Only You (Wild Creek Ranch Series Book 4)

Chapter Twenty-Three

They reached home on time. Sawyer had called Ryder, who was at a friend's place. He picked Ryder up and went home together. No one asked anything, thankfully, and Renée made a dash for her room to change out of her dress and into her pajamas. A radiant smile lit up her face as she lay down on her bed to sleep. With Sawyer by her side, all she needed to do now was just to grow up.

The next whole week, while Renée was busy with college, Sawyer was busy at work. After more cattle were found food poisoned, a fresh round of investigation started at the dairy farm. Soon, fresh evidence was found all pointing towards Allen and his son Greg McLean. After lots of threats and fights, the sheriff arrested Greg McLean. Thus, the simple rivalry grew in to a bitter war between the two families. Amidst everything, the only person who suffered the most was Georgia.

"Ryan, how can you just stop the project work midway?" asked Georgia, as Ryan stormed out of the class without giving her a second glance. Georgia ran after him. Two weeks back, she had realized that she had started developing feelings for him, but she was too scared to confess to him. It was clear he hated her and her family immensely. There couldn't be any love in his heart for her. He hated the sight of her and had only been doing the project together out of compulsion. So, she had admitted her feelings to her cousin, who had betrayed her and informed her family.

Since then, all hell broke loose, and she was being punished for no fault of hers. Her family had gone crazy and was taking out their grudge on the Wilsons. Georgia had been grounded too, and it was when the college authorities called her dad, was she allowed to attend college.

"I can and I will. I'll talk to Professor Harrisburg," said Ryan gruffly, taking longer strides.

"Only three topics are left Ryan, please don't do this," she begged. Ryan whirled around and faced her with his teeth clenched.

"You should have thought of that before. You should have stopped your family from harming us. Don't act all innocent around me. You're all the same," he growled, turning around and walking away.

Georgia stood transfixed to the spot, watching him with tears in her eyes. She hadn't done well in her semester and had pinned her hopes on this project. Now all her chances were gone. With the upheavals at home, she could not concentrate on her studies at home. She knew she wouldn't be able to clear the semester this time.

She walked back to her class, dejectedly thinking of the threats that her dad had given her. He would compel her to discontinue her studies and send her away to her aunt's house in Wyoming forever. Georgia looked back to see Ryan for one last time. He was busy talking to some other girl. Georgia sighed, knowing that he would never love her back. Maybe it would be better for everyone if she went away forever!

It was Friday night again and after dinner, Renée, Rihanna and Ryder went for a walk outside. Sawyer joined them soon. "Rex is coming home tomorrow," he informed them.

"That's good news. Aren't Rhett and uncle Kennedy returning with him?" asked Ryder. Sawyer shook his head slowly.

"It's really sad. Last night Adelaide and her granny left for New York. I met their ranch hand, Willy, on my way to school. He told me that Adelaide's mom is critical," said Rihanna.

"Oh, that's bad. Rhett and uncle Kennedy will stay another month," said Sawyer.

"What happened to Greg McLean? Did they release him?" asked Renée.

"He was heavily fined, warned and released. I don't think he'll be up to anything soon," said Sawyer. Ryan had gone into a shell, blaming himself for whatever happened. He refused to talk to anyone and needed to be left alone. They all tried to speak to him, but to no avail. So they left him alone for a few days.

They strolled around for a few more minutes and when finally everyone went inside, Renée and Sawyer stole a moment for themselves. "I missed you Sawyer." She hugged him and he pulled her closer, embedding his face into her neck.

"I missed you too," he admitted. "Tomorrow is Saturday, and I want you to go out with me on a date. Our second date." He stroking her back gently. A moan escaped her mouth at his touch. She pressed herself closer to him.

"Yes, I'd been waiting to go out with you."

"And I had been waiting for a kiss." He leaned in to hover near her lips. "Have got what you wanted?" he asked her, and she nodded. "Then give me what I want," he demanded.

Renée closed the gap between them and kissed him passionately. Sawyer dominated the kiss from there and deepened it to a new level. It was true, their sizzling chemistry, and the magic they shared, could never reduce. She, too, had been waiting for an entire week to spend a moment with him. Although they were apart, the love between them grew with each passing day. It was the forever kind of love, which couldn't diminish ever.

The next day, Sawyer took her out to lunch. His mom had packed them a picnic hamper, and he drove towards Bearhead Creek at exactly the same spot where his granddad, Joe Wilson, had found him twenty-three years ago.

"How do you know that this was the exact place?" asked Renée, looking around the grassy riverbank, filled with dense vegetation and lots of flowers growing wildly everywhere.

Sawyer pointed at a huge old maple tree where he had engraved the letters SGW on its bark. "See that? When I was seven years old, granddad told me everything. I came with him here and he showed me this exact spot and we carved my name here." Renée ran her fingers along the letters. They had grown old with age, but still she could make them out.

"I'm glad that granddad found you," said Renée. Sawyer sighed.

"Do you know it wasn't by accident that granddad found me?" he asked her. Renée stared at him with surprise.

"It wasn't? Then?" she asked, perplexed by what he told her.

"A lady had informed one of our ranch hands about a baby under a maple tree. She took him to the spot where I was. The ranch hand called granddad and when he wanted to talk to the lady, she had disappeared," said Sawyer. Renée was speechless by that piece of information he gave her.

"Do you think she might have been your mom?" she asked hesitantly.

"I'm sure she was my mom. She had ensured that I was in the safe hands of the Wilson family before disappearing," said Sawyer. "I wonder why she abandoned me. She cared enough not to leave me to die."

"There should be a very genuine cause, Sawyer," said Renée. Sawyer opened the chain that hung around his neck and showed it to her.

"You see this pendant? This chain was around my neck when granddad found me. It was my mom's, I think, since it's too big to belong to an infant." He showed her the pendant with a falcon's head engraved on it. Renée watched it with wide eyes.

"What does it stand for, Sawyer?" she asked with frightened eyes. The falcon looked very ferocious, and she didn't like the pendant one bit.

"I don't know, Ren. It's a weird mafia symbol, so I always keep it hidden," he told her. Renée was too scared.

"Does anyone at home know about this?" she asked him.

"Granddad, mom and dad know about it." He took it from her and wore it around his neck again. "I wear it since it belonged to my mom."

They sat down on a blanket and had a picnic in the trunk of their vehicle, watching the river gurgling by butterflies dancing in the wind, a few elks drinking water from the opposite bank and watching them with interest.

"I hate the mafia," said Renée, looking at him with fear. "They scare me."

"So do I. Don't worry so much Ren. I'll never go join a mafia if that's what you're worrying about," he comforted her.

"Promise me, Sawyer," she whispered.

"I promise you." It comforted her, and she relaxed considerably. They cuddled with one another and talked about everything else, about their dreams, about their future ranch and about their unborn children, even about their dream wedding. They kissed under the old maple tree and Sawyer engraved her name beside his. It was like they were two souls in one. The sun was about to set and Sawyer drove back home.