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“I don’t know what made me decide to do that either. I just saw a flyer one day and I knew I needed to be there, to help them through whatever they were dealing with.”
“I had no idea,” he said. It was a lie, but she didn’t have to know that. What was a harmless lie like that in the grand scheme of things?
“Yeah, pretty crazy, huh? I started wanting children of my own—to raise them to speak different languages and to know how to handle a horse.” She laughed bitterly. “I realized pretty fast that I wanted them to be raised like I had been, and that’s when I reached out to my folks. I was planning on coming down at the end of the year and seeing what I could do to help around the farm.”
He knew what was coming next. She lost her mother, her cheerleader, the one strong connection she had to her childhood home.
Scarlett brushed a tear from her cheek and laughed again. “Don’t mind me. I’m just a little emotional.” Her eyes darted to meet his and she didn’t look away. “She would havelovedyou.”
Elijah smiled back, unable to find the words to tell her how sorry he was for judging her.
“I think my dad blames me for not coming right away when my mom got in her accident. She only lasted twenty-four hours in the hospital, and by the time my flight would have landed, she would have been gone. But maybe I should have tried harder.”
“It’s not your fault,” he said quietly. “You did your best.”
“But I didn’t. I wasn’t as close to them as I should have been. I didn’t call regularly, and I didn’t visit during the holidays. And when I did touch base, all I talked about was my job and how much I loved being there.”
A twinge of discomfort sliced through his chest at that confession. Even if she decided to stay for good, could he really ask her to? If she loved being in Germany so much, why would she want to return to a life that she didn’t love? It was as if she were making these choices because she felt the need to serve some kind of penance.
No.
He refused to believe that. Scarlett wouldn’t return just to make herself miserable. He was going to choose to believe that she had made these choices out her hearts true desires. If she started a family here, then her relationship with her father was bound to improve. Once he saw that she was serious about staying here and being a part of his life again.
Elijah focused on her face again, not surprised that she was watching him but praying he hadn’t given anything away. “You okay?”
She nodded. “I’m worried about my dad, though.”
“You are?”
“Remember when I said he needed his truck for a doctor’s appointment? He’s got another one at the end of the week. I think something might be wrong.”
He frowned. “Did you ask him about it?”
“I don’t think he’d tell me even if I figured it out on my own and caught him lying about it. My dad is way too private for something like that.”
“I’m sure he’s fine. Probably just regular checkups. When you get to be his age, there’s a lot of working parts that have to be looked at. And he just lost your mother. Maybe he’s seeing someone to help him cope.”
“Maybe.” She didn’t sound convinced, and her sad voice tore at his heart.
Elijah pulled her into his chest and rested his chin on her head. Whatever she needed, he’d be there for her, that much he was certain.
20
Scarlett
Over the next few weeks, things started to settle. Scarlett fell into a routine with her father and Elijah—one that hadn’t been expected when she’d arrived, but now she was thrilled about. No one knew about her relationship with Elijah, and that was how it would stay for the time being. He was there for her when she needed him, and that was enough.
With each passing day, they were able to right the farm and run it the way it had been intended. Scarlett couldn’t be more excited as everything continued to come together.
Her friendship with Annabel improved as well. She was busy with her new love interest, and while she kept insisting that they go on a double date, Scarlett had managed to keep busy enough that dates simply weren’t a priority.
At least not doubling with her friend. Scarlett did spend a great deal of her evenings in the presence of a man she was quickly falling in love with. This only became a problem when Annabel finally had had enough of Scarlett’s excuses.
“I don’t care what you have going on. It’s been three weeks and you still won’t come out with us. I thought you said that you wanted to get serious with someone. That’s not going to happen if all you’re doing is spending time with my brother.”
They sat perched on the wooden fence that surrounded the edge of the horse corral where Elijah was exercising one of the mares. He glanced in their direction, and Annabel stuck out her tongue at him.
Scarlett laughed. “How old are you?”
