Only You (Wild Creek Ranch Series Book 4)

Chapter Twenty-Six

The birthday celebrations went on till ten in the night, followed by a gala dinner. Drinks were served later, and they all danced and enjoyed. Renée was showered with gifts, and she was the happiest girl alive. Anastasia and her grandparents had left an hour ago. It was midnight, and they all went back home, tired but happy. As Ryder carried the last of the leftover food cartons away, Sawyer went inside to check if they were leaving anything important behind. Nothing! He went outside and locked the barn properly, but as he turned to leave, he came face to face with Antonio Cruz. Sawyer paled, ready to flee with panic, but Antonio caught hold of his hand.

"Please don't be scared, son. I need to talk to you. It's very urgent. I can't stay here any longer," pleaded the man. Sawyer noticed him properly for the first time. He didn't look scary at all like the mafia did. In fact, he looked stressed and worried.

"What do you need to talk about?" asked Sawyer with a frown. "I'm meeting you for the first time. How do you know me?"

"Your mom told me about you, son. She's dying. She wants to see you for the last time and I can't deny her this wish," said Antonio. Sawyer stood frozen as he stared at the man with disbelief.

"My mom? Didn't she leave me on the banks of Bearhead Creek to die?" whispered Sawyer, his voice thick with emotion.

"She saved you by leaving you there. You know nothing about what she went through," said the man.

Sawyer's head reeled, and he sat down on the porch of the barn. Antonio, too, sat beside him in the quiet, starlit night.

"I don't want to know what she went through. Why have you come now when my life is all settled?" asked Sawyer with a brooding look on his face.

"Your mom regained her memory last month, son. She told me all about you. She had left you and informed the Wilsons so that they could rescue you and adopt you. Now she's dying. Her condition has deteriorated so much that I have very little time with me. Please come with me and see her for the last time."

"Are you my father?" whispered Sawyer. The man shook his head.

"No, I'm just a poor farmer, son. Your father was the notorious mafia don, Lucifer Romano. He was hiding in Fordsville when he met your mom, Lara. Struck by her beauty, he pursued her. She was too innocent and fell in love with him without knowing who he actually was. Soon she became pregnant with you and came to know of his identity. However, thankfully, just before her delivery, she realized Romano wanted an heir to his mafia empire and would take you away to Italy once you were born. You were born prematurely, and she left you on the banks of Bearhead Creek and informed Romano that she gave birth to a stillborn baby," said Antonio. Sawyer listened intently.

"Then? Where's my father now?" asked Sawyer, curiously.

"Romano took Lara away with him to Mexico and for the next ten years tortured her and impregnated her many times, but she either conceived a girl child which Romano made her abort or she had a natural miscarriage. One day, a much more powerful rival mafia group attacked Romano's empire, and he lost everything. He came to hide in my humble farm, since it was in an isolated place. For a month, I saw your mom being tortured by Romano. She was so beautiful that I fell in love with her. She wasn't well, and I wanted to save her. One day, I overheard Romano wanted to kill her before leaving for Italy forever. I wanted to save her, so I offered money in return for her. Strangely, Romano agreed, and I had to mortgage my farm and my house to pay him. He left Lara with me and went away. Five years later, I heard he was killed in a police encounter," said Antonio as Sawyer watched him with his jaws dropped to the floor. He had no idea what his mom had endured. His blood boiled for his so-called father. How could he be such a monster?

"I found out that your mom was suffering from amnesia and she was abused many times so brutally that she was nothing but a corpse. For twelve years, I've looked after her, got her medical treatment and then one day she remembered everything. It was the happiest day of my life. But after ten days, she started deteriorating further and now I've lost all hope, son. She's just alive to see you," said Antonio, wiping his tears away.

Sawyer's eyes filled with tears at his mom's tragic story. Suddenly, Antonio's phone buzzed, and he came to his senses and took the call. "Yes, Carlos, tell me."

"Oh, I'll be on my way tonight. Hold on. I'm bringing Lara's son. Yes, I found him. Yes, let me talk to her," said Antonio in a distraught voice. He switched on the speaker mode.

A weak voice of a woman spoke from the other end. "Antonio, I don't have time. Please bring me my baby," she choked out a sentence with a lot of effort.

"Yes, Lara, I've found your baby. I'm bringing him home. Just hold on, please."

"You found my baby?" she asked, her voice cracking as she cried uncontrollably over the phone. Sawyer too sobbed miserably upon hearing her words, unable to stop himself any more. The man called Carlos spoke right after that.

"She has fainted, Antonio. I'll call you later." Antonio disconnected the call and turned to Sawyer.

"I forgot to ask you your name," he asked, wiping his tears away.

"Sawyer. I'm Sawyer Grace Wilson," said Sawyer, in a broken voice.

"I beg of you Sawyer, please come to Mexico with me to see my Lara for the last time. She doesn't know how many years have passed by since that day when she had to leave you on the banks of Bearhead Creek. She still thinks that she left you yesterday," informed Antonio. Sawyer cried more after hearing that.

"I'll come with you, but what about everyone here? I need to inform them," said Sawyer.

"They must have gone to sleep already. I can't wait till morning. As it is, you wouldn't be staying in Mexico for long. So come along and you could call them and inform them tomorrow morning when they wake up." Sawyer agreed. It was just a matter of a few days. He had to meet his mom and talk to her before it's too late. He could inform everyone of her the next morning.

"Fine, can you wait for a minute? I'll just pack a bag of essentials and come along with you." Antonio agreed. Sawyer dashed off towards his house. It was two o'clock in the morning and everyone was in a deep sleep. He went to his room and quickly packed his essentials and clothes. He picked up a photograph of Renée and some money and stashed them into his wallet. Finally, he was ready to go. He wrote a small note for Renée.

I love only you, Ren.
Don't cry when I'm gone.
Take care of yourself for me
I'll come back soon.

Only yours
Sawyer

He tiptoed into her room and left it on her side table. Then, kissing her forehead, he left home.

Antonio smiled at seeing him. "I've booked us tickets in the meantime. Let's go." They climbed into Antonio's rental car and he drove them to the marketplace to collect his stuff and check out from his motel. Soon they were at the airport at Great Falls, ready to board a flight to Mexico.

"I can't stay awake anymore, Sawyer. I haven't slept well for a month. Now that I've finally found you, I'll catch up on some sleep, if you don't mind," he said with a smile. Sawyer smiled, too.

"Please don't be so formal with me. You've done so much for my mom. I'm indebted to you, Antonio," he said to him. Antonio smiled.

"You're my Lara's son. So you're my son too. Don't thank me," he said with a small smile that lit up his eyes. He looked genuinely happy. Sawyer's heart went out to him. He genuinely loved his mom. He sacrificed so much for her. After 7 long hours, they reached Mexico City International Airport. Taking a cab in 30 minutes, they reached Tlayacapan, which was a small town in the northeast part of Morelos state in Central Mexico.

"My farm is just near the outskirts," said Antonio. Sawyer nodded. He was so eager to see his mom that nothing registered in his head. Antonio pointed to a large farm with a sprawling house, far away on the horizon. "That is my farm," he said proudly.