Page 89 of Samuel

“Evie…” he tried to hide his smile.

“It’s my favorite dress, Sam! Don’t laugh,” she barked.

“No, I’m not laughing. I’m just relieved. I thought something was really wrong.”

“Somethingisreally wrong! I don’t have anything comfortable to wear! All my pants are too tight, and I haven’t seen a single place in Bell Ridge to shop for maternity clothes.Am I just supposed to wear my bathrobe for the rest of my pregnancy? You want me to just be down in the barn flashing Zeke and Derrick every time they come in?”

A low growl rumbled through Sam’s chest.

“You won’t be wearing your robe to the office. Besides, you’re not working today. So let’s just do this.” Sam stood, offering Evie his hand. She took it, and the instant her hand slid into his, that warm feeling settled back into his chest. He dropped his hands to her waist, trying his best to not pay attention to the way her breasts perfectly filled out the lace bra she’d put on. He certainly wasn’t thinking about how delicious they’d tasted when he’d helped Evie with her, uh, frustrations in the barn.

“What are you doing?”

“Helping you out of this. Then I’m going to tuck you back into bed, bring you your breakfast, and you’re going to rest. You didn’t eat last night, there’s no way I’m letting you be up and about without getting some food in you first. And there’s no work for you today, so there’s no reason you even need to worry about getting dressed.”

“Sam, I need to?—”

The dress fell around her feet and his hand raised to gently run across the edge of the bruise on her cheek. “No arguments, Bluebell.”

He grabbed the throw blanket from the edge of her bed and wrapped it around her shoulders.

“I know you have to go. I know you don’t owe me anything.”

“But?”

“But… I really don’t want you to go.” The whispered confession hit him right in the chest. She clearly hadn’t taken him seriously when he said he wasn’t ever leaving her unprotected again. There would be times when he couldn’t be there, but he already had a plan in place to make sure someone was.

“Zeke and Derrick can handle the ranch duties again today. I need to stop down at the office and then run to the house, but I promise, Evie, you won’t be alone.”

“She might be back asleep, but if she is, you can just leave the clothes with me and I’ll let her know where they came from.”Sam’s voice drifted through her closed door. He’d brought someone back to her apartment with him.

Evie scrambled off the couch, running her fingers through her hair and praying that if she left it down, it would cover the darkening bruises on her face. There was no way that whoever was with him wouldn’t notice her split lip.

The door opened and Sam’s tight smile was the first thing she saw. Behind him, Abby stepped inside, her face full of regret. Daisy walked in right after her with an armful of clothes. What was going on?

“Bluebell. You should still be in bed.”

“Couldn’t sleep.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Needed to try and get some work done. Hi, Daisy. Abby.”

“Hi, Evie.” Daisy’s eyes went wide a second before she threw the clothes she’d been holding onto the sofa and ran towards Evie, arms outstretched.

“Did you tell them?” Evie whispered, terrified at the repercussions he may have caused.

“No. But I think you need to.”

Daisy’s fingers brushed over Evie’s face, tears welling in both women’s eyes.

“Hank is downstairs with Sunny. Sam wasn’t sure if you’d want him up here, and now I see why. Are you okay?”

Evie nodded, taking a step back to wrap her arms around herself. “I’m fine. There’s no need for you or anyone else to beworried.”

Daisy spun around, facing Sam. “Would your mom be willing to watch Sunny for a few minutes?”

“Absolutely.”

“Cowboy…”

“No, Evie.” Daisy stepped back shaking her head. “Hank and John need to be here. Whoever did that to you… it’s not okay. And we’re not letting them get away with it.”

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