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That had left her when the truth about Elijah had been brought to light. As much as she wanted to blame him for the part he played, she couldn’t. He was only a small reason she was going back home.
Home.
Tears burned in the back of her eyes and she quickly blinked them back. She would not cry. Not here. Not on a plane full of people. She turned her attention to the people boarding the plane if for no other reason than to distract herself. A man loaded down with three duffle bags climbed on, followed by two small children who were chatting excitedly.
A boy and a girl. They looked to be about the same age, around seven. Their eyes darted back and forth, sweeping across everything and everyone. Behind them a frazzled-looking mother held an infant who couldn’t be more than a few months old. They passed her seat just as quickly as they’d arrived, leaving Scarlett yearning for the family she realized she wanted only a few months ago.
She turned her attention to the window, telling herself to get over her disappointment. Just because her life had turned out pretty well over the last several years didn’t mean she’d get to have everything she ever wanted. Maybe her luck had simply run out.
That was probably the first thing that actually made sense to her. She’d glided through her life so easily up until now. At some point things had to change. Life had to get hard. There were consequences to how she’d treated the people she’d cared about.
No.
What was she thinking?
Scarlett had never been one to take things lying down. She’d never been one to give up. It was as if the loss of her mother was the trigger. She’d come home to be with her father, and now she was just going to leave?
She shot out of her seat, much to the surprise of those around her. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled as she reached for the overhead compartment. “I have to get my things. There’s an emergency.”
The line of people stopped, giving her dark looks.
“I just have to grab my things and get off this plane.”
“Miss? Is everything okay?” A flight attendant materialized as if out of nowhere. She moved closer and her voice lowered. “Is there a problem?”
“No. No problem. I just can’t be on this flight.”
“But you said there was an emergency.” The woman in front of her stared at her with concern. Her gaze darted toward the front of the plane and back to Scarlett. “Would you like me to escort you off the plane?”
“Really? That would be wonderful.” Scarlett wanted to hate how relieved she sounded. Part of her still clung to the decision she’d made to get on this plane in the first place. There were plans in place. She’d prepared to have an apartment ready for her when she got back.
And yet, none of it felt right.
After some maneuvering, they were able to get the group of people to shift enough for Scarlett to disembark. The second her feet hit the carpet of the airport waiting area, she released a pent-up breath. The heat and buildup in her stomach dissipated.
Thankfully, all she had was a carry-on. Her belongings weren’t scheduled to ship until she’d arrived, and at this point she could cancel that. She moved around a group of people who were still preparing to board, and she turned her attention to the plane outside. There was nothing special about it. She’d been on hundreds just like it.
But for some reason she viewed it differently. It was the thing that would have kept her from being with her father, no matter how much he probably didn’t like the idea. Her mother had often mentioned that he wasn’t the kind of guy to show his feelings. He had them all bottled up no matter who it was trying to be let in.
Scarlett just needed to try a little harder with him. And even if she hated it, she would try to convince Elijah to allow her to work beneath him. She wasn’t going to let him take control of her farm without a fight. There had to be something a lawyer could do in this situation.
Even if there wasn’t, she’d be standing behind him every single day until he finally gave in. She lost track of time as she stared out the window at the airplane. At some point it became fully loaded and pulled away from the terminal. Lights flashed and the wings bounced with the movement. She watched it shrink as it drove out onto the tarmac, stop for a moment, then lurch forward.
The aircraft picked up speed and the wheels lifted into the air. Scarlett sighed again. This felt right. It was terrifying, but something inside her seemed to thrum with the anticipation of what was next in store for her.
She spun around with her carry-on luggage in hand and headed toward the exit. There was a lot on her list now. She’d have to cancel her lease and the order to send her belongings. On top of that, she’d have to find a buyer for her car. She’d have to apologize to her supervisor at her company—again.
Even with this list stacking up, she felt good about her decision. Copper Creek was where she wanted to be. It was her home more than anywhere she’d ever lived. A weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and a smile spread across her face.
Everything would be okay.
She stepped outside and pulled her phone from her purse. Right, it was still in airplane mode. Scarlett toggled the switch and then turned to her right to head for the pickup area. Her phone pinged, buzzed, and chirped at her several times, causing her to stop in her tracks and look down.
Several missed calls from Elijah and Annabel. Her heart leaped into her chest as she stared at the voicemails that populated her screen. A few text messages joined them, all telling her to call one of them immediately.
That wasn’t good. Annabel was willing to forgive Elijah for what he’d done, but she wasn’t happy about it. She’d already told Scarlett she wouldn’t be speaking to Elijah for at least a month.
A dizzying amount of anxiety attacked, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to listen to that first voicemail. Whatever it was that could pull these two together wasn’t going to be good.
