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"What did you buy, Pa?" Joseph asked.
A twinkle appeared in Sam's eye. "It's a surprise."
"Surprise!" Becky shouted.
"What kind of surprise?" Nathan stabbed a piece of beef with his fork and shovelled it into his mouth.
"You'll see," Sam said secretively. "I think you'll like it."
Emma chuckled. "I think you're enjoying this as much as the children."
Sam's gaze met hers, and warmth spread through her. "I'm enjoying a lot of things these days."
Emma's heartbeat began to flutter, and heat suffused her. What exactly did he mean? Was it possible he was beginning to care for her? This wasn't in her plans, but then she hadn't planned on caring for him either. She hadn't planned on spending time fantasizing about kissing him, and what his hands would feel like on her skin.
She was only torturing herself. If he saw the scars she hid beneath her clothes, he would turn from her in disgust, just as Barclay had. Yes, he was kind and gentle, but he was still a man. And men weren't attracted to hideous women. As long as she remembered that, she wouldn't get hurt too badly.
"Let's go." Joseph bounded up, the chair scraping noisily along the floor.
Nathan joined him and the two of them raced out of the house.
"Wait! Me go too!" Becky shouted, climbing down from the chair and shouldering her way past Sam. The door slammed into the wall behind her.
Laughing, Sam picked up the oil lamp, then grabbed Emma's hand in his. "Come on. We don't want to miss this."
His heat seeped into Emma, warming her against the cool evening air. The calluses on his fingers were rough, yet the abrasion against the softness of her skin wasn't the least bit unpleasant. A tingle swept up her arm and deep into her insides.
He hadn't even noticed he was still holding her hand, she realized as she followed him out the door and across the yard.
Night had fallen, and stars twinkled from a clear sky. Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted, and crickets chirped in the nearby fields.
At the entrance to the barn, Sam paused, and the two of them watched the children inside. In the dim light, the boys couldn't see far into the building, and they slowly picked their way through it, searching for their surprise.
"Where the prize?" Emma heard Becky ask.
"Don't know," Nathan replied. "Must be here somewheres."
An unfamiliar noise came from the darkness at the other end of the barn. The boys stopped in their tracks, Becky right behind them. Nathan turned to Sam. "What's that?"
Sam's lips quirked, and he struggled to contain a grin. He shrugged. "Guess you boys'd better go see."
The boys took a few more cautious steps. Becky stayed behind, her fist clutched in Emma's skirt.
The noise grew louder. "What do you think it is, Joseph?" Nathan asked.
"Sounds like a dog or somethin'," Joseph answered. "But we don't got no dog."
Sam walked up behind them, holding the lantern aloft to give them some light. The boys noticed the crate - and the caramel coloured dog - at the exact same time.
"Wow!"
"Look!"
The boys raced to the crate and sank to their knees at the side. Reaching in, Joseph picked up the squirming bundle and brought it to rest on his lap. Nathan buried his face in the animal's fur. "Ain't he somethin', Joseph?"
"He sure is."
The puppy chose that moment to begin to lap Nathan's hand.
