know. I believe her. She said the baby is going to have dark brown eyes and curly hair. I love that.”

“You have curly hair.”

Evie laughed, looking down at the hair cascading over her shoulder.

“Sam. I curl my hair.”

“What?”

“In the morning, before work. I curl my hair. It’s not naturally curly.”

“Hm. I guess I can start the list now of things I learned about Evie today.”

“Is that something you’re keeping track of?” she asked.

He nodded, his dimples sneaking out as he smiled at her.

“Well, in that case here’s another for your list. I think spring might be my favorite season.”

“Really? I’m a fall guy, through and through. Something about the first crisp night in October, it just hits my soul differently than any other time of year.”

“I love seeing the land come back to life after winter,” Evie admitted. “There’s something really beautiful about watching the world around us be reborn.”

“That’s true.”

She felt her cheeks warm as Sam’s gaze lingered on her. “I wish I had been here for bluebell season. I missed it by just a few weeks, I think.”

“Bluebell?”

“Yeah, those pretty flowers you see in the fields.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “Bluebonnets.”

“The butter?”

---