Chapter 28
"Sammy!" they heard the young child's cry and both Sam and Jake turned to see Cody come towards them. Their father was behind him, smiling at the couple at the table.
"Hey little man," Sam greeted her younger brother. He had turned eight around Christmas.
"Hi Jake," Cody greeted him as he sat down at their table.
"Hi Cody," Jake returned. He looked up at Wyatt. "Wyatt."
"Jake," Wyatt smiled at his daughter's husband before giving Sam a hug. "You don't mind if we join you?"
"Of course not," Sam told him as she smiled at her brother.
"I want an ice cream like Sammy's," Cody told Dad.
"That's a pretty big ice cream, Cody," Dad warned him. "How about a cone like Jake's?"
Cody looked at Jake's cone while Jake held it out briefly for Cody to see it. Cody looked back at Sam's sundae and Sam almost laughed.
"Okay," Cody finally agreed, surprising everyone at the table.
Dad ordered Cody a chocolate cone when Clara came over to take their order. He ordered a piece of pineapple upside down cake for himself and a cup of coffee.
"You two have birthing classes tonight?" Wyatt asked. He noticed that Jake paled and he bit back a smile.
"Yes," Sam nodded as she continued to eat her sundae. She offered Cody a bite and her brother leaned forward to take it off the spoon.
"I remember them with Brynna," Dad murmured, glancing at Jake.
Jake met his eyes and the two men exchanged much in that look. Neither one had enjoyed the classes, but did it for their wives.
Clara brought over Cody's cone and Wyatt's cake and then left them again.
"Want a lick, Sam?" Cody asked her, willing to share since she had shared her sundae.
Sam leaned forward and took a lick of Cody's cone. Jake almost groaned aloud. Even licking a kid's ice cream cone caused him to want her badly. She had completely bewitched him.
She licked a tiny bit of chocolate from her lip.
"Oh that's good," Sam moaned.
Jake groaned under his breath and quickly engaged Wyatt in conversation about how the calving was going on River Bend.
"Pretty well," Wyatt answered. "We've lost a minimal of cattle this spring."
"Us too," Jake nodded. "We've brought in a new bull and his calves seem to be extremely strong."
"Sam's said that," Wyatt smiled at his daughter. "I may be interested in turning out some of my heifers with that bull for next year."
"Not a problem," Jake finished his cone and wiped his hands on a napkin. He felt Sam's hand on his thigh and he reached under the table to grasp it. He squeezed it gently. They exchanged a soft look before Sam continued to eat her sundae.
"I got to see a calf born today," Cody told Sam.
"Yeah?" Sam smiled at her brother.
"It was so cool," Cody went on. "I bet I could help you have your baby too."
Sam choked. Jake's mouth twitched and Dad chuckled.
"Having a baby isn't exactly like having a calf, Cody," Dad finally said.
Cody frowned.
"I don't see why not," he responded.
"Well for one thing, we can't leave Sam alone to have her baby on the range," Jake explained and Sam knew he was finding way too much humor in all of this.
"Though I'm sure some wish I could," Sam countered and Jake gave her a lop-sided grin. She wiped her hands after finishing her sundae.
Wyatt watched the byplay between the two, happy that his daughter and Jake had come to love each other. Though he knew how devastated she had been when Bryan had died, he was thrilled that it had been Jake that she had turned to. Jake was a good man, as far as Wyatt was concerned and he had always thought the two of them would end up together. He had been a bit surprised when it had been Bryan instead.
"Well we should get home," Dad told them once Cody was finished. "We came into town to pick up some chicken feed. Found out we were out just a bit ago."
Sam and Jake got up also and the four of them went outside after paying their bills.
"Take care of yourself, honey," Dad said, giving Sam a hug. Wyatt shook Jake's hand before he and Cody got into the truck and headed for River Bend.
Sam leaned into Jake and his arm came around her briefly. She was surprised when she felt his lips touch her temple.
