by Sarah Thorn
In the meanwhile, Matty continued to help with things down on the farm, though things had remained tense between us since his confession. The more time we spent, the more I feared that leaving for New York again was going to be more difficult, both for Philip who had grown attached to the place, and people, and for me...who had come to realize where Matty and I stood: it was simply not meant to be.
Pete had stayed behind at the farm with Philip, and so Maggie insisted on providing me with support. Not only was it the day my father returned, but it was also the day that Matty and Allison got married.
He’s finally getting his happy ending, I thought. He deserves it.
That’s when Maggie hit me in the gut with her words.
“Please,” I said. “I don’t need this today. Of all days, just let me be.”
Maggie sighed. “I can’t believe you came all this way for nothing.”
“For nothing?” I sat up in the chair. “I came here to help my dad, and at a good time too. Now the house has gotten some much needed repair, and all thanks to Matty. He kept the deed of the house and some of the surrounding acreage to the McGaritys even. It was a win-win. We kept the heart of the farm, and he got passage to the river.”
“A win-win?” Maggie let out a laugh. “That sounds to me like a lose-lose.”
I folded my arms.
“It was a compromise,” I said.
“Right,” she said. “A compromise. You keep that in mind the next time you run across the love of your life, find out he’s been in love with you the entire time, never tell him you’re in love with him, continue to raise his child right under his nose, and take the more-than-generous labour and the gift of keeping your family’s generations-old land to yourself. Yeah, a compromise? Sounds like he kept trying to meet you halfway, but you kept standing in the wrong direction.”
“Thank you for picking me up,” my father sat in the passenger seat of the truck.
“Of course, Dad,” I said. “I’m just glad you’re alright. You really scared me. You have to start watching over yourself from now on.”
We drove on in silence for a few moments, passing by mainstreet, which was full of tourists in the fresh, spring weather.
“Is something on your mind, Erin?”
My father’s gruff, but soothing, voice broke through my thoughts. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out at first.
Then, “How did you and mom know?”
“Hmm?”
“That you were...in love?”
A bellowing laugh sounded throughout the car, and I wasn’t quite expecting that reaction.
“We weren’t always in love, you know. I was quite an ornery young man. Your mother almost couldn’t stand me some days. I was always getting into trouble, and she was always getting me out of it.”
I smiled.
“One of the reasons I left,” I said. “Was because I didn’t want to not know. I was just afraid that if I stayed, I’d always be here, and I’d grow old and die without ever having any adventures of my own. I was afraid that I was settling for what I’d always known and…”
He nodded and sighed.
“You know, that’s exactly what your mother said to me once.”
“What?” I was surprised.
“I may have been the one to get in trouble a lot, but your mother was a free spirit! She would have sailed a thousand seas if I’d let her. I would’ve let her, too! But, we never were very well off and she left sooner than I could give it to her…”
I felt a pang of sadness in my chest at the tenderness of my father’s words as he spoke of her.
“But you know what she told me? You might not have remembered much. You were sleeping out in the hallway, and I was with your mother before she left.”
I braced myself for what he was about to say.
“She looked at me, in all my scruff and tears, and grabbed my dirt covered hand and said, ‘Richard, you and Erin are the greatest adventure I could have ever asked for’ She always said she loved my soil-filled pockets more than any stylish dress or purse I could give her.”
He sighed. “Not that I could have given her much. But she loved me, and I loved her. And we loved you all the more.”
“Dad,” I said, through a choked voice. “I hope you don’t mind...we’re not going home quite yet.”
I took a sharp left and my father pumped his fist out the window.
“That’s my girl!”
The Gordon lodges nestled at the base of the mountains that ridged along the valley surrounding Gordonville and the county. It was a climb to the main chateau, and cars and people lined the parking lot, with valets directing traffic.
“This is going to be impossible,” I said, snaking through the general visitor parking, trying to find a space but to no avail.
“Just go, then,” my dad pointed to a curb, ushering me to pull over.
“But--”
“Go,” he said. “I’m alright on my own. But are you?”
I laughed and pulled off to the side.
“When did you become such an old sage?” I kissed him on the cheek before rushing out.
“Near-death experiences will do that to you,” he called out. “Good luck, Erin!”
Good luck, I laughed in my head. If I ever thought I was going to be a Julia Roberts, this was not how I intended it to be.
I snuck in toward the main chateau, where people dressed in formal wear filed in for the wedding. People were bustling in and out, servers were preparing for the reception.
“Excuse me,” I went up to a tall, handsome man in a suit, fixing his collar, and running a comb through his slick black hair.
“Do you happen to know which room the groom is in?”
He eyed me with a raised eyebrow, scoping me up and down.
I sighed. “Look, it’s an emergency. A--a--ranch emergency. A cow….herd….giving...birth--look, I’m just going to explain it to him, alright? Matthew Gordon, I need to speak with him. Please help me.”
“Down to your right, and straight up the stairs. First door on the left.”
“Thank you.”
I left him there, his phone ringing suddenly, he picked up, “Allison? Are you alright?”
His voice sounded disheartened. “Yes. Yes, I’m here. No, you look lovely. Lovely.”
I ran through the hallway and up the stairs, winded already by the long stretches of hallway. I took a moment to catch my breath, and straighten the tangle of curls in my head. I looked down at my outfit. A cardigan and beige capris. What a mom look. Well, it wasn’t getting any better than that. I took a deep breath, and opened the door.
“Erin?”
Matty turned around, surprised at seeing me in the room. He straightened at his bow tie, his fitted suit shaping perfectly his body. His hair was slicked back like the first time I saw him, and with his bright eyes, he looked as if he stepped out of a fashion magazine.
“Please,” I held out my hand. “Just hear me out.”
I took a deep breath.
“I know I’m just the bad guy in this scenario,” I let out an awkward chuckle. “Apparently I’m really good at screwing up your wedding day.”
He didn’t respond.
“When I ran that day,” I continued, seriously. “I was terrified. I thought that I was settling, that I was just going to end up like my mom who never left the county. Then, as the years passed, I felt that it was just too late each month and year that went by--there was no way I could ever come home. And then--”
I began to feel the tears come, but I held back. My hands shook, and my words all fell out clumsily and quick.
“And then I did come home. And I found you--and you weren’t at all like I remembered--and neither was I, for that matter. But then in these past several weeks, I realized that the one thing hasn’t changed. I always loved you, but I was scared of loving you. I know now that...you’re the only adventure I want in life and--and even if you never even think of me again after this day--I wanted, for
once in my life, to not run away.”
There were feet coming down the hallway, and a few shouts.
“So, there. I suck at romantic speeches,” I tucked a curl behind my ear. “And weddings.”
The feet grew closer. Matty’s back was turned away from mine now, his broad shoulders slumped as if carrying a great weight.
“You should go,” he said.
And my heart dropped.
Chapter 6
The canyon below looked endless that day. I felt I could descend down into the deep ravine without ever hitting its bottom. The tops of the trees lined below. A spring breeze lifted, and along with it, a cooing flock of geese overhead.
It was the place that Matty and I fell in love. Well, I suppose we fell in love over a long period of time, slowly and surely. But it was our special place. An open field dotted with spring flowers, overlooking a canyon tucked beside the valley, with the river snaking below. I curled my knees to my chest in the tall grasses, the scent of the wildflowers filling my senses.
It’s kind of funny--I’d always been the one to run. I always ran when I was afraid. When I couldn’t take a step forward, I took the clumsy, off-road path that wound its way round and round. And here I was again. But this time, I wasn’t running because I was afraid. In a sense, it was comforting to know I had finally gotten to a place where I wouldn’t run. No. This time, I was simply too late.
“You never learn, do you Erin McGarity?”
That voice.
I stood up, startled.
“What are you doing here, Matty?” I called.
Higher up the hill, Matty made his way down, his suit coat fallen in the grass, his white shirt sleeves rolled up his arms. He ran down to me, holding his finger out as if for me to wait, and stopped a few yards before meeting me, undoing the bow tie around his collar.
He let it sling over his shoulders and took a deep breath as he looked down, and then his eyes met mine, bright and piercing as the sky.
“You’re not running this time,” he said.
I folded my arms across my chest and looked away.
“What do you mean? I’m not--”
“I’m running.”
I looked at Matty. He stepped toward me.
“What?” My eyes grew wide.
“It’s my turn to run,” he brushed his hand through his golden-brown hair. “And, apparently, it turns out that Allison and Steven--”
“The lawyer?”
He sighed and nodded, with a smirk.
“I’m really unlucky at weddings.”
I almost let out a laugh, but so many emotions were swirling around.
I didn’t know how to respond. I knew this scenario all too well. It was nothing like I planned. Matty stood in front of me, his golden hair whisking in the wind. He looked at me softly, his eyes saying everything.
A wetness began falling across my cheek, and before I knew it, I was already crying.
“No, no,” Matty’s strong, warm hand caressed my face. “Please don’t cry now, I only just started. I didn’t even get to profess my love to you yet--”
He cupped my chin with his hands and brought his forehead to rest on mine.
“I can’t believe you ran,” I said.
“I think that makes us basically even,” he said, wiping at a tear.
I pushed away from him and wiped my sleeve against my face, tucking my curly hair behind my ear. My cheeks grew warm and I began to laugh.
“Basically?” I said.
Matty came and brought me back into his arms once again, and this time, my cheek rested against his broad chest, his strong arms enveloping me. And I welcomed it.
“Well, you did keep my son from me for five years.”
“Oh,” my voice muffled against his shirt. “That. How did you know?”
“I can do basic math, Erin. It’s really not that hard to figure out.”
I squeezed him tightly.
“I was going to tell you--”
“But?”
“I needed to know if you really loved me. I didn’t want to make you feel obligated.”
“I’m always obliged to you, Erin McGarity,” Matty laughed and then brought his hand to my chin, and guided my face to look up at his. “How else am I going to keep you out of trouble?”
My heart felt as if it was going to leap out of my chest.
“I promise not to run anymore,” he said. “If you promise to stay.”
I never intended life to be the way it was, but I guess that’s what makes it life. I had spent a long time looking for adventure, when the greatest adventure of life was always right home. In that moment, I only really remembered the smell of wildflowers and the golden-green grasses swaying against our legs.
He stroked at my cheek, and gazed at me with his endless blue-gray eyes. When our lips met, I felt like I might burst, feeling him warm and soft against me.
“I love you, Erin McGarity. I always have.”
Then he held me close as he whispered, “I always will.”
And we danced with the fireflies.
****
THE END
WESTERN BILLIONAIRE Romance - A Heart in Trouble
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.
“Well, a queen doesn’t need to watch where she’s going,” I responded with a devilish grin.
“Queen, eh? Well, your majesty, do you think you could help me with some shopping? I’m a bit new ‘round here and I’m sure a Queen would know these parts best.” He replied.
“Oh, of course!” I struggled out, “One moment.”
I threw the rag and the bottle of cleaner to Maggie, while mouthing the words, ‘so hot’. She nodded and
couldn’t help but laugh. I straightened my hair and clothes a bit and returned to the stranger.
“Right this way,” I said.
He offered out an arm, which seemed like a bit of an odd gesture, but I gladly maneuvered to his side and hooked my arm under his.
“Alright, so what are you looking for, mister …?”
“Harris, John Harris. Glad to meet you, for the first time missy.” He said.
“Oh, Mr. Harris-“
“John, please. Mr. Harris is my dad’s name. And he ain’t dead yet. Lovely lady like you callin’ me Mister would just break my heart,” He said.
I was now feeling a little flush over the kind compliment; I don’t think I’ve ever been called a ‘lovely lady’ before.
“I need some orange juice and soup for a good buddy of mine who went and got himself sick on the ride over. Think you could help me out, miss…” he said with a smile.
“Cassidy,” I replied, “just Cassidy. And, I can help you with that just fine. Follow me.”
I led him around the store; he bought a few things more than just some juice and soup. After the few small moments we spent wandering around the store like a new couple we slowly started to return to my register.
“I suppose this is where we part ways,” he said, a bit downtrodden at the thought before he added, “I’ll be here for about a week before heading home, wouldn’t suppose you’d be interested in showing me the ins and outs of the area on your day off?”
I started feeling flush again; this charming cutie asking me out on a date was overwhelming. I barely managed to say anything in response.
“Ye … yes, I think I can work something out. I’m off tomorrow if you’d like,” I said.
“How about the day after,” he replied, “I’m a bit busy tomorrow; unless you want to show me around the city at night, say around 6pm?”
It went from a daytime stroll to an evening date in just one sentence, and it was an offer to which I couldn’t imagine saying ‘no’.
“Okay, tomorrow afternoon at 6pm. BUT, since I don’t know you well enough to be out past 10 o’clock I may need to call it an early evening. Think you can handle that, MISTER John?”
