Chapter 14
Fourteen
“ I t’s quiet tonight.” Evie melted as Sam held the door open for her, pressing his hand into the small of her back as she walked into Sprinkles. They’d already taken a walk around the park in town, with Sam showing her his favorite places and sharing all the memories he had at each spot. He’d held onto her hand the entire time. It did nothing to settle the butterflies fluttering around in her stomach.
“Hey, Sam.” The cute woman behind the register smiled at him. She had to be in her early twenties. All bright smiles, flat stomach. Evie twisted her bracelet a few times before she placed her hands over her belly.
“Hey, Mel,” Sam answered. “I know it’s close to closing time, we won’t be too long.”
Evie quirked an eyebrow up at him.
“No worries. Do you already know what you want, or do you want to take a second to look in the case?”
Sam looked at Evie. “I definitely want to look in the case,” she answered, already drooling over the cinnamon buns and lemon bars she could see .
“Okay. Just let me know what you want after you’re done browsing.”
Sam’s hand slid from Evie’s back to her waist, protectively tucking her into his side.
“I’m sad we aren’t able to say hi to Emma,” Evie confessed.
“I planned it that way.”
She looked down in the display case, hoping her hurt at his words wouldn’t be obvious. “Why? You didn’t want your friends to know you took me out on a date?”
“What? No! No, that’s not it at all, I swear.” Sam squeezed her hip. “Emma means well, but she can be a bit overwhelming in her enthusiasm. I wasn’t sure if you were ready for all that.”
“Oh.” It was probably for the best. She was sure he’d eventually remember she came with a pretty big responsibility growing in her womb. It was fun to flirt and steal kisses, but when it came time to be up all night and change dirty diapers, Evie knew it would all change.
“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?”
“Nothing. Just can’t pick between the cinnamon roll or the lemon bars. It’s a very serious decision.”
Sam laughed. “Well, how about this? We get one of each.”
“No. With Daisy’s brownies in my apartment, I shouldn’t even be splurging for one of those, let alone both.”
“Mel?” Sam called over the counter.
“You guys ready?”
“Yep. Can we get a lemon bar, a cinnamon roll, and two pumpkin spice apple ciders?”
“Of course. Em will be happy to know someone is using the secret menu.”
“Secret menu?” Evie asked.
“Emma keeps things on hand that we all really love. For me, it’s pumpkin spice flavoring. I normally get the latte, but I know you can’t have caffeine.” His fingers moved from her hip to brush over the swell of Jellybean.
“And you aren’t hungry?”
“Oh, I’m starving. I just have a few more tricks up my sleeves for tonight.”
Sam and Evie both gave their thanks as they walked out of the bakery.
“I can’t believe how warm it is, and it’s not even summer yet.”
“Yeah. I think John and Abby are a little nuts for having their wedding at the hottest point of summer, but she loves that barn in their backyard, and he promised her the renovations would be finished in time for the wedding.”
“It’s going to be beautiful. And so special that they are getting married at their house.”
Sam set their order on the hood of his truck, swinging open Evie’s door. He held his hand out and gave the most incredible smile, complete with matching dimples. God, she was a fool for those damn dimples.
“Your chariot awaits, Cinderella.”
Sam’s hand slid to the small of her back, and then to her hips, helping her get just an extra boost from her own legs pushing her up into the cab.
He grabbed her seat belt and clicked it into place, running his fingers along the bottom of the belt to make sure it sat below the baby. How on earth had he known that was important? Maybe he saw her adjust it on the way into town…
“Good. Now my girls are safe.” Sam pressed a kiss to Evie’s cheek and jumped down, closing her door gently before getting into the driver’s seat.
“Where to now, Cowboy?”
“That, Bluebell, is classified information.”
Sam tried to keep his focus on the road, but the way Evie was sitting, with her back completely rigid and her fingers running along the edge of her dress, had him worried about what was going through her mind.
He flipped on the blinker, turning back onto the ranch. But when it came time to pull in next to the barn, he didn’t stop.
“Where are we going?” He watched as her head turned, tracking the barn as they drove further onto the ranch.
“I told you, I planned something else for our date.”
“Once we started driving home, I thought you were just joking.”
Home. He fucking loved hearing her say that.
She sat up taller in her seat, looking out the window. “We’re going someplace on the ranch?”
“My favorite place. It’s the perfect spot to look up at the stars on a warm, clear night like tonight.”
Evie pressed her hand to her chest as Sam’s grip on her thigh tightened.
“You okay?” he asked, her gaze making him feel all sorts of things he should probably put a lid on.
“Fine. It’s just such a romantic idea and my hormones are all over the place.” She huffed out a small laugh as she swiped at her eyes.
“I’m not gonna lie, Evie. I hope this isn’t the only time you and I come out here and have a date like this.”
“How many girls have you brought out to your favorite spot?”
His eyes darted to hers and then back onto the dirt road.
“It’s okay,” she said. “It’s like the most romantic idea for a date. Although you didn’t have to take me into town first. We could have just done this all along.”
“First, I’ve never taken anyone out to this spot. Not a friend. Not a date. It’s very special to me. And second, I wanted to share my hometown with you, but I also wanted people to see exactly whose hand I was holding.”
They drove on the old dirt road for a few more minutes, until Sam pulled off in an open field.
“Give me two minutes to get everything set up and then I’ll come get you.”
“Okay.”
Sam moved to the back of his truck, dropping the tailgate and grabbing the small set of stairs he’d built for just this occasion. There was no way he was going to have Evie climbing into the bed of his truck without making sure she had a safe way up and down.
He got to work opening the tote he’d stashed away that afternoon. A thick blanket went down over the metal, then several pillows. He knew how much Evie’s back had been bothering her lately. Once those were out, he grabbed the cooler and set it next to where he would sit.
“I can’t believe how many stars we can see out here. It’s so beautiful.” Evie was still in awe at the view in front of her. It was clear the second she sat down in the bed of the truck why that spot was Sam’s favorite.
“Yeah, the view really is stunning.”
Her eyes drifted down to his. He wasn’t looking at the sky. He was looking right at her. Those damn butterflies took flight again in her stomach.
So much of the night reminded Evie of the time she would spend out in the woods, camping with her parents as a kid. The warm breeze, the crickets in the distance, the stars.
“Will you tell me more about your parents?” Sam asked as he wrapped his arm around her back. She sank into his side.
“Are you reading my mind? ”
“No. Were you thinking about them?”
“I was. We used to go camping when I was little. My favorite part was when my dad would build a campfire under the stars. It felt like the longest nights, sitting out with them, making s’mores and singing songs together. I never knew why we stopped going when I was little until after they died.”
“Why did they stop?”
“I told you they died in a plane crash, right?”
“Yes.”
She sighed. “My mom told me they were taking a friend’s small plane for a weekend away. I was a senior in high school and they trusted me to be home alone. I begged them not to go. There was a storm coming through, but they promised me they were heading out well in front of it.”
“But they weren’t?”
“No. They flew into it. I still don’t know all the details. I never wanted anyone to explain it to me, it was all too painful. But their plane had to make an emergency landing on the highway. Scott and Joanne Williams just…. ceased to exist after that moment.”
“I’m so sorry, Bluebell.”
“I don’t feel like I ever really got to grieve them being gone. I’ve been so angry with them since it happened. So angry about everything they held back from me.”
“What did they hide?”
“My dad… he was sick. For years before he died. That’s why our camping trips stopped. He was getting treatments and they never told me.”
Sam pressed a kiss into her hair. “They weren’t flying for a weekend away. They were going for your dad’s treatments.”
“Exactly.” Evie cleared her throat, trying to push away the rush of emotions barreling towards her. Her hand drifted to her belly, and she rubbed tiny circles over the baby. “I yelled at them. Told them they were selfish. I told them… ”
“Told them what, sweetheart?”
“That they didn’t love me. That I didn’t love them. I never got to apologize.”
“Evie, I’m sure?—”
“Oh, god,” she groaned. “I didn't mean to turn our beautiful date into a sob fest. It’s fine. I let it go a long time ago.” She reached over and grabbed her cup of apple cider. “Will you tell me about your dad? Now that I’ve fully traumatized you?”
“Hey. I’m glad you shared that with me.” Sam reached around to the cooler at his side. “Are you still hungry?”
“I don’t think I could eat another bite after finishing that lemon bar,” she laughed.
“I have pickles.” His dimples flashed as he winked at her.
“You brought pickles in your cooler?”
“I wasn’t sure how long we’d be out here, and I didn’t want you to be hungry. I also made peanut butter sandwiches and brought sliced onions. I know that’s on the top of your atrocious cravings list.”
Her hand playfully whacked against his chest before she could stop herself.
“Now that you said there are pickles in there, I won’t be able to stop thinking about them. Hand it over, Cowboy.”
Sam chuckled as he rummaged around in the cooler. Her mouth watered as he pulled out three different containers, all filled to the brim with pickle slices.
“What is all this?”
She could have sworn a faint blush dusted Sam’s cheeks.
“I didn’t know what kind would be best. So, I have a few choices. There are sweet pickles, garlic dill pickles, and this last container,” he popped the lid off and smiled. “These are spicy pickles. They’re my favorite, but I wasn’t sure if they would set off any indigestion.”
“This is too much, Sam.”
“I told you, I have a lot of making up to do.”
“Consider your penance paid off with these pickles.” Evie laughed as Sam plucked a slice from the sweet pickle container and fed it to her. “Oh god. Those are so good!”
“So, you want to know about my dad?”
Evie nodded.
“He was the best. Honestly, the hardest working man I ever knew. Made taking care of the ranch seem so easy. He was the kind of man that could always be trusted to help you out in a time of need.”
Evie bumped her shoulder against Sam’s. “Sounds like another cowboy I know.”
“I think that’s the quality I most admired about my dad growing up. Someone would call the house and my mom would run out to the porch yelling ‘Joel! So-and-so needs your help!’ and he would just drop what he was doing and go.”
“You’ve stepped right into his footprints, Sam. All of your friends would say the exact same thing about you.”
“I’m just trying to be a good man.”
“You are a good man. No ‘trying’ about it.”
He shook his head. “The fact that you can say that with a straight face after the way I treated you…”
Evie sat up, reaching to press the covers back onto the pickles. She scooped up the containers and reached over Sam to tuck them away.
“Are you… do you want to go back?”
“No.” She let one leg drape over his lap, pressing her hands firmly against his chest as she rolled to sit on top of him.
“Evie?”
“You don’t believe me that I’ve forgiven you. I’m going to show you that I have.”
Her lips pressed against his. She felt his hands thread through her hair as he took control. He opened to her as her fingers scratched down his neck and shoulders .
Her belly pressed firmly against his stomach, and Jellybean picked that exact moment to let them both know she was awake. Sam broke away from this kiss, his eyes wide as he looked down at her bump.
“Was that…”
“My daughter, interrupting the moment? Yes.” Evie laughed.
His hand hovered above her shirt. “Can I feel her moving again? Would that be okay?”
She grabbed his hand and placed it over where she’d last felt Jellybean roll. “Of course. Here.”
They waited for a moment, eyes locked together, until the baby gave another strong kick.
“I think she approves of the pickles,” Sam joked.
“I think so, too.”