22. Samuel
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Samuel
“You look tired,” Mom commented over her freshly Brewed Bean coffee.
I huffed a quiet laugh, reaching across the table for my own coffee. “Good morning to you, too.”
She gave me a knowing look, the kind only a mother could pull off. “Long night?”
I took a sip of the dark roast before answering. “Not really.”
“Mmhmm.” She set down her spoon and rested her chin on her hand. “You thinking about her?”
I stilled, but only for a second.
Of course, she knew.
There was no hiding anything from Alicia Thompson.
She’d raised me on her own, worked her ass off to make sure I had everything I needed, and somehow still managed to be involved in every part of my life.
I sighed, leaning back in my chair. “Yeah. I am.”
She smiled, but it wasn’t teasing. It was warm, patient. “So there really is something there with Sadie, then? Is that not complicated, with her working for you?”
I sighed.
That wasn’t the only thing complicating matters.
I nodded. “It’s… well, yeah, I guess so.”
Mom hummed like that didn’t surprise her. “I see.”
I exhaled, running a hand through my hair. “She’s been through a lot. And I get the feeling she doesn’t let people in easily. But when she does…”
I trailed off, trying to put it into words. Mom watched me, waiting.
“She’s real ,” I finally said. “She doesn’t pretend to be something she’s not. She challenges me. Makes me think. And she’s tough, but sometimes I catch these little glimpses of something softer, like she wants to let go but doesn’t know how.”
Mom’s expression softened. “That sounds like a challenge for you… in a good way.”
I let out a breathy chuckle. “Yeah. But I’m not the only one who thinks that.”
Her lips twitched. “Ah. Now we’re getting to the real issue.”
I gave her a look. “Mom.”
She laughed, taking a sip of her coffee. “Samuel, come on, I know you. I know the other guys as well.”
I smirked. “That obvious, huh?”
She tilted her head. “You tell me. How do you feel about it?”
The answer wasn’t simple.
“I want her,” I confessed. “But I can’t ignore the fact that Kai and Adam do too. And she… she likes all of us.”
Mom considered my words, tapping a finger against the rim of her mug. “And how does that make you feel?”
I let out a slow breath, staring down at my coffee. “Honestly? I don’t know. All I know is that this is nothing like it was with Penelope.”
“How?” she prompted.
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table. “With Penelope, it always felt like we were trying to hold onto something that was slipping through our fingers. Like we had to convince her that what we had was worth it.”
Mom nodded, her gaze steady. “And with Sadie?”
I exhaled, shaking my head. “It’s not like that.
She’s not running. At least, not yet. And I don’t think it’s because she doesn’t care…
I think it’s because of her life. Of her parents dying when she was young, and maybe never really feeling like she had a home.
It kinda feels like she might be bracing for something to go wrong. ”
Mom hummed, taking another sip of her coffee. “Sounds like someone else I know.”
I huffed a quiet laugh. “Yeah, yeah.”
She smiled, but I could see the wheels turning behind her eyes. “And you trust Adam and Kai?”
I nodded without hesitation. “Of course I do. They’re my brothers in every way that matters.”
Mom tilted her head. “So what’s really stopping you?”
I opened my mouth, then closed it again.
Because I wasn’t sure.
With Penelope, there had been jealousy, sure, but mostly there had been doubt.
We weren’t enough for her. Or maybe she wasn’t enough for us.
Either way, it had fallen apart before it could ever truly come together.
But Sadie? She wasn’t a repeat of the past.
She was something else entirely.
“I just don’t want to mess this up,” I admitted. “Not with her. Not with them.”
Mom reached across the table, squeezing my hand. “Then don’t.”
I let out a quiet breath, looking at her.
It sounded so simple.
And yet, nothing about Sadie Collins was simple.
The lunch rush had died down, but The Foundry still buzzed with the usual hum of conversation.
I wiped my hands on a towel, taking a moment to breathe before the next wave of customers rolled in.
And then, like clockwork, my focus drifted to her.
Sadie was at the counter, taking an order with a polite smile, but something about her seemed… off.
She was paler than usual, her movements just a little slower, her fingers tightening around the edge of the counter when she thought no one was looking. More than once, I caught her pressing a hand to her stomach like she was trying to steady herself.
I frowned.
That wasn’t like her.
I waited until the customer walked away before stepping behind the counter, close enough that she could hear me over the sound of the espresso machine.
“You good?”
Sadie startled slightly, like she hadn’t noticed me there, then quickly plastered on a small, forced smile. “Yeah. Just tired.”
I studied her, not buying it for a second. “You sure?”
She nodded, too quickly. “Mmhmm.” Then, as if to change the subject, she lifted an eyebrow. “What, are you worried about me?”
I huffed a quiet laugh. “Yeah. I am.”
Surprise flickered across her face. She glanced away, gripping the rag in her hand a little too tightly. “I’m fine, Samuel.”
I recognized a brush-off when I heard one.
And I didn’t push. Not yet…
The kitchen was a mess of movement by mid-afternoon. Kai putting the finishing touches on a batch of pastries, Adam grilling up something that smelled incredible, and me prepping for the festival.
But my focus kept slipping.
Sadie was still dragging.
I’d caught her nearly dropping a glass earlier, her hands trembling slightly before she steadied herself.
She’d tried to play it off, but I saw it.
And I wasn’t the only one.
I glanced at Adam, who was eyeing her through the pass, his usual easygoing expression tight with concern. Kai, who normally buried himself in work, kept stealing glances toward her, his jaw clenched like he was barely keeping himself from saying what he really wanted to.
Finally, I set down my knife and exhaled. “We need to do something.”
Kai stilled. “For what?”
I gave him a flat look. “For Sadie . She’s not okay.”
Adam rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I caught that too. She’s barely eaten today.”
Kai’s fingers tapped against the counter in thought. “And if we ask her, she’ll just say she’s fine.”
“Exactly.” I crossed my arms. “So we don’t ask. We just do .”
Adam smirked. “I like it. What’s the plan?”
“I don’t know. But I think she deserves something nice, don’t you?”
We all turned to look at her, and this had to be the palest I’d ever seen her.
I strode toward her just as she reached for a tray of drinks.
“Sadie.” Her name came out harder than I meant it to, but I didn’t care. “You need to sit down.”
She sighed, exhaustion flickering in her expression, but still, she tried to shake it off. “Samuel, I’m fine?—”
“You’re not,” I cut in, stepping closer. “You haven’t been fine all day. You need to rest.”
“I don’t have time to?—”
She didn’t get to finish that sentence.
Because the second she tried to take another step, her knees buckled. And I barely caught her before she hit the floor.
Everything slowed.
I heard Adam curse. I heard Kai’s sharp inhale, followed by the scrape of a chair as he shoved it aside to reach us.
But all I could focus on was the way Sadie’s body went limp in my arms.
Her head lolled slightly against my chest, her face ashen, breath shallow.
“Sadie.” My voice was rough, panic clawing at my throat. “Hey. Hey . Wake up.”
She didn’t respond.
My heart slammed against my ribs as I lowered her carefully to the ground, cupping the back of her head, tilting her face toward me.
“Adam… call someone. Now.”
Adam was already on it, phone pressed to his ear as he barked into it. “We need an ambulance at The Foundry… our staff member has just passed out…”
Kai knelt beside me, his hands hovering over her like he wanted to do something, anything, but didn’t know where to start.
“Shit,” he muttered, his voice raw. “Shit, shit?—”
My grip on her tightened. “Sadie. Come on, darlin’. Open your eyes.”
Nothing.
Fear like I hadn’t felt in years, curled in my gut, suffocating.
I wasn’t a man who panicked. I’d been through too much, seen too much to let fear rule me.
But this was different.
Because it was her .
And she wasn’t supposed to be this still.
Eventually, the front door slammed open.
A blur of voices.
A rush of movement.
Then, paramedics were there, pushing through the crowd, barking orders as they took over.
I barely registered the words… something about vitals, dehydration, low blood sugar.
I just knew that in the span of minutes, they had her on a stretcher, and I was gripping her hand like a lifeline as they wheeled her toward the ambulance.
Adam and Kai were right there beside me, grim-faced and silent.
But when the paramedics tried to move me aside, I growled, “I’m coming with her.”
They didn’t argue.
I climbed into the ambulance, not giving a damn that my hands were shaking.
Because right now, nothing mattered except the girl lying unconscious in front of me.