CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Scarlett shouldered her camera bag, taking one last look around the fun-sized apartment she’d borrowed from Emerson. Somewhere right around two a.m., the concept of sleep became one of those things that was great in theory but impossible in practice, so she’d thrown in the towel and tidied the place from top to bottom as she’d packed. Everything had fit in the Volkswagen just as it had on the day she’d arrived, and funny how it seemed like it had been forever and five minutes ago all at the same time.
You might want to make that never, sweetheart.
Scarlett ran a hand over her breastbone, trying to cover the ache there. But she knew it wouldn’t work—shit, she’d tried it nearly nonstop for the last twelve hours. The only thing that would work was punching her passport and getting back behind her camera, where she belonged.
Crossing the threshold, she locked the door and slid the key under the mat. It was a move she’d never dream of in New York, but then again, she’d text Daisy as soon as she made her first pit stop in Lockridge.
Time to hit the road. No matter how badly she didn’t want to.
No matter how much it hurt.
Scarlett took one last look at the Twin Pines parking lot before kicking her block-heeled booties into motion across the asphalt, but she’d barely made it to her car before her cell phone buzzed in her back pocket. Her heartbeat rocketed in a moment of bold, stupid hope, but the sensation quickly flamed out at the sight of Hunter’s phone number on her caller ID.
“Hi, Hunter. What’s up? How’s your dad?”
“He’s hanging in there. Did I catch you on the road?”
“Sort of,” Scarlett said, finishing her trip to the Volkswagen and going through the pleasantries with the door locks and the ignition. “I was actually just heading out.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re not too far away. I’ve got one of your lenses here at the farm. You must’ve left it by accident.”
Surprise prickled through her. “Are you sure?”
Hunter’s laughter moved over the line. “The only cameras we have around this place are the ones on our phones, so yeah, I’d say I’m pretty sure.”
“Point taken,” Scarlett said with a tiny smile. She was normally meticulous about her equipment, but she had stockpiled some lenses at Cross Creek. She must’ve missed one somehow. “I can come by and get it since I’m on my way out of town. I have Emerson’s key, anyway.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you in a few.”
After a quick trip back to the welcome mat, Scarlett aimed the convertible at Cross Creek. There was the possibility Eli would be there, she knew. But after last night, he’d made it clear that he belonged at the farm and she didn’t, so even if he was, surely he wouldn’t be champing at the bit to be anywhere near her.
By the time she pulled up the gravel drive leading to the main house, the pang in her belly had (mostly. Sort of) subsided. Eli’s truck was nowhere to be seen, and she made her way to the porch to place a knock on the door so she could make the swap and get on the road before that changed.
To her surprise, it was Owen, not Hunter, who answered the door.
“Um, hi,” she said, but he met her confusion with a grin.
“Hey, Scarlett. Hunter told me you’d be stoppin’ by. Come on in, and I’ll go get what you came for.”
“Oh. Sure.” Going into the house hadn’t really been on her agenda, but she didn’t want to be rude. Scarlett stepped into the foyer, but her feet clattered to a sloppy halt as soon as she reached the living room.
Eli stood front and center on the area rug with two huge duffel bags at his feet.
“Right.” Owen’s smile turned the slightest bit guilty, and Hunter’s was a perfect match as he appeared beside his brother in the hallway. “Sorry, but we sort of lied to you.”
“And by ‘sort of,’ we mean ‘totally,’” Hunter added, placing a quick squeeze on her shoulder before following Owen back down the hallway and out the front door.
Scarlett crossed her arms over the front of her sweater, partly as a defense and partly because she was sure that if she didn’t, her heart would do a triple gainer right out of her chest. “What are you doing here?” she finally managed.
“I’m here because I knew you’d be here. I know—” Eli broke off, pain and regret making a clear-cut appearance in his eyes. But they didn’t stop him from continuing. “I know I said a lot of things last night that hurt you, and none of them were true. It doesn’t change the fact that I said them, though, and for that I apologize.”
She felt her stare go round and wide. “Okay.”
“It’s not okay, though. I said those things to push you away, but what I should’ve done instead was tell you the truth,” he said. “I should’ve told you that I was torn over what to do and how best to help my family. I should’ve told you I was panicking that the assignment in Brazil got so big, so fast.”
“Anything else?” Scarlett asked, hope flickering strong and sweet in her chest.
Eli nodded. “I should’ve told you that you were right about who I am. I’ve spent all this time worrying about belonging in a place, about not belonging at the farm, that I didn’t see what was right in front of me. I don’t fit into a place, Scarlett. I fit with a person. I fit with you.”
Tears welled, sudden and hot, and oh God, her heart was going to pound right out of her rib cage.
“I thought I came from everywhere,” Scarlett whispered. “My whole life, I thought I belonged everywhere, but I don’t. I belong with you. My home—my heart, my everything—it’s all you. I belong with you, Eli.”
He moved to cross the living room, but she met him halfway, throwing her arms around his shoulders just before he pulled her in close in return. His lips brushed over hers, and nothing had ever felt so good or so vital in her life.
“I’m so sorry,” Eli said, but she pulled back to look at him, shaking her head.
“You love your family. I understand. I love them, too.”
He lowered his forehead to hers, the corners of his mouth edging up into a mischievous smile. “Speaking of which, I should probably tell you one more thing.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Everyone around here seems to think you’re family, too. See for yourself.”
He swung her toward the side table where all the photos she’d taken were lined up, but with one addition.
“Oh my God.” Scarlett’s tears began to fall in earnest, but she didn’t care. “Is that . . .?”
“The picture Owen took of me and you two nights ago. You’re part of our family, Scarlett. I love you.”
“I love you, too, cowboy.”
And as she pressed to her toes to kiss him, she knew they were both exactly where they belonged.