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A multitude of thoughts, questions, and concerns raced through him. This news knocked him off his feet. Did Scarlett know? If she did, she hadn’t said anything. Perhaps she thought it wasn’t her place to tell him. Elijah swallowed hard. “I’m sorry.”
“Thank you. But I don’t need your pity. You’ll be carrying on my family’s legacy, and that’s enough.”
Elijah shook his head. “What about Scarlett. It should stay in the fam—”
“I’ll not have my daughter trying to run this farm while worrying over me. It’s too much.”
“Is that what she thinks?” Elijah demanded.
“It doesn’t matter. I’ve made my decision. Everything has been set and she’ll find out when I’m good and ready.”
“She doesn’t know?” His voice rose a few decibels and he half-expected Carlos to get upset and tell him to keep it down. “You have to tell her. She needs to know what you’re dealing with. That’s what family is for.”
“I’m her father,” he said with a hint of fury. “I raised her. I cared for her. It’s my job to make sure she’s okay, not the other way around.”
“You’re a fool if you think she wouldn’t want to know.” It was all he could think of to say. “She’s caring, and she loves you. She deserves to be able to make that decision on her own.”
“Well, lucky for me, it’s too late. She’s gone and left for the airport, and she’ll be unreachable for hours. She’s heading back to a good job and a place where she’s felt more at home.”
“Do you really think that?” It felt like poison had seeped into his stomach. It swirled and contaminated everything inside him, making everything taste bitter. “Because if you do, then you don’t know your daughter at all.” His heart hammered, making him feel even more sick to his stomach. If she was at the airport, he had only a short amount of time to stop her. “I’m calling her.”
Carlos scowled at him. “This isn’t your information to tell.”
“That may be. But I love Scarlett more than I love this farm, and I’d rather you be mad at me than her.” He pulled out his phone and dialed her number as he hurried for his truck. He didn’t care what it took. He’d find a way to reach her, even if it meant going to the airport himself.
Her phone went to voicemail. Again and again, no matter how many times he called it. Was she already in the air? Had she blocked his number?
Elijah wasn’t sure he’d have a chance to make it to the Colorado Springs Regional Airport if she was scheduled to fly out already. He probably should have gotten the flight information from Carlos. From Colorado Springs, she was likely to hop over to Denver, and there were several options for international travel from that location. For all he knew, she was already on a plane. But then, she could just be waiting and refusing to take his calls. Annabel had done just that, which was why he couldn’t get through to her either.
Shoot! Why had he waited so long to finally get his head on straight?
26
Scarlett
Scarlett sat on the plane, having just taken her seat. She stared out the small window at the dismal afternoon, not surprised that it matched her mood completely. It wasn’t just walking away from the friendship she’d fixed with Annabel.
It was so much more than that.
She’d lost the farm.
She’d managed not to get as close to her father as she’d wanted. He’d been holding back and keeping his distance—something she realized he’d done a lot of over the past several years.
And she’d lost Elijah.
Coming home to Copper Creek was supposed to be the one thing to get her on track with her life. Yes, she’d taken a few detours to finally realize what that meant, but this was it.
And yet, it had turned out to be wrong.
There was no one and nothing left in Copper Creek for her to start the life she truly wanted.
No one but Annabel.
And she could travel to Germany when they wanted to get together.
Scarlett let a sad sigh escape, her elbow propped up on the armrest. People continued to flood onto the plane, finding their seats and getting settled. The white noise from the air conditioning wasn’t nearly as soothing as it had once been.
There was no more excitement.
