The Billionaire's Secret Love Child(121)

“You’re a riddle, Jennie. I can’t figure you out. I wanted to think that I did and that I might be able to get things back to the way they were. Why didn’t you tell me where you came from, I wouldn’t have treated you any differently.”

I sighed.

“Listen, Mike, I wanted to tell you every day, but I also didn’t want that life. They were forcing me into a marriage, and I won’t marry someone I barely know.”

“Jennie, you’re a character. You have all this money and opportunity, and you decide that it would be better to walk away and live on a farm?”

I giggled at the thought.

“Jennie, I love you. You mean the world to me. I can’t think of what my life would be like without you and the baby in it. If you don’t want me in your life then that’s your choice, I’m not your family, I won’t force you to do something you don’t want to. But, if there’s a slight possibility that you’d be interested in spending your life with me, you’d make me the happiest man alive.”

I looked at him, tears starting to well up behind my eyes again; he still was the best man that I knew.

“When you marry for money, you marry for the wrong reasons. I don’t want a dime of your fortune, Mike. I never did. You just wouldn’t listen to me when I was talking.”

Mike lowered his head, a bit defeated. Then two large hands patted him on the back; Larry and Buck were regulars on Sunday morning, I just didn’t want to tell Mike.

“Guys,” he said, “I can’t believe you two are here right now.”

They all embraced each other in a hug.

“We both knew that you and Jennie were shacking up whenever you went into town. It’s not that hard to figure out, and neither of you did a good job of hiding it,” Buck said.

“We weren’t looking for a bunch of money, we just wanted to work with you again, Mike. I am not looking for a free meal, I’m lookin’ for a good job,” Larry added.

I walked around the diner countertop and joined the group. Mike pulled me in for a warm embrace in the odd group and let out a laugh.

“So, does this mean we’re all getting’ back together?” he asked.

“Only under one condition,” I said.

I whispered in Mike’s ear, and I think he got it because he pulled out his phone and started making calls right away.

It was maybe a week later when we all met up again. This time, Mike picked me up in the same old truck we had driven into town before. I sat in the same seat I always had, with the same tears covered in tape.

I could see the small house off in the horizon. The white dot in the middle of a vast landscape, with a barn sitting off to the side, invited me closer.

The house looked identical to the old ranch house we’d spent so much time in. Except everything was newer. The walls were finally repainted, the leaks in the roof were covered, and I couldn’t have been happier.

I was finally home.

*****

THE END





A Heart in Trouble – A Western Billionaire Romance


I tried to avoid looking at the clock. It always seemed to make my shift pass slower when I knew the time. Instead, I surveyed the grocery store for any customers that may come my way and found none, really. Working in the wee hours of the morning would do that I suppose, but it made every night drag on almost unbearably.

My book that I had brought with me wouldn’t last the entire night and I was hoping to save it until later so I could finish on the bus ride home. But, it was an indulgence I couldn’t avoid, so I picked up the small paperback and committed myself to a couple hours of reading.

“Ahem…” I heard from behind my register.

I looked, assuming it was my boss, and I wasn’t wrong.

“Cassidy, I know it’s a boring night, but could you at least make it look like you’re doing something? If it stays this slow then I’ll have to send you or Margaret home.” He said while pushing his funny little glasses back to the crook of his nose.

“Understood,” I said with a sigh while replacing my bookmark and book. The windows looked a bit dirty, so I snagged a nearby bottle of window cleaner and a rag and begrudgingly trudged toward the new task.

As I passed, I shot Maggie a glance of utter boredom and desperation.

“If I didn’t need money, Maggie, life would be a lot easier. And, I wouldn’t have to deal with cleaning windows when my degree says I should be designing buildings.” I said in passing.

“If I didn’t need money then I probably wouldn’t be sober right now.” She replied.

I giggled and continued for the entrance. The doors parted, and I walked through in a regal manner. I pretended they opened just for me; closing my eyes to imagine the court waiting for my grand entrance.

Then I bumped into him.

“Excuse me,” I said, “sorry, I didn’t mean to-“

He was, unfortunately, gorgeous and the klutz that I imagined myself as made me blush in embarrassment. His face was rugged, and square jawed with a tousle of light auburn hair poking from his weather beaten cowboy hat. What caught my notice the most were his perfect blue eyes, gazing down at me.

He stifled a laugh and I knew my chances were pretty nil on him asking me out on a date.

“So, do you like to walk with your eyes closed often?” he asked, a bit of an accent slurred from his tongue. He must be a southerner judging from the hat and the accent.