Chapter 29
Scarlett was sitting with her mother, their hands intertwined. Carter and Ox were sitting on the other side of the bed, their heads hanging low. Dr. Peterson was administering some pain medication for Maddie, because all they could do at that point was make sure she was comfortable.
Scarlett hated it, she hated that there was nothing that she could do to help her mother.
Her hazel eyes were almost swollen shut from crying, but she hadn’t left her mother’s bedside since the day before. She couldn’t.
No matter what her father or Carter said, she just couldn’t.
Maddie’s eyes were closed but she was still breathing.
She’d been in so much pain earlier, they’d had to call Dr. Peterson. Once he’d arrived the doctor delivered the terrible news they’d all been waiting for.
She didn’t have much longer at all.
Surely not as long as they’d all been hoping for.
“I don’t want to say goodbye, mama. I’m not ready,” Scarlett breathed.
Maddie squeezed her hand and shook her head.
“It’s not goodbye, baby. I’ll always be around, whenever you feel like you need me. I love you.”
As the words floated past her mother’s lips, Scarlett watched Maddie fall asleep once again.
The pain was so intense she had to press her free hand against her mouth to stifle her tears.
“I love you too,” she whispered.
It’d been storming all day, a clear indication that the universe was just as sad about the loss of Maddie as everyone in her bedroom had to be.
To top it all off, Scarlett hadn’t been able to get a hold of Limit and she’d been trying all night.
She was worried that maybe he’d changed his mind or found someone else to warm his bed while she was away, even though she knew that her line of thinking made no sense.
Just as Scarlett stood up to go grab something to eat, the doorbell rang.
Both Carter and Ox rose to stand, but she stopped them.
“I’ll get it. You stay here,” She said softly.
“Are you sure?,” Ox asked.
She nodded.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Scarlett said as she stepped into the hallway.
The stairway felt longer than it ever had as she descended it, her bare feet making no noise at all. The hallway was dark as was the rest of the house for the most part, so the moon and the occasional streak of lightning in the sky were her only sources of light as she moved to open the door.
As the wet wood swung open, her mouth fell open.
Limit stood on her front porch, his broad shoulders encased in a wet sweater and his shaved head dripping rain water.
“Limit! What are you doing here?,” She asked.
He looked up at her and she watched a drop of water fall off the bridge of his nose.
“You needed me.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, she yanked him into her arms and collapsed against his chest.
He cradled her against his chest as he kicked the front door closed behind him. Scarlett was crying into the crook of his neck when he swept her up into his arms and held her close. She rested on the tops of his wet boots, pressed her body against his completely.
“How? When?”
He kissed her mouth before he answered, his wet lips working against hers gently.
“Maddie called me. I was in the middle of sorting out a few things, and I was gonna get to comin’ out here, but she said you needed me now,” He said roughly.
Scarlett wrapped her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder.
“I do. I really, really do.”
Limit didn’t hesitate to hold her again.
Scarlett didn’t even care that he was getting her all wet, didn’t care that she was crying all over his neck, all she cared about was that she’d needed him, and he’d come.
“I need to get back upstairs. Come with me,” She whispered.
Limit took her hand into his and followed her up the grand staircase.
His tall frame was so close to her that she could feel the damp heat radiating from him through his thick sweater.
“Did you drive straight through?”
“Yes. Your mom said you needed me here as soon as possible.”
The fact that her mother had taken the time to call Limit, and only the Lord knows when that would have been, because she was surrounded by people every hour of the day, struck her deeply. Obviously, her mother knew her better than Scarlett gave her credit for, because she did need her man, and seeing him soaking wet on her doorstep only served to prove to her further that he truly cared about her.
Before they got to her mother’s bedroom, Scarlett turned around and stopped him.
“I just want to tell you that I love you, and I appreciate you driving all the way down here. I didn’t expect it at all, but I’m so glad you’re here. If I forget to tell you later, remember that I said it now, okay?”
Limit stroked her cheek before he kissed her forehead.
“Don’t worry about me right now. Let’s go sit down with your mama. You and I can talk later,” He told her.
Scarlett gripped his hand tightly in hers and slowly opened the door to her mother’s room again.
Ox’s gaze fell on Limit immediately, but he didn’t say anything, he just nodded.
“Carter? This is Limit. Limit, this is Carter,” Scarlett offered.
Limit held his hand out to Carter instantly, and Carter shook it with a tight grip.
“Nice to finally meet you,” Carter said politely.
Scarlett could tell that he wanted to say more, but it wasn’t the time.
Maddie’s eyes opened slightly and she peeked at both Scarlett and the man now standing at her bedside.
“Well, well, you can follow orders after all,” Maddie whispered hoarsely.
Scarlett laughed softly as she sat down in the same chair she’d vacated only moments before and took her mother’s hand again. She squeezed it briefly.
“Thank you, mama.”
Scarlett could tell that Maddie knew she was thanking her for far more than just calling her man home to her.
Limit pulled up another chair beside Scarlett, some fancy chair that was normally just there for decoration, but he didn’t complain about it. He just sat silently beside Scarlett and watched her with his observant gaze like he always did.
Dr. Peterson came into the room and checked Maddie’s vitals, something that had Scarlett in tears again.
Limit did the best he could to comfort her, and she appreciated it more than he would ever know. There wasn’t much to be done besides sit with Maddie and wait.
Scarlett hated the waiting.
As night fell and the day came to an end, Carter ordered food for delivery and Scarlett did her best to make Maddie comfortable.
As the food arrived, Maddie became lucid once again, and her astute gaze landed on Limit immediately
“I can see what my daughter sees in you, Colton. You’re a very handsome man.”
Limit dipped his head and thanked her politely.
“I want to hear it from your mouth that you’re going to take care of my daughter, no matter what that entails.”
Limit glanced at Scarlett before he answered, “I’ll give her whatever she wants or needs for as long as she’ll have me.”
Maddie seemed more than pleased by his response, but so did Carter. Scarlett could see that Ox was doing his best to stay out of it, more than likely because he spent all of his days around Limit and knew their relationship dynamic better than anyone. Maddie didn’t need to hear all the gritty details of their past drama; she only needed to know that things were going to be okay.
“Good answer, I hope you mean it.”
“With all my heart,” He told her truthfully.
Scarlett’s gaze collided with his, but he didn’t do anything other than place a hand on her thigh and squeeze.
In that moment, she didn’t need anything more than him.
A promise was a promise, and that’s what he’d given not only her, but her mother. He’d driven all the way to Louisiana for her.
He’d asked her father permission for her hand because he loved her.
Scarlett wasn’t an expert on love, she wasn’t even well versed with it, but everything her mother had told her weighed heavy on her mind.
Their pasts didn’t matter.
Their mistakes didn’t matter.
The fact that they loved each other enough to work through it and try- that mattered.
Love is a choice, and she’d made the choice to love Limit exactly as he is.
As his silvery eyes met hers again, she felt a sense of contentment settle deep into her bones that was powerful enough to settle her agony for just a moment.
It wasn’t a tsunami and it certainly wasn’t earth-shaking, but it was enough to remind Scarlett that everything was going to be okay.
Maybe not right then.
Maybe not the next day, either.
Truth was, Limit was a glutton for punishment. He’d be content to keep his pain all to himself no matter the outcome because he was so used to being on his own that he didn’t remember how to share.
Scarlett realized that in loving Limit she was going to have to teach him how to do that all over again.
“I love you,” She whispered.
Limit tucked his hand into hers and kissed the back of it.
“I love you, too, princess.”
Not a happily ever after, and not the ending she’d dreamt of as a child, but that was okay with her.
She didn’t need it anyways.