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Her hand shook slightly as she hovered her finger over the first notification. It was the first voicemail, and it was from Elijah about an hour ago.
She tapped the screen and held the phone to her ear.
“Scarlett, it’s me.” Elijah muttered a quiet curse, and it sounded like he was jogging. “I know you don’t want to talk to me right now, but you need to call me back right away. It’s important.” There was a pause, then he sighed. “Please.”
There were four other messages, three from Elijah and one from Annabel. She nearly opened the one from Annabel first, but her curiosity was getting the better of her.
Scarlett tapped the next voicemail.
“It’s about your father. He’s keeping something from you, and you need to hear it from him. Even if you don’t want to talk to me or even listen to me, just… call your dad, okay?” The sound of a car horn honking in the background was the last thing she heard.
Onto the next one.
“Scarlett, please, please, pick up your phone. You’re not going to want to go to Germany. You’re not going to want to leave the country.” This time there was a longer pause. She nearly thought the message was over when he spoke again. “I don’t want you to leave.”
Her heart thundered erratically, and her mouth went dry. They hadn’t really spoken since she’d found evidence of him taking the farm. She hadn’t wanted to see him or speak to him after that, and he knew it.
For his part, he didn’t really fight to keep things going either. Elijah hadn’t come to her house in the middle of the night to toss pebbles at her window. He hadn’t cornered her in the barn to tell her he was sorry. He hadn’t done anything to try to win her back.
That was proof enough for her to realize just how little he cared for her and how much he had wanted her family’s property. Therein lay the reasons she had for steering clear of him and making her plans.
She stared hard at the last message with his name on it. Something was wrong with her father. Elijah didn’t want her to leave. What more could he say that he hadn’t said before? Did she even want to know? He’d taken her future from her without a lick of guilt.
Against her better judgment, she tapped on the last message and held her breath until she heard his voice. This time it was calmer—the way he’d spoken to her when they were alone and there was nothing else they had to worry about.
“I’m calling you because…” He sighed. “Because I’m in love with you, Scar. I could make a thousand excuses as to why I did what I did, but none of it matters without you.” His quiet voice made it hard to hear what he was saying and she had to stop walking to focus on his words. “I don’t know if you’ll ever forgive me. Heck, I don’t think I deserve your forgiveness. But I’m going to try. If I have to cross oceans for you, I’m going to do it. So, when you get this message, know one thing. I’m going to make you mine one day.”
Her pulse roared in her ears as the message ended. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t walk. All her weight was placed on the handle of her suitcase at her side. Standing still, her phone was pressed to her ear as she let his confession wash over her.
Scarlett shouldn’t be thrilled or excited. She shouldn’t be giddy with this information. If anything, she should be blocking his number and deleting the message. He’d betrayed her trust.
What she should be doing right now was letting the dust settle. She could listen to Annabel’s message and then decide what she wanted to do.
She finally pulled the phone away from her ear and tapped the final message.
“Scar? It’s me. Your dad is sick. He was keeping it from you to protect you, but Elijah found out. He wasn’t willing to tell you because he thinks your dad should, but in case you aren’t listening to his messages, you should probably not get on your flight to Denver. You need to come home or at least figure out what you want to do.”
Scarlett nearly dropped the phone from her hand. Her dad was sick. How sick? Was it terminal? She’d already lost her mother; she couldn’t lose her father too. Annabel’s message was still going and she’d missed a part of it, but she forced herself to stay focused.
“He’s coming. I know you don’t want to talk to him, but hear him out. He really loves you, Scar.”
Her eyes locked on a familiar figure sitting on a bench a few yards away. He was hunched over, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. His fingers were dug through his hair, making it look far messier than it should. But she’d recognize those cowboy boots anywhere.
Scarlett’s whole body went numb.
This wasn’t happening.
It was like it was straight out of a fairytale. All her feelings for him came rushing to the surface and it took every ounce of self-control she had left to maintain her composure. She was frozen on the sidewalk with travelers rushing by, but in that moment she felt like it was just the two of them.
He’d come to talk to her. He’d tried to stop her from leaving. From where she stood, he looked so lost, so desolate. Even if she tried, she wouldn’t be able to stop the feelings rushing through her body at this very moment.
Elijah’s head lifted and his hands fell. Slowly, he turned and his eyes landed on her, gluing her to her spot. He got to his feet but didn’t walk toward her like she expected. Time stood still. So many things she wanted to tell him, and yet she couldn’t bring herself to utter a word.
Their eyes remained locked for what could have been an eternity and she would have never known. Finally, he took the first few steps toward her. “You didn’t leave.”
“I didn’t,” she whispered. As he walked toward her, she searched his gaze for any evidence that what he’d said in his messages was true, telling herself that she was willing to give him another chance for love. Unfortunately, she was finding it difficult to find the evidence she was looking for. She couldn’t tell if it was due to his own guarded nature or if it was because she was terrified of seeing it.
“Did you get my message?” he asked, now standing in front of her.
