Page 33 of Samuel

Maybe she should call one of the girls? Evie hated the idea of needing to ask anyone for help, but surely it was better than being slowly roasted in her car.

The sound of gravel crunching under tires had her heartpicking up. Had the tow truck finally made it out to her? Or maybe Sam had finally gotten her message and was about to be her hero. She moved her seat back upright and took off her seat belt.

“Hey, everything okay?” Evie let out a yelp at the towering figure standing next to her door.

The man’s hands went flying up by his head, as if to show he meant her no harm. Her heart would hear none of that, and continued to pound in her chest.

“Sorry for scaring you, ma’am. I’m Dr. Jacob Rahni. I saw your car off to the side of the road and in this heat, I just wanted to make sure everything’s okay.”

“Oh,” Evie let out a heavy sigh. “Thank you for stopping, Dr. Rahni.”

“Jake, please. Only my mom insists on people calling me ‘doctor’.”

“I would too if my son achieved something like that.” She smiled. “I’m Evie, by the way. Do you know the Red River Ranch?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “I’ve been there a lot.”

“Oh, really? I started working there a few weeks ago, but I’m still not super familiar with the roads around here yet and I think I got turned around. Then my dear old Opal here decided to kick the bucket, which I already know Sam is never going to let me hear the end of. I appreciate you stopping, but a tow truck is supposed to be here in an hour or two.”

“An hour or two? It’s way too hot today to be sitting in your car waiting for that long. Why don’t I take you back to the ranch and you can let me know which tow company is coming out?”

“That’s really sweet of you, but I can wait.” She rubbed her fingers over the pendant on her necklace. It was awfully nice of him to stop, but she still didn’t really know who hewas, and she wasn’t about to put Jellybean in any sort of danger.

“I’m sure it’s hard to trust a stranger, but I could call Sam. We’ve been friends for years, and I’m sure he’d want me to make sure you made it back to the ranch in one piece and without heat stroke.”

She laughed. “It really is scorching today. I completely underestimated the heat. But I don’t think you’ll get Sam if you try to call. I’ve had to leave him a few messages.”

“Ah, he’s probably out where the reception isn’t all that great.”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, Evie. It’s up to you.”

She thought about how difficult it would be to sit in her car-turned-oven for the next few hours.

“Can you give me just a second?”

“Sure.”

Evie grabbed her cell and wrote a quick text to Emma.

Evie: Do you know Dr. Jake Rahni?

Emma:Yes! Is he at the ranch right now? Watch out…

Her stomach lurched.

Emma:That cutie is a huge flirt! He’ll probably ask you out on a date! You’re definitely his type!

Lord. Why didn’t she write all that at the same time? Tucking her phone away, Evie decided to put her trust in Jake.

“Okay, well, you got my friend Emma’s seal of approval, so I’m ready to take you up on your very generous offer. Besides not wanting to bake anymore than I already have, Jellybean here is really unsettled today.” She ran her hand over her belly where the baby was rolling. “So, thank you.”

He looked her over for a second, almost as if he was evaluating her after she revealed her pregnancy, but he changed his concerned look to a bright smile.

“How far along are you?”

“Six months. It’s flying by. But I imagine if it’s already this hot, the summer and the end of my pregnancy are going to be miserable.”

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