A couple of weeks later, Emily had quite forgotten about her gift request, and she was surprised when Byron reminded her."Let's go look for that goat, shall we?" he said, just as they were getting into the car to go on what Emily thought was just a day trip with maybe some hiking in the mountains."Are you serious?" she asked."I'm very serious. It's my gift to you.""An actual goat?""Maybe…" He smiled mysteriously, and Emily could only guess what he had planned.Driving into the countryside, they soon arrived at a farm with a freshly-painted barn and a paddock where horses and goats grazed.The sign beside the driveway read "E.D. Animal Rescue"."Those are my initials," Emily remarked."And it's no coincidence," Byron said."What?! Did you set up this entire operation?" Emily hurried out of the car to take a look at the animals. "Hold on," Byron said, handing her a bag of apple slices. "You'll be needing these."The horses looked at the new arrivals with curiosity and c
Emily finished up some sketches while she waited for him to come to bed. She sat at her desk in her pyjamas, fearing what this might do to Byron. At midnight, she had completed all the work she was going to do, but he had still not come out of his home office.She got into bed and started reading a book. When she looked at the clock again it was 3 am. Soon after that she fell asleep, with uneasy dreams haunting her. She was woken up momentarily when Byron kissed her cheek as he got into bed. It must have been really late, or really early since a hint of the greyish-blue light of dawn colored the room.At breakfast, they were both tired and opted for waffles which were easy to pop in the toaster. Byron didn't bother to shave, and he looked dazed, although kind of sexy. "I don't even want to talk about Teddy," he said tiredly as they sat down at the table."That's a mistake," Emily said. "You assume he's using you for money, but you can't know that for sure. What if he really want
Emily wanted to entertain Byron with the story of Katie's new day as an intern. It took Katie a few tries to get the hang of a multi-line phone, but by the end of her four-hour shift, she was doing great answering calls and putting them through to the right people. She even took the initiative and tried to sell Emily's brands to a few companies. That kid was definitely going places!Sadly, she found Byron staring at his computer screen in his home office. He had probably just returned from work too, but still hadn't changed from his work clothes. Emily hoped this wouldn't become a pattern after his shocked reaction to his father's message."Have you talked to Teddy?" she asked gently."No, and I'm not going to." He continued staring stubbornly at the screen, but it didn't seem like he was getting much work done."Well, how much money does he need?" Emily came closer and rested one hand on his shoulder. "Maybe I could send him something—""I already sent him the money," Byron said
Meanwhile, Katie was still as entertaining as ever while she helped out around the office a few times a week. Emily usually tried to spend as much time as she could working on designs, but these days, she often stopped by the main office on days when Katie was working to chat with her young protege."I organized all these receipts for you by month," Katie said, pointing to a folder with the receipts all neatly paperclipped together."You're amazing!" Emily said, "What would I do without you?""That's not all," Katie replied, "I've almost got Loungers to carry our brands!"Loungers was a huge retailer, and if Katie could pull that off, then Emily was pretty certain the kid was a genius. She must be just biding her time in college before taking over the world."Loungers is a big deal," a smooth male voice said from nearby. "I could help you negotiate with them."Emily realized her receptionist Spencer was leaning against the door frame. "It's okay, I can handle it on my own," Kat
A few days later, Fred came by the house to report his findings. Emily could tell by the regretful look on his face that he had not found anything good. Usually Fred was excited when he was on the tail of a suspect."Would you like a drink?" she asked politely."No, thank you," he said, "I won't stay long. I'm afraid there's nothing definite pointing to any one of your former enemies." He put down a folder on the coffee table. "The reports are in here regarding his schooling and previous employment, but to give you the gist, Spencer has no connections with any of the people you indicated except… and this probably doesn't mean anything.""Except what?" Emily was literally on the edge of her seat.Fred stroked his moustache thoughtfully. "There is one thing: Spencer was born in the same hospital as Ruby. Who knows, it could mean they grew up in the same area of the city, possibly knew each other. Or it could mean nothing."Emily released a tense breath. "You're right, it is pretty t
Trying to concentrate on work, Emily was failing to keep her mind off Byron's state of health. Even Katie's carefree chatter could hardly distract her from the problem. She did her best to take care of the most urgent things and went home a little early.The dogs greeted her with excited barks, while Sylvia waved lazily from the couch."Good, you're just in time," Sylvia said, "I ordered pizza.""Even though I didn't want any," Byron chimed in. Sylvia must have managed somehow to get him off the couch because now he sat with his elbows resting on the dining room table, his head cradled in his hands like he was mourning. And in a way, he was. He seemed to be lamenting the loss of his father all over again. Emily gave him a little kiss on the cheek. "How are you, lover?" she whispered"Not great. I wish you hadn't sent in my mom to torture me.""I heard that!" Sylvia called from across the room.Rupert and Shandy paced the house nervously, unable to settle down anywhere.The doo
Emily emerged from the room feeling completely exhausted. "He's asleep."Sylvia was pouring herself a stiff drink, having only eaten a slice of pizza. "Teddy has something to do with this, I'm almost sure of it." She sighed deeply. "I thought seeing his father would be good for him… Obviously, that didn't work out.""Do you know where he lives?" Emily asked. "Yeah, a farm somewhere in California. He has a website and everything. Why?"Emily was beginning to come up with a plan. She needed to see Teddy in person, maybe even convince him to come back to Vancouver. If only he could talk to Byron, they would resolve their differences like they did once before."I wonder if you could take care of Byron for a couple of days…" "You're going to see my ex-husband?" Sylvia asked in disbelief."I feel like something is missing," Emily said. "Some piece of information. I don't think Byron has talked to Teddy recently, or if he has, he hasn't told me what was said. Maybe if I can get them
Mateo, who was Byron's half-brother, gave Emily the impression that this was a warm and loving family. As she made her way through the entrance hall and into the living room, she got a good vibe about the house. Well-worn gloves and hats hung in the hall, ready for farm work, while the living room was decorated with stone carvings and books on gleaming wooden shelves."Mateo, did you get the door?" a woman's voice called from one of the back rooms. "Who is it?"The kid hesitated a moment then said, "I think you better meet this visitor."The woman who came out to greet her had long, wavy hair, just like Mateo, and a beautiful though tired face with some puffiness around the eyes like she hadn't slept well."Hello, my name is Aitana. Welcome to our farm!" Her middle-aged face was marked by a few lines, but they were mostly laugh lines that told of a kind and joyful personality."Thank you," Emily said. "It's beautiful, both the farm and the house. I'm here to see Teddy."Aitana lo