He leaned in close to me then, practically pinning me back against the wall again. His gray eyes stared intently into my own. “If you think I’m going to give up without a fight, you’re sorely mistaken,” he told me. “I want to know my son and I want to be a part of his life, even if you don’t want me in yours.”
“Maybe you should have thought about that before pretending to date my mom!” I spat back at him.
“Is that what this is? Are you jealous?” he accused me.
“No,” I answered straight away, my cheeks flushing red since I knew there was truth in his words.
“Whatever, Rylee. We’re going to find a way to make it work because I’m not going to give up easily. Remember that.” He stared at me for a long time after that and for a moment, I thought he was expecting me to say something more, but instead I remained silent.
Clearly fed up with my stubbornness, Spencer huffed and pushed away from the wall with a shake of his head. “This isn’t over, Rylee,” he told me before turning and heading toward the door. As it slammed behind him, I let out a long breath and dropped my head into my hands.
What a mess.
15
Spencer
The sun was high in the sky and burning a crimson mark on my shoulders as I bent over once more and began to lift another hay bale on Wednesday afternoon. Once I’d heaved it up and I had a tight grip on it, I began to walk toward the stable with it. I’d left the door open already so I walked in and dumped the hay on the floor. A huff of warm breath left my body and I reached up to wipe the sweat from my brow before going to grab a pitch fork so I could distribute the hay to each of the horses.
I’d been at it all day on the farm, just trying to keep my mind off of Rylee and everything that was going on. I knew that if I let myself dwell on the thought for too long, that I’d end up working myself up about the whole thing. If I did that, I’d just head over to Rylee’s house again for another argument just like last time and that was the last thing either of us needed right now.
Rylee clearly needed space to think things over and I needed to get my head straight. After all, I had a son now. I wasn’t just Spencer Reid, bachelor billionaire anymore. There were things that needed to be arranged, like my will. I’d need to alter it so Jayden was the beneficiary if anything happened to me. Then there was the case of where I was going to live from now on. I came back to Halston looking for investment opportunities, but I’d never thought I’d find a little family. Now there was no question about it. I needed to go wherever Rylee and Jayden where. If that meant Halston, that’s where I’d be. If it meant Mars, that’s where I’d be.
I shoveled hay into each of the horse’s stalls while I tried to get a grip on my emotions. I’d not even met the kid yet and already I was feeling overwhelmed with a mixture of grief for the years I’d lost and excitement for the years to come. When I thought about Rylee, I imagined our life together. I wanted to be able to hold her in my arms every day. For the first time in my life, I imagined settling down and having a family. But I still couldn’t shake the rage I felt at her betrayal. How could she have a kid and not tell me?!
With a sigh, I set the pitchfork aside and strutted out of the stable. I’d pretty much completed all the necessary tasks around the ranch over the course of the morning. It had been good to keep myself occupied, but now that I had run out of things to do, my restlessness was returning.
I headed toward the chicken coop where Sam was busy checking over the hens for any illness or injuries. I hoped he’d have come up with another job for me. After all, on a ranch of that size, there had to be a never-ending list of work that needed to be done.
“Hey, Sam!” I called over to him as I approached. “How’re the chickens doing?”
“All healthy and squeaky clean, just the way we like them,” Sam replied before looking up at me. The sun was in his eyes so he raised his hand like a visor. “You finished with the horses?”
“Yep, they’re all sorted and mucked out.”
“Good, good. Thanks for your help, Spencer,” he told me with a grateful smile. “I have to say, I didn’t expect a city slicker like you to pitch in while you were visiting.”