Chapter 5
Five
E vie drove into Bell Ridge early that Saturday morning. It was her first chance to check out the sleepy little town. And she was curious to see if she could meet some of Sam’s friends. Daisy had invited her to stop by her booth at the farmer’s market, and there was no way Evie could resist.
So there she was, strolling down Main Street with her canvas bag and a few dollars in her purse in search of her very first Texas treasure. Her eyes widened as she took in the number of booths lining the street. It was impressive, and slightly overwhelming.
She strolled and enjoyed looking at the trinkets, taking her time at one booth that had precious handmade blankets and sleeper outfits. She’d definitely need to go back and buy a few for the baby.
“Evie!” Hearing her name startled her. But as soon as she turned around, her eyes caught Daisy waving wildly at her, Sunny strapped in an adorable sunflower covered carrier on her chest. She made her way across the busy street.
“I’m so glad you made it!” Daisy gave her a side hug while Sunny giggled as Evie tickled her feet.
“Me too. This market is incredible.”
“It’s really grown over the last few years. Oh,” Daisy turned, looking at the man standing in her booth. “Honey, come here. I want you to meet Evie.”
“Evie, this is my husband, Hank. He’s the Sheriff here in Clarence County.”
“Nice to meet you, Evie.” Hank extended his hand out and she shook it. “If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to come over to the farm.”
“Thank you.”
“So, who have you met on your adventures this morning?”
“Oh, well I had a really nice chat with an older woman at the bookstore. And there was a really nice teen who helped me check out with my groceries.”
“Meaning, you haven’t really met anyone?”
“Yeah,” she laughed nervously.
“Okay, time to introduce you around.” Daisy hooked her arm through Evie’s and started walking away from her booth. “You’ve got it from here, Sheriff.”
“Sure thing, Sunshine.”
Evie assumed they would stroll a bit before stopping, which is why she tripped over her own feet when Daisy stopped at the very next booth. She immediately recognized the logo: A large “R” surrounded by two circles. The Red River Ranch brand.
“Abby! I’ve got someone I want you to meet.”
Evie watched as a little girl, probably four or five years old, bounded out from behind the table. Sam’s sister was handing cash back to a customer, but never took her eyes off the little girl. It had to be her daughter. They both had the same bright smile .
“Katy. Wait for me, please.” Abby rounded the table and wiped her hands on her apron.
“Sorry, Mommy. I wanted to say hi to Aunt Daisy and Sunny!” Katy must have finally registered Evie standing there, because her eyes dropped to Evie’s belly and she squealed in delight. “Is there a baby in your tummy?!”
Before Evie could answer, Abby knelt down and turned her daughter to face her.
“Katy, that’s not something we ask people, okay?”
“But her tummy looks just like Aunt Grace’s, and she has a baby in there.”
“Bodies can come in all different shapes and sizes. It doesn’t always mean there is a baby.” Abby stood back up, extending her hand out to Evie. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay. I love being pregnant and I don’t mind that I look the part.” Evie smoothed her hand down over her belly. “Hi Katy, I’m Evie. I work with your Uncle Sam. And you were right, there is a baby in my belly.”
“Can I say hi to her?”
“I’m sure she’d love that.”
The little girl bounced over and placed both her hands on Evie’s tummy.
“Hello in there! When you come out of your mommy, do you want to be my friend?”
Evie’s heart melted. “I’m sure she would love to be your friend.”
“You’re having a girl?” Abby asked.
She nodded. “I don’t have her name picked out or anything. I’ve just been calling her Jellybean this whole time.”
“I LOVE jelly beans!” Katy giggled.
“You guys going to stop into Sprinkles before you head home?” Daisy asked.
“We can try to. Depends on what time I get everything packed up here. John promised me we would go over more wedding details this afternoon. I’m convinced he’s not going to be done with the wiring and AC install for the barn in time, but he swears he will be.”
“Do you want to try something else?” Emma, the incredibly sweet and very enthusiastic owner of Sprinkles, placed down another plate of treats in front of Evie.
“I couldn’t eat another bite, I swear. Everything is so delicious, but I’m afraid if I eat something else, I might burst.”
Emma laughed. “Sorry, I tend to go overboard when trying to feed my friends. I’ll box these up and you can take them back to share with Sam.”
“Oh, I don’t think that will happen. But I’d love to buy some and take them back with me.”
Emma gave her a questioning look, but seemed to think better of what she was about to ask. “No payment necessary for friends. It’s just one of the amazing perks of putting up with me.”
“I’d take another cookie.” Jackson, who she learned was a local firefighter and married to Daisy’s cousin, Grace, said as he reached over to the plate. Emma slapped his hand away.
“Sorry, handsome. Can’t have you stealing from a pregnant lady. I’ll make sure Grace gets a to-go box too.”
A man in a dark blue three piece suit cleared his throat as he walked up to Emma.
“Sprinkles. I know I did not just hear you call another man ‘handsome’.”
“You know you did. Knock it off. Evie, this is my fiance, Sebastian and our daughter, Addie, is the cutie pie with the ballerina bun sitting over on that stool.”
Evie wiped her hands on the napkin in front of her, praying she didn’t have any frosting on her face. She stood, holding out her hand.
“Oh, Mr. Montgomery. It’s so nice to finally meet you. Thank you for covering my salary at the Red River Ranch.”
“It’s my pleasure, Evie. And please, feel free to call me Seb. Everyone else around here does.”
“Besides, I like being the only one to call him ‘Mr. Montgomery’.” Emma kissed his cheek and Evie watched their eyes meet. Oh yes, those two were very, very much in love.
“Alright, lovebirds,” Daisy laughed. “Let’s not overwhelm Evie on her first trip into town.”
“I think that ship probably sailed for her the minute she walked over to your booth.” Grace laughed.
“Hi, furry baby. What are you doing out here by yourself?”
Evie bent down to pet Shep and Sam had to stop himself from laughing. He had a feeling she hadn’t noticed him standing by his truck, not that he minded. It gave him the perfect opportunity to study her. And he wasn’t ashamed to admit that’s exactly what he was doing.
“Where’s your daddy? I can’t imagine that he let you be out here all by yourself.” Evie scooped Shep up into her arms and started looking towards the farmhouse.
“He wasn’t out on his own.” Sam pushed off the truck and stalked towards her.
“Oh lord! You were standing there the whole time?”
“Yep.”
“Well, here. Take this little cutie. I’ve got some treasures from the farmer’s market I need to get upstairs.”
“That’s where you were all day?”
“Keeping tabs on me?” she sassed back.
“Nope. ”
“Right. Well, I saw Daisy, and met your sister and niece. Not that you need to know this, but we went to Sprinkles and I got to meet Jackson and Grace and their little boy. I even got to thank my boss for the opportunity to work here. He was very nice. In fact, everyone was so nice to me. It’s hard to believe you fit in with them.”
Ouch.
Ignoring the dig as best he could because he knew he deserved it, Sam took Shep out of Evie’s arms and set him down on the ground.
“You need any help?” he asked.
Her hair flipped over her shoulder and she smiled back at him.
“I’m good. I’ve been bringing in groceries by myself my entire adult life. I think I can handle some artisan pickles and the lemon-blueberry muffins I got from Emma.”
He watched as she grabbed two bags out of the back seat, stood up and hit the door with her hip to close it. The rust bucket protested with a loud squeak and Sam groaned.
“That car’s a piece of shit and you shouldn’t be driving it around here.”
“Opal is perfectly fine. She got me here all the way from Wisconsin. I’m sure she’ll last a little while longer.”
“That’s what you want for your baby? Something that will last just a little while longer?”
“Can I help you with something, Sam? You do actually know today is my day off, right? So what I do with my time is my own concern, including where I drive my car.”
“I know what day it is. I was just getting some air and then I heard the death rattle coming towards the ranch. Figured I better watch and make sure you made it back in one piece.”
“You weren’t just out walking Shep?” Her eyes sparkled as she raised one eyebrow. “You were making sure I made it back to the ranch safe? ”
“That’s not what I said.”
“Careful, Cowboy. I might start to think you actually care about me.”
Cowboy. Holy shit. The way she said that had his pulse racing.
“The only thing I care about is if one of my employees is doing something dangerous on the ranch that could lead to them suing me.”
“Hm. I’m not an employee today. On the weekends, this is just my home. So, thank you.”
“What?”
“Thank you. For waiting out here to make sure I made it back safe. For worrying about me. I haven’t had someone do that for me in a very long time.”
“I don’t?—”
“I’ll see you in the office Monday morning, Sam.” She left him standing with his mouth wide open, heartbeat still thundering wildly in his ears.
It wasn’t Monday morning when he next saw Evie. No. It was nearly dawn the next morning and Sam hadn’t slept a wink, wondering how she so easily got under his skin.
He’d been taking the weekends off since everything happened with his health. It hadn’t really been his choice. Both his mother and sister had hounded him about working less and resting more, so there he was, spending another weekend twiddling his thumbs, running after a goddamn puppy that he didn’t want.
They’d walked the length of the closest field twice, Shep making part of the journey in his arms because his little puppy legs tired easily, although no one would know that now looking at the way the dopey dog bounded in front of him .
No matter how much he tried to get his mind to focus on anything else, it kept drifting right back to Evie. He needed to do something about that damn car of hers. It had barely made the trip back from Bell Ridge. And yes, he’d known exactly where she was traveling back from before she even divulged the information. She was the talk of the town, and all of his friends already loved her.
His sister had called, gushing about how sweet she was and how Katy liked her right away. Daisy sent a text inviting them both to dinner in a few days. She was sliding right into every part of his life, and as much as he tried to only see the extra worry she brought to his doorstep, to only focus on the fact that she’d shown up pregnant and thrown his protective heart into overdrive, he couldn’t.
She was so easy to talk to. Every question she asked was like a balm to his soul. Evie didn’t treat him with kid gloves. She didn’t have a reason to. He was just a cranky cowboy, someone who wanted her off his ranch as fast as possible.
But even after just a few days, Sam knew that wasn’t the truth anymore. She’d organized the office in a whirlwind, getting more done in an eight hour day than he’d seen some people do over months. Hell, he certainly could have spent the rest of the year trying to set up a system like Evie had put into place the very first morning she started working.
He hated to admit it, but he was in awe of her. There was no way he’d be winning their bet. Evelyn Williams was there to stay.
“Shep!” The damn dog had run clear across the field, not caring at all that Sam was ordering him to stop. Maybe Abby was right. He needed obedience classes.
Sam’s eyes followed the pup’s trail across the long grass and up to the barn. His heart jumped into his throat. Evie was out on the lawn, skin tight yoga pants molded to her body, a sports bra exposing more of her delicious peach skin than any man deserved to see. His blood pressure spiked thinking about Zeke or Derrick stumbling upon the scene in front of him.
What the hell was she thinking doing yoga out on his lawn half naked? Sam watched, mesmerized by her fluid movements. She was so fucking graceful. Her belly was swollen, but it didn’t seem to slow her down any. Evie tucked her right leg up onto her left thigh. She swayed, her eyes remaining closed, but it was enough to make Sam start running across the field.
He watched in horror as Shep finally made his way to her mat, dancing around the one foot Evie had on the ground. Her eyes popped open and her arms began to circle wildly in the air as she tried to find her balance.
Sam didn’t stop running, his heart pounding in his ears.
“Evie!”
Her right foot slid down her leg and landed back on the ground. Thank fuck. She seemed completely fine, smiling down at the fluff ball currently clawing at her legs.
He reached her just as she was standing back up from giving Shep belly rubs. The little traitor looked completely and irrevocably in love with Evie.
“Oops.” Evie’s eyes went wide as she reached out for him. Her eyelids fluttered shut as the flush he’d been admiring on her face drained at an alarming rate.
Sam’s arms flew out, grabbing onto her as she swayed.
“You okay?”
“Mhm.” She straightened in his arms, but was still a little too pale for his liking.
“You need to sit down. You shouldn’t be doing all that in your condition.”
“Playing with your dog and a little light stretching? This type of yoga is safe during pregnancy, Cowboy. It’s just that I’m not used to the change in blood volume and sometimes it makes me a little dizzy. I promise, you can let go now. I’m okay. ”
“If you’re sure?” She nodded, and his hands fell back down to his sides. “Come on, Shep. Let’s leave Evie to get back to her stretching.”
Sam tucked his head down, whistling to get the puppy’s attention when he whimpered at Evie’s feet.
“He can stay with me for a little bit. I’m happy to walk him up to the house when I’m done.”
“No. He needs to learn his place. I told him to come. Now, he needs to follow me.”
He watched as Evie scooped the stubborn puppy up, snuggling her face right into his fur. She gave Shep one more tickle on his belly before unceremoniously plopping the dog down into his arms. “There you go. Have a nice day, Sam.”
His feet stomped across the grass as he told himself that being gruff with Evie was for the best. But as soon as he started climbing the steps to the house, his eyes drifted back to where her mat was laid out on the lawn, just to make sure she was safe.