Page 79 of Samuel

The sweet cowboy tipped his hat and walked off towards the bunkhouse.

“Where did Evie go?” Abby asked as she slid onto the bar stool next to Sam. He was in no mood to speak with his sister.

“Back to the ranch.”

“What? Why? Is she okay? Why didn’t you go with her?”

He stared at his sister, aware of the black aura that was pouring off of him.

Her face went slack. “Oh shit.”

“Yeah, oh shit. You couldn’t just trust that I would tell her in my own time? You had to press and fucking upset her? She was crying about how she could have killed me, Abby.”

“I didn’t mean anything against her! It’s you who shouldn’t be carrying her around! You shouldn’t be carrying anyone or anything around.”

“The doctors cleared me! They cleared me to resume ALLmy usual activities. I’ve been throwing hay, riding Jasper, wrangling the cattle, building all the shit you need for your wedding. All of it is more stressful than carrying that incredible woman in my arms.”

“I’ll come over tomorrow and apologize. I never meant to hurt her feelings.”

“Don’t bother. I’ll sort it all out with her. At the end of the day, she’s not pissed at you.”

“But you are.”

“Yeah, I am, Dove. You need to leave me be. Everyone does. All the texts. All the calls. Everyone is always checking in on me like I’m made of glass. It has to stop. I can’t take it anymore.”

The bartender walked towards Sam.

“What can I get you?”

“Whiskey. On the rocks.”

“Sam…”

“Abby. I swear to God. I’m fine. I can drink if I want.”

“Fine.” She held her hands up and turned to walk back to the table. “Just so you know, every single person that called, or sent a text, or dropped in for a visit loves you, and they’re doing it because they’re worried about losing you forever. That’s how fucking important you are to all the people in your life, Sam. So stop being so fucking selfish and realize that maybe you do need to slow down. Maybe you do need to accept that you aren’t as unbreakable as you thought you were. If not for any of us, then maybe do it for Evie and her baby, assuming you want to be around long enough for Jellybean to call you dad one day.”

His eyes followed her all the way back to the table where their friends were waiting, John quickly wrapping her up in a hug as she swiped at her face. Fuck. Abby had been through enough. He shouldn’t be adding to her stress.

The bartender returned with his order and the first sipwent down with a searing pain. It’d been months since he had any alcohol. Truth be told, he was fucking nervous to drink again. But the way things spiraled with Evie, he needed something to take the pain away, so he could think clearly about how to set things right. He needed the world to be a little less sharp, the pressure weighing on him to be a little less heavy in that moment.

Yep, the baby was definitely more active at night. Evie knew as soon as she made her way up to the apartment and Jellybean started to roll that sleeping was going to be even more difficult than she was already anticipating.

Seeing Jasper had helped her cool down. Her emotions weren’t as frazzled as they had been when she left Sam standing in the parking lot of the Broken Spoke. But there was a heaviness that was settling into her chest. It made her want to curl up in her bed and hide until Jellybean was ready to be born.

God, she was grateful that she didn’t need to worry about Dr. Bowman. The bar incident had freaked her out, but with Sam and his friends there, she knew she was safe. Her heart ached, knowing that safe feeling with Sam around was shattered. He wouldn’t ever physically hurt her, that she knew without a doubt, but her heart felt broken all the same.

She sighed as she made her way to her apartment door. All she wanted to do was fall into bed, but she really should take down the trash and then jump in the shower. Evie turned the knob to her door and froze.

Her apartment was a mess. She rushed in, tripping over several books that were ripped and thrown to the ground. It looked like a tornado had gone through her apartment. Her eyes scanned the space from her kitchen to her living room,and landed on a figure dressed all in black at the end of her coffee table.

A scream ripped through her throat as she backed up, trying to move faster than the charging figure with a swinging hand aimed right at her face. Pain radiated through her eye as their palm made contact with her flesh, a stumble backwards causing her to fall over onto the couch. In an instant, the large shadow was on top of her, straddling her hips as she bucked wildly. The same hand that had just slapped her flew across her mouth, hot breath whispering in her ear as the intruder’s other hand brought a sharp blade up against her throat.

“Don’t move. And don’t even think about screaming again.” Her whole body shook, terrified by the gravel-filled voice in her ear that she didn’t recognize.

The man removed his hand from her mouth, and a sob escaped from her lips.

“Please. My baby. Please get off me,” she begged.

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