Only You (Wild Creek Ranch Series Book 4)

Prologue

Four Years Ago

"Ma, I'm home," yelled a nineteen-year-old Sawyer Grace Wilson, returning after six months to his home, the Wild Creek Ranch in Fordsville, Montana. Fordsville was a small town just fifteen minutes' drive away from Great Falls. His granddad, Joe Wilson's ranch, was at the far edge of Fordsville in the heart of the Rocky Mountains at the base of the Continental Divide. It was a picturesque place surrounded by mountains, fields and forests with a clear sparkling river, the Bearhead Creek running through it.

Although he was adopted by the Wilson family, this had been his home for the last nineteen years of his life. He was an orphan who had been abandoned at birth on the banks of Bearhead Creek. It was by God's grace that he was alive when old Joe Wilson found him.

He provided Sawyer with everything and brought him up like his own grandchild. Sawyer was indebted to the whole Wilson family for accepting him as their own, especially to his foster parents, Joe Wilson's oldest son, Kevin Wilson and his wife, Katherine Wilson. They adopted him and he considered them his parents. Their sons, Russell and Rowland, were also with Sawyer at his university while their daughter, River, was at a boarding school in Helena.

Katherine Wilson rushed out to see her foster son, Sawyer, come into the house with a wide smile on his face. He hugged his ma tightly. "You remembered me after six months, Saw!" she scolded him, pinching his cheeks.

"Ma stop. They've already turned red," protested Sawyer, looking around to see if a particular young girl was around to see his flushed cheeks.

Sawyer and his brothers, Russell and Rowland, along with his cousins Rhett, Rex and Rihanna studied at the Montana State University in Bozeman. While Sawyer was in his second year, Rex, who was a year older than him, was in his third year, pursuing the same undergraduate program in Ranch Management Systems as him.

Rhett, who was Rex's twin, was into Dairy Farm Management. Rhett and Rex's sibling Rihanna, who was a year younger than Sawyer, too studied there. She was pursuing her undergraduate program in Early Childhood Education and Child Services.

Russell and Rowland were two years older than Sawyer and, as such, the oldest of all the Wilson children. They both studied the undergraduate program in Hospitality Management. All of them lived outside the campus in a three bedroomed apartment and came home on weekends or holidays.

Rhett parked his truck and came in and hugged his aunt Katherine. "Where's mom, aunt Katherine?"

"Welcome home, children. Your mom's in the kitchen since morning, preparing your favorite dishes for dinner. At last we'll have some action with all of you at home for the holiday season. Ryder, Ryan, River and Renée have just come home yesterday." Sawyer's ears immediately pricked up at the mention of Renée's name. He looked around, expecting her to be sitting around somewhere and watching him with admiration, but no, she wasn't there.

"Really? How did their Christmas holidays start so early this year?" asked Rhett with a smile. River, Ryder, Ryan and Renée were their cousins, who studied at a boarding school in Helena, Montana. While Ryder and Ryan were five years younger to Sawyer, River and Renée were six years younger to him.

"Yeah, isn't that great?" asked their granny, Jenny Wilson, coming into the room. "Welcome children. Where are the others?" she asked, looking for their cousins.

"Oh, Russell and Rowland are arriving tomorrow. Rex and Rihanna have stopped at the marketplace to get ice-cream for everyone," said Sawyer.

"Welcome home, boys," said their grand dad, giving them a warm hug. "This time you stayed away for so long?" complained their grand dad looking at Sawyer. He scratched his neck, giving him a dazzling grin as he hugged him close.