Chapter 26
Twenty-Six
E vie loved the Coopers’ ranch more than she ever thought possible. The last few weeks, following her attack, had been, well she hated to even say it, but they’d been really wonderful.
Sam and his mother had been doting on her so much that she had to constantly remind them that she was physically fine. Even Zeke and Derrick had been extra sweet to her. She was never without an escort, and while Sam normally walked down to the office with her in the morning, and stayed with her until it was time to go back up to the apartment at night, she occasionally had Abby, or Daisy, even Hank or John.
“Hey, Evie, you got a second?” Sam called as she walked back to the barn, pulling her from her thoughts.
“Of course.”
“I wanted to introduce you to Garrett Langdon. He was my dad’s roommate in college. The one who invested in the ranch.”
“The one who you haven’t seen since your father’s funeral?” she asked. Evie knew it was a bitchy thing to say, but she hurt for Sam and the loss of that potential relationship that could have helped him through his grief.
“I deserved that. Got caught up in my own feelings about losing Joel and forgot to make sure his family was okay.” Evie’s skin pebbled and the warm breeze turned to ice as it brushed over her. Something about the man standing in front of her was so familiar, but she couldn’t place it.
“Garrett came by to set some things right, and I’ve accepted his apology. There’s so much good going on in the family right now, I just don’t have it in me to hold a grudge.”
“You’re a good man, Samuel. Your father would be so proud.”
Was it his eyes? There was something sharp about them. Something that didn’t match the fond way he was speaking to Sam.
“Garrett, before I forget to do a proper introduction, this is Evelyn Williams, my office manager.” The introduction snapped Evie out of her introspection.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Langdon. Forgive me for my rude comment. I’m very protective over Sam, and the Coopers.” Evelyn extended her hand out for the man to shake. Instead, he gripped it gently, pulling it to his mouth and placing a delicate kiss onto her skin. The act was charming, but again, something uneasy settled in her stomach.
“No hard feelings at all. And the pleasure is all mine, Ms. Evelyn Williams. ”
Holy shit. A deep shiver ran down her spine. Evie knew that voice! Snatching her hand back as though she’d been bitten by a copperhead, she watched as the man’s lips turned up into an amused sneer. Her heart dropped into her stomach as the ground started to sway.
“Hey. Whoa, Bluebell. What’s wrong?” Sam placed one arm on her waist and his other on her arm in an attempt to steady her. She hated that he’d seen her reaction. While his body had come between her and Garrett, Evie could still see the man’s face, complete with smug smile, looking at her.
“What? Oh, nothing.” She brought her hand up to her heart, eyes still trained on Garrett. “I’m so sorry. I think it’s low blood sugar. This little one is probably just mad at me for missing breakfast this morning. I just need to head back to the office and get something to eat.”
Sam’s eyes crinkled as he questioned her without saying a word. Of course, he made her a giant breakfast like he did every morning, and watched her eat practically her entire weight in blueberry pancakes. But Garrett didn’t know that, and she needed to get away as fast as she could.
“Pregnancy is such a beautiful thing. Terrible shame, it's so tough on most women.”
“Like I said, I just need a little snack. It’s perfectly fine, and I am managing it well.” Her eyes moved back to Sam.
“We’ll walk back with you.” She hated the concern written all over his face, but the last thing she wanted was to lead Garrett to the office where all the paperwork she’d been looking over was laying out. He’d know, in no uncertain terms, that she hadn’t heeded his warning. That she was still looking into the money discrepancies.
“No. No, honestly. I’m fine. I’ll see you in the office once you’re done with Mr. Langdon.”
“Call me Garrett, Evie. Please. I plan on being at this ranch a lot in the future now that we are mending fences. No sense in us being so formal all the time.”
Evie glanced back at Sam. His eyes never left her, but he gave a curt nod.
As soon as she was dismissed from the conversation, Evie took off towards the barn. She used every ounce of restraint she possessed to stop her feet from running.
Her sandal caught on the threshold of the open door and her stomach lurched. She twisted, a last minute attempt at protecting the baby from the harsh impact that would jolt her body when she fell onto the floor. But that impact never happened.
Instead, a quiet “oomph” hit her ears as her eyes squeezed shut. Judging from the height and solid muscles that she fell into, Zeke had been refilling the feed box when she barreled through.
“Hey, Evie. Is everything okay?” Strong hands wrapped around her arms, steadying her before she fell any further towards the ground. Definitely Zeke. “You’re not looking so good.”
Her body shook. And not the cute goosebumps on a frosty night shake, but full on rattles that were so hard she thought her teeth might come clanging out of her head. It was no time for an adrenaline dump. Absolutely useless in this situation and all it was doing was making her more angry than she already was.
“C-can you h-help m-me back to the o-office?”
“Of course. Here, lean on me.” Zeke wrapped a steady arm around her back and led her to the office, where he helped her sit down on the couch.
“Do you want me to go get Sam?” He took his hat off, smoothing the long hair off of his face. His eyes were locked onto hers, wide with worry as he fiddled with the edge of his hat.
“No. Please don’t bother him. I-I’m okay.”
The last thing she wanted was Sam rushing in there before she could take a look at the records. There had to be something, anything, that pointed to Garrett. If there wasn’t, would Sam believe her? Would her word be enough to protect her from someone who was deeply entrenched in Sam’s life?
“Are you sure? You’re still shaking and you’re looking a bit pale. Here…” He grabbed her water bottle from the desk and handed it to her. “Drink some water. ”
“You don’t need to stay, Zeke, I just needed to get back to the office.” She took a sip of the water. Coolness momentarily relieved the ache building in her throat, but the sting of tears was still in her eyes, threatening to overwhelm her at any moment. She didn’t want anyone to see how freaked out she truly was. There was no time for that. Evie needed to find a way to tie Garrett Langdon to the missing money.
He’d seemed so smug. Sure he’d won.
I just bet he thinks he’s going to be on the ranch a lot in the future. Asshole.
Well, he sure as hell had underestimated her. And she would make sure that his mistake would come back to bite him in the butt.
“If you’re sure?” Zeke’s concern pulled her back from her building rage.
“Of course I am. Thank you for your help. Sorry to have been a bother.”
“You’re never a bother, Evie.” He tipped his cowboy hat towards her and ducked out of the room.
She sat, switching between taking sips of water and absentmindedly rubbing her hand over her belly for the next few minutes. Her mind was running a marathon, trying to think of anything she’d seen in the records that even pointed slightly to the devil standing in the driveway with Sam.
“Evie?” Sam’s soft voice was full of concern as he crouched down in front of her but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. He would know something was wrong if she looked at him, and she’d be safe to fall apart. But she didn’t want to fall apart. She wanted to be strong. She wanted to return to the happy bubble she’d been in not even an hour before. The fear from her attack was just starting to fade. Maybe he knew. Maybe that’s why he’d shown back up.
“Sweetheart, Zeke came and got me. What’s the matter? ”
Oh lord, her chest felt so tight as her breath sawed in and out of her chest.
“Evie, I’m worried to hell here. Please, tell me what’s going on. Are you not feeling well?” He swiped away a tear from her face before placing his hand over her belly. She took a breath and set her hand over his, sinking into the warmth and strength he was pouring into her. “Is Jellybean okay?”
“We’re okay.”
“What’s got you so upset then?”
Maybe she’d been wrong. Maybe his voice had only sounded enough like the intruder that it set off some sort of alarm in her brain and she overreacted. No. The way he looked at her, like he was enjoying seeing her recognize him, it had been eerie.
“I’m so angry, Sam.” She laughed, but there was no humor behind it. “I recognized him. His voice.”
“Who?”
“Garrett.”
“Okay.” Confusion splashed across his features. “How do you know him?”
“He was here last month.”
“He hasn’t been here in years, Evie. Since my father’s?—”
She grabbed onto his forearms, begging him to listen to what she was trying to tell him. “Since your father’s funeral. I know. I know you think that. But I know his voice. It’s seared into my memory. It’s the same voice I heard threatening to cut Jellybean out of my belly if I didn’t stop looking for the missing money.”
Sam blanched, finally understanding what she was telling him.
“A-are you sure?”
“Yes.”
In an instant, Sam’s strong arms were pulling Evie into his chest .
“He’ll never step foot on this ranch again, Baby. I promise you. He’ll never be back. I’ll call Hank and give him every piece of information I have. I’m sure he’ll look into it immediately.”
“You can’t! You can’t just turn him over to Hank for something we have no proof of him doing. He’s an investor here. We have to be smart or you could end up losing everything!”
“You think I fucking care about losing this ranch when he threatened to kill you and the baby? You’re more important than anything! If the ranch has to go to someone else after a hundred years, then so be it. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
“Don’t say that, Sam. I’m not more important than this land. It’s all you have left of your father. Sylvie’s told me a hundred times what this land means to you, to your family. I won’t be the reason it gets sold to some corporation, or folded into his property portfolio, or whatever the hell Garrett is playing at. I won’t be the reason you lose everything. We will just keep going like nothing happened.”
“No we won’t. It’s time to call Sebastian and ask about that forensic accountant.”