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

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

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

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

It was too late to get a refund for her flight, which wouldn't leave until next evening, but Emily didn't care if she lost the money. Instead, she booked the next available flight to Vancouver, which would leave the next morning. She had to get back to Byron, and to her company as soon as possible.The next thing she did after re-scheduling the flight was try to call Byron. If he had seen that awful email, she would have a lot of explaining to do…The dial tone rang once, twice, and several times, but then the voice messaging service came on. Emily tried to call him again, just in case he didn't have time to grab the phone, but he didn't pick up. It was pretty late, so he might have been sleeping. Emily tried to call Sylvia next, but she wasn't picking up either. Emily sighed, thinking this was probably what Ruby wanted, to make her panic. She decided to get a good night's sleep to spite the evil miscreant. In the morning, feeling fairly well-rested and optimistic, she tried to c