Chapter 110 The Reunion Meant Nothing?
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 came closer to the paddock fence.
“How are you doing?” Emily said, petting the majestic creatures.
She spent a bit of time feeding them apples then went over to the goats, who greeted her with loud bleating and demanded to be fed too.
A young woman emerged from the farm house followed by an older one who might have been her mother because they looked so alike.
Byron introduced them, and Emily learned that Susie and Angie the mother and daughter team lived on the property, bringing in abused or neglected animals and taking care of them. They used to try to make ends meet with a goat and dairy farm, but it was a struggle. With Byron’s funding, they started to run a petting zoo and help more animals than before.
“What’s up with that guy?” Emily asked, pointing to a horse that was practically skeletal.
“He was neglected,” the daughter said, “but we’re going to get him back to normal weight.”
It was an amazing day at the rescue center. By the time they headed home, Emily was pleasantly tired and so grateful that Byron made this whole enterprise happen just for her.
“This is much better than getting jewellery,” she said, “Thank you.”
“I’m glad you liked it,” he responded. “I don’t think I could handle having a goat around all the time, to be honest, but you can come back for a visit whenever you like.”
“This was exactly what I needed,” Emily said, “and I’d love to come back. But you know, you don’t need to do so many things for me. I love you regardless.” She tried to see his reaction, but it was hard to tell because he was driving and looking at the road.
“Don’t you love me more now that I’ve helped save so many horses and goats?” he asked, lifting up one eyebrow.
“Of course I do!”
She still had a feeling Byron was insecure about their relationship. Since his parents had divorced when he was still a child, he probably tried his hardest to guard against the same thing happening to him.
Emily looked forward to a relaxing evening at home. She was making a light dinner when Byron walked in, looking completely upset, rubbing at his gorgeous hair and making it into a mess.
Before she could ask what was wrong, he shouted, “He did it again! I can’t believe him! Teddy wants me to loan him money. That’s why he arranged this whole father and son reunion.”
“Why do you think so?” Emily asked, stunned by how distraught Byron looked.
“Here!” He thrust his phone into her hands so she could read Teddy’s message.
Emily quickly scanned it because she was anxious to find out how the message got Byron into such a state. It was true that Teddy wanted to borrow some money. He had an idea for an investment with a legitimate company, or at least he claimed it was legitimate. There was even a link to the company’s website.
“Well, this company seems legitimate,” Emily said after taking a look at the website. It didn’t have that gimmicky look of a scam, and all the information was straightforward.
“That’s not the point!” Byron said, pacing the kitchen like a furious animal locked in a cage. “Don’t you see, he never cared about me. He only came here to worm his way back into my life so he could ask me for money.”
“You don’t know that,” Emily said, “Maybe he suddenly needs money now. He’s probably not making all that much as a farmer.”
Byron bit his lip. He seemed to be trying to hold back a lot of emotion, but if what he was showing was just the tip of the iceberg, then it was scary to think about how much he was hiding. “I don’t trust him. I know you want to see the best in people, but after everything that’s happened, I just don’t.”
Emily was going to say something else to reassure him, but he walked away saying, “I’m going to do some work. I’m not hungry.”
