The Billionaire's Secret Love Child(110)

Chapter 5



“You can’t take it back!”

I shouted at Philip who had piled some shriveled plants and branches into his arms, collected near the overgrown garden patch.

“I know that,” he said.

He seemed to playing with the dead plants more than collecting them.

I pulled at the long gloves in my hand, setting the wheelbarrow with mulch beside me. I had been up since six in the morning, doing the farm rounds, feeding the animals, and decided to try my hand at sprucing up the garden area out back. It was beginning to be warm enough to prepare for planting.

A black sedan began pulling down the driveway. I wiped a few stray curls away from my face.

The door opened up to reveal Matty stepping out, and I was taken aback at seeing him in work boots, jeans, and a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His hair was a bit unruly, and I felt my cheeks grow warm.

I shook my head at the thought.

“What are you doing all the way down here? Don’t you have cake tastings or something to go to?”

Matty laughed, and so did I. When did I get so playful?

“I figured I’d come and lend my services to the McGarity farm while Mr. McGarity is recuperating.”

“You don’t have to do that,” I said. “We’re fine on our own.”

Philip made a yelp as all of the plants he collected fell toward the ground and scattered about.

I sent Matty a look, to which he laughed.

“Hey, Philip,” he said. “Have you ever milked a goat before?”

My eyes grew almost as wide as Philip’s who came running toward Matty. Matty sent me a wink.

“He’s going to love this,” he said.

I sighed and looked at the garden.

It’s been a while since I got my hands dirty. I laughed silently to myself.



“You seem to be a natural.” I grabbed the bucket of milk from Philip as he and Matty came into the house for lunch.

“It’s so cool,” Philip squealed. “The goats are kind of cute.” Matty hoisted him up to wash his hands at the sink. “But not as cute as Zelda,” Philip noted matter-of-factly.

I laughed.

After lunch, Pete stopped by the house.

“Here to be of service,” he announced, making his way into the kitchen, his eyes shooting to the scene of me and Matty and Philip altogether. “And apparently not the only one.”

Matty and I shot a glance toward one another.

“It’s not--” I began, my face red.

“No problem. Uncle Pete’s got this.”

Later, after lunch and some catching up, Pete and Philip rushed outside to the barn to check up on the expecting mother cow.

I met with Matty downstairs as he stood in the living room. It was almost the same scene from when I first saw him a week ago, but he looked different now, not just because of his clothes, but more familiar...and perhaps I felt differently as well.

He turned around and I was taken aback by his eyes once more.

“Thank you for everything,” I leaned against the archway of the room.

He smiled, but seemed solemn at the same time.

“I really do want what’s best, Erin.”

I looked away.

“I know. Or, I know now. A lot has changed around here and...and I’m still getting used to it.”

“Not everything’s changed.”

I looked up as Matty came toward me, and held my breath for a moment. He was just a foot in front of me, his eyes intently on mine, his brow just a bit furrowed. There were lines at the corner of his eyes, and it made him look mature.

When did he grow up? I wondered.

“I went to see you,” he said.

“What?” I stood upright, confused at where this was going.

“A few years after you left, I learned from your dad where you were staying in New York. I thought--.” He looked away for a moment, and I could already feel my chest swelling with emotion. “I thought maybe I would find you and talk to you and tell you that I was done, that I was completely over, that I was glad you left me the way you did because it was a wake-up call.”

Every word he said was like a nail in my heart. I held my hand to my chest as he spoke.

“But then,” he looked at me in the eyes, his voice calm and low. “When I got to your apartment building, I saw you coming out from the other side of the street. At first, I didn’t know if it was you--your hair was straightened, you had on this blue dress…” he trailed off with a smile and then sighed as he shook his head. “I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t bring myself to say any of that, because I realized that--I still loved you. I went across the entire country to just head back home like a complete idiot.”

I stood in silence, everything within me whining at a million miles an hour. What could I possibly say or do in response?

“Do you remember that night we camped out by the canyon?”

I choked a nod.

He closed his eyes as if remembering. “It was the middle of summer. All the wildflowers were out, the sky was clear. Remember how we noticed little flicks of light--”

“The fireflies,” I said, quietly.

He looked at me and smiled.

“You know they’re not even supposed to live up this far north. It was like our own little miracle.”