Rivals In Love (Wild Creek Ranch Book 5)

Chapter Eighteen

For the next few days, Ryan walked around dejectedly. As he sat with Renée one dreary afternoon, he asked her about her feelings about Sawyer. "I'm glad that you found such a genuine life partner. In fact, even Ryder's fallen for Anastasia, it seems," he said with a wry smile on his face.
"What about you, Ryan?" Renée asked him. Ryan's face became grim.

"There's no one in my life," he shrugged.

"Did you find out about Chestnut?" asked Renée.

"Yes, it was Georgia's brother, Greg." His eyes clouded at the mention of her name. There was no evidence against him, so the sheriff dropped the case.

"Do you like Georgia, Ryan?" Renée suddenly asked him. Ryan gave her a strange look. He hadn't seen Georgia after that day when she drove away from his house. She hadn't been attending college either. He was dying to know what happened to her. He wanted to ensure she was alright. But mostly, he wanted to inform her he wouldn't do the project with her any longer.

"Please, can we stop discussing her?" He got up with a crazy look on his face. It seemed as if he was running away from something, or maybe someone.

In the evening, one of their cattle at the dairy farm was critical and his mom, Sawyer, and Uncle Keith went to check. At the dinner table later, they discussed what happened at the farm.

"It couldn't be an accident, Dad," said Ryan. "First Chestnut was killed and now Clara, our oldest one, was food poisoned. Thankfully, she has no calf to feed at the moment, else if anyone consumed her milk, we would have lost our goodwill and customers."

"Ryan's right. This isn't a coincidence. I'm sure the McLean's have a hand in this," said Uncle Keith.

"Look, son, we know that they're our rivals, but we cannot accuse them with no proof. Our rivalry has been going on for decades. Why would they suddenly harm us now?" asked their granddad Joe Wilson.

"Because they think that Ryan and Georgia are having an affair and they're against it," said Ryder. There was a pin-drop silence in the room as everyone gaped at him and then at Ryan, who looked quite uncomfortable.

"Well, Ryan! Do you have anything to say?" asked his dad.

"I'm not having an affair with her. She's my classmate and my project partner," said Ryan with a shrug. "But her family seems to be a bunch of illiterates who can't understand that."

"Then, I'll talk to Allen McLean," said their granddad.

Ryan looked at him worriedly. "Please don't, granddad. I'll sort this out," he said, looking more stressed. He didn't want his family to find out that he had kissed her. He didn't want them to know that Brian and Greg found out about the kiss and were taking out their frustration in this manner. Everyone left the topic and concentrated on the meal.

After dinner, like every other day, Ryan went out for a stroll around the ranch with his siblings and cousins. "Ryan, are you sure there's nothing between you and Georgia?" asked Ryder with a worried look on his face. Ryan looked deep in thought. He knew he had told him about their growing attraction, but now that was a thing of the past which needed to be best forgotten.

"There's nothing," he said, looking at his feet and kicking a pebble.

"But you like her, don't you?" asked Rihanna. Ryan looked at her with surprise.

"No," he lied. He couldn't tell them how his heart started beating faster every time she came near him. He wouldn't tread along that path again.

"Georgia isn't a bad girl. It's her family who's weird. She's a misfit there actually," said Ryder. Ryan was quiet. He couldn't say a thing or everyone would know the growing attraction that was always present between him and Georgia. Of course, he knew Georgia wasn't a bad girl, but he was tongue-tied, too overwhelmed to talk about her.

The next week, Ryan was busy with college and work. After more cattle were found food poisoned, a fresh round of investigation started at the dairy farm. Soon, fresh evidence was found all pointing toward Greg McLean. After lots of threats and fights, the sheriff of Fordsville arrested Greg McLean. Thus, the simple family rivalry grew into a bitter war between the two families. Amidst everything, the only person who suffered the most was Georgia.

After that dreadful night when Greg followed her back home, there was utter chaos. Brian returned and after hearing everything, he created a scene. There was a tremendous misunderstanding at home which compelled Aunt Dorothy and her sons to leave Fordsville. Georgia was grounded for weeks and while her dad's health improved and he could move around and lead a stress-free life, her mom's condition deteriorated further.

Under the circumstances, Georgia was only allowed to go to the hospital to see her mom under Greg's supervision. As days passed by, her mom's condition deteriorated further and Georgia went into depression. The last few days, Georgia tried to block Ryan's and her brothers' hurtful words from her mind, but couldn't.

With her aunt Dorothy and her cousins gone, Georgia's life was just dragging on. Brian and Greg's attitude towards her deteriorated even more than before. They pushed her into a shell, accusing her and making derogatory remarks on her face all the time. Many times her dad asked her to go away to Aunt Dorothy's house for her own good but she couldn't because of her mom.

The college authorities called her dad to inform him about her not attending her classes. They threatened to expel her because of her lack of attendance and non-performance. So when her dad forced her to go to college, Georgia had no option but to drive all the way to attend her classes.

Her heartbeats accelerated, thinking how she would face Ryan now after the way they parted the last time. Georgia was sure that after what Greg did to them, Ryan wouldn't want to see her face at all. She had overheard Greg talking to Brian about how he poisoned Ryan's horse and lots of cows in their diary. She felt guilty and heartbroken that the Wilsons were suffering because of her. But what could she do? Her hands were tied.

She parked her car and walked dejectedly towards her classroom. She saw Ryan, who sat with his friends, ignoring her very existence. The professor came inside and the class started as usual. The whole day, he didn't even look in her direction. But Georgia needed to talk to him about the project that they were supposed to submit in two weeks. So, after classes, she mustered up some courage and walked up to him. His friends excused themselves and left them alone.

"Ryan, I need to talk to you about the project," she started hesitantly, looking at his gloomy expression with apprehension. Ryan scowled at her, his eyes filled with hatred.

"There's nothing to talk about. I'm not doing the project with you. I've completed it and I'll submit it independently." Georgia's mouth hung open at his answer. How could he back out at the last minute? With just two weeks before the deadline, she could never complete it on time.

"Ryan, how can you just stop the project work midway?" asked Georgia worried as Ryan stormed out of the class without giving her a second glance. Georgia ran after him. .

"I can and I will. I'll talk to Professor Harrisburg," said Ryan gruffly, taking longer strides.

"Only three topics are left Ryan, please don't do this," she begged. Ryan whirled around and faced her with his teeth clenched.

"You should have thought of that before. You should have stopped your family from harming us. Don't act all innocent around me. You're all the same," he growled, turning around and walking away.

Georgia stood transfixed on the spot, watching him walk away with tears in her eyes. She hadn't done well in her semester and had pinned her hopes on this project. Now all her chances are gone. With the upheavals at home, she could not concentrate on her studies at home. She knew she wouldn't be able to clear the semester this time.

She walked back to her class, dejectedly thinking of what her dad had told her. He wanted her to go away to her aunt's house in Wyoming forever. Georgia looked back to see Ryan for one last time. He was busy talking to some other girl. Georgia sighed, knowing that he hated her and wouldn't change his mind. Maybe it would be better for everyone if she went away forever!