Page 69 of Samuel

“I do.” She pushed off her chair, just enough tobounce up and kiss his cheek. She loved the way his face lit up as she sat back down to slip her shoes on.

“Good. Are you still feeling up to going out with everyone tonight?”

“I actually can’t wait. I was about to head upstairs and start getting ready. We need to leave in what? An hour?”

“An hour would be perfect.”

“Alright, Cowboy. I’ll see you then.”

Eighteen

“So.” Sebastian took a long pull on his beer. The guys were deep into a round of pool when Sam and Evie showed up. She bounced off to be with the girls, and Sam was having a hard time taking his eyes off of her surrounded by all their friends. He laughed as Jake sank the eight ball right in the corner pocket and groaned. “Seems like that’s going well.”

“That?”

“You and Evie.”

He took a sip from his water. “Yeah. It is.”

“That’s great. You know I’m gonna campaign for best man rights at your wedding.”

Sam eyebrows nearly reached his forehead.

“Don’t think Daisy didn’t tell me how you wanted to fire Evie the very first day she was on the ranch. I got an emergency phone call and had to deal with shit from my fiance and her best friend for weeks. They made me promise over and over again that I’d go against you if you really wanted to fire her.”

“And you would have?”

“No. But those two are scary when they come togetherto fight for a cause. I would have done what was best if it came down to it, but I think we all knew that in the end, Evie was actually the best thing for the ranch.”

“Yeah. She really has been.”

“Are you ready to get help on those out of balance books yet?”

Sam sighed. “No. I want to give Evie a little more time to look into things. With what happened at her last job, I can’t imagine the stress of another investigation would be good for her, or the baby.”

“It still looks like she’s the one moving money?”

Sam nodded. “It started the day she got access to all the accounts. Nothing has happened in a few weeks, but we don’t know whether that means the person caught on or this is just their pattern and they’ll be back for more, you know?”

“Shit. You don’t think it could be her playing at?—”

“There is no way in hell I think Evie is stealing from me.”

“Okay.” Seb smiled. “I’m here if you need my resources for anything, Sam. I meant what I said last year. None of us want to see the stress of the ranch destroy you. We want you here. Healthy and happy. That’s what’s most important.”

“I appreciate that, Seb.” He looked back at Evie, laughing at something his sister had just said to her. “I’m quickly realizing there are much more important things in life than the ranch.”

Sebastian’s hand landed on his shoulder. “Good man.”

“It‘s not weird that I’m here, is it?” Evie sipped her lemonade and sank down in her chair. It felt like her belly had grown exponentially overnight, and although she loved Jellybean making herself known to everyone around her, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to hang around with her friends in a bar.

“Hey! I’m here, and I’m definitely bumping harder than you!” Grace waved at her belly and laughed.

“Yeah! Screw anyone who wants to have a problem with it. You’re not drinking, and we want you here!” Abby smiled as she placed her hand on Evie’s arm. “Besides, we all need hang out time with my brother’sgirlfriend.”

The women all squealed as Evie laughed. Daisy’s arm wrapped around her back as she gave Evie a hug.

“I’m so excited for the two of you! We need to hear all of the details!”

---