Page 37 of Samuel

“You actually only need about two hundred extra calories a day when you’re pregnant.”

“Okay. But how about we get those two hundred calorieswith some protein? Or you treat yourself to something indulgent because you are creating a whole human inside your body? I mean, Jesus, Evie, you’re tiny. You don’t need to worry about eating too much.”

She laughed, but there was a sadness he immediately picked up on.

“That’s really sweet of you to say, but I got a big lecture at my appointment from a nurse about not putting on too much weight too quickly.”

Holy fuck. There is no way someone could look at Evie and think she needed to slow down on gaining weight.

“Is that why you didn’t eat this morning?”

“No, I?—”

His brain ran through all the times they’d been together, especially over the last week. She’d always left the office to eat her lunch outside, under the oak tree. Had she ever even had something to eat at her desk? Fuck, he should have been paying better attention.

“Christ. Is that why I barely ever see you eating at work?”

“I eat. It’s just that I’ve struggled in the past with my weight. I don’t want to have a hard time after Jellybean is born. I can’t fall into bad habits now.”

“Whoever the fuck made you feel like your body isn’t absolutely perfect just as it is can go eat a cowpie.” Her face blossomed into the most beautiful shade of pink at his words. “Now, I’m going to fix you a snack. Aproperone. If there’s anything you really want, or really don’t want, now would be the time to tell me.”

She smiled. “I actually got some peanut butter at the store. Would you mind making me a peanut butter and pickle sandwich? There should be some pickles in the fridge.”

Sam was sure his eyes bugged out of his head, because she immediately laughed. “Hey, don’t knock it until you try it. That’s one of Jellybean’s favorite things right now.”

He held up his hands, moving towards the kitchen. “No, it just sounds…interesting. I’ll definitely take your word that it’s good.”

Sam watched out of the corner of his eye as Evie sat back on the sofa, closing her eyes as her hand rested on her belly.

“What are you going to do about the cattle? How did so many of them die at the same time?”

“Evie, someone…”

Her eyes went wide. “You’re saying someone killed them? Why would anyone do that?”

“That’s the million dollar question. I’m not sure how we’re going to recoup the loss. Our insurance policy is just about as clear as mud and I’m sure getting a payout from them will be like getting blood from a stone.” He ran his hand over his face, before returning to the sandwich he was making. “I know you’ve just started looking over the accounting books for me, but I’m sure you’ve seen how little our profit margins are.”

Evie nodded without opening her eyes. Sam finished making the sandwich, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge before walking into her living room.

“You’re not going to drive that beat up hunk of junk anymore.”

“Don’t talk about Opal that way. She’s been a great car for a really long time.” She grabbed the sandwich off the plate and took a big bite. “Thank you for this.”

He nodded. “Evie. You should have sent it to the scrap yard before you drove it over a thousand miles here to Texas. I should have made sure you got rid of it when you got here. It’s not safe for you or Jellybean. For now, if you need to go somewhere, you can take a ranch truck.”

“I can’t drive one of the trucks! I won’t be able to reach the pedals or see over the dash.”

Sam laughed. “Fine, if you need to go somewhere, I’ll drive you there and back.”

“No. I can’t ask that of you.”

“Stop being so damn stubborn. You could have been seriously hurt today. Jesus, when I heard your message, my fucking heart…”

“Sam. I get it. I wasn’t prepared for the heat. But we’re okay. It worked out.”

“You can’t… you can’t be leaving the ranch and not telling someone where you are goingbeforeyou go. Even if it was cooler out and the heat wasn’t a threat, there are all sorts of critters that could have hurt you. If you’d been bitten by a snake…”

“Stop borrowing trouble.”

---