I figure it’s probably Charlotte or Kim. I never expected to see Pearl Jones or Elliot when I answered the door, but I come face to face with Pearl when I swing the door open. As soon as her Chanel No. 5 perfume hits my nose, memories of my childhood attack my mind.
“Hello, daughter.”
***
“What are you doing here?” I snap as soon as my brain catches up.
“Well, is that anyway to greet your mother and fiancé?” she snaps back.
“He is not my fiancé,” I growl. Elliot’s face pales at the venom in my voice. Honestly, what did he expect? Me to just jump in his arms. “How did you find me?”
“Well, after you ignored my many phone calls, I became worried,” I snort, “That something happened to you, so I hired a P.I.”
“You hired a private investigator?” I ask incredulously. This can’t be happening. This isn’t happening right now. I’m still dreaming, I have to be. This is a nightmare.
“Well, aren’t you going to invite your mother and soon-to-be husband in?”
“He is not my soon-to-be husband,” I reiterate.
“Well, it seems you two have some things to talk about. I’ll be waiting inside,” Pearl says as she pushes past me. Before she’s all the way inside, she grabs my upper arm roughly. I wince from the pain.
“Hey,” Elliot begins but Peal shoots him a glare that quickly quiets him down. Coward.
“Do not disappoint me even more than you already have,” she hisses in my face before disappearing all the way inside.
“What are you doing here, Elliot?” I ask while I try to rub the pain away from my arm.
“I miss you, Eva. I love you. I want you to come home. We can make this work,” he insists.
“You don’t love me.”
“How would you know?” he yells.
“Because I know what love is!” I yell back. “Love is when you clear out an entire bar and have a candle lit dinner in the middle of it just because. Love is just the two of you standing in the middle of a makeshift dance floor swaying to country music dressed in a pair of yoga pants and your hair being in a mess, but it’s still one of the best nights of your life because he’s there…holding you.
“Love is sitting out in the freezing cold in a tree stand just because you want to be near them. Love is missing them when they’ve only been gone for mere minutes.” I laugh to myself. “Love is when he reenacts your favorite part of an old movie because he knows it’s something you’ve always wanted to do, and he would do just about anything to put a smile on your face.
“Love, for me, is waking up here in Alaska every morning and knowing that no matter what trials I’m about to face that day, it will all be okay because he’ll be there…with me. I know what love is, Elliot. And it’s not sleeping with someone else behind the person you supposedly love’s back.”
My heart tightens when I see tears in his eyes. “It was just a mistake.”
“I believe you’re sorry, and I forgive you, but I’ve moved on. You need to as well.”
I see the acceptance in his eyes before he shakes his head. “I know you don’t believe me, but I do love you, and because of that I’ll let you go and hope one day you’ll change your mind,” he chokes out.
I surprise the shit out of him when I give him a hug. “I hope one day you get to experience what true love is. It’s…magical,” I say. When he pulls back, he gives me a sad look.
“Let your mother know I’ll be in the car, will ya?” I nod. “Bye, Eva.”
“Bye, Elliot.” I stand there and watch him climb into the car, feeling lighter. Now to go deal with Pearl.
She’s sitting in the living room, her hands folded neatly in her lap as she looks at Brantley’s house in utter distaste.
“Elliot’s waiting in the car,” I say when I enter the living room. She stands with a triumphant smile.
“Good. I’m glad he could talk some sense into you. We’ll swing by Robert’s cabin for your luggage on the way out of this god-awful place.”
“I’m not going, mom,” I say hesitantly.
“What do you mean you’re not going?” she hisses.
“I mean, I’m not coming back to South Carolina…ever. I’m moving here.”
To this, she laughs. “You think I’m going to let you throw away our future on some poor man who has nothing going for him and is running a failing bar?” she yells.
“He’s not just some man. I love him, and you have no idea what you’re talking about,” I yell.
“I don’t?” she asks. “Take a look at that.” She thrusts papers into my hand. I scan it quickly and my heart drops when I realize it’s confirming what Pearl said. Brantley owes one hundred thousand dollars to the bank and only has a month to get the funds.
“My P.I. dug that up. He’s only with you for your money, Eva.” I close my eyes against the pain. Not for me, but for Brantley. He’s about to lose his dream. That had to be what the meeting in Snowridge was about.
“You’re wrong. Maybe not about this,” I hold up the papers, “But you’re wrong about him using me for money. I haven’t been brave enough to even tell him. I love you, despite what you’ve done to me in my life. I hope one day we can move past that and have a real relationship, but I’m not leaving Alaska, and you coming here talking about Brantley in a negative way and just being an all-around bitch isn’t going to change that.”
I’m so numb I don’t even feel the slap to my face. “How dare you talk to me like that! I raised you.”
I see red. Stepping closer I dip my face so close that our noses are practically touching. “That is the last time you will ever lay a fucking hand on me, mother. Get. Out.”
At a loss for words, apparently, Pearl adjusts her sweater set and heads for the door. She opens it to find Char standing outside about to walk in. “Pearl,” she says in a sugary-sweet tone.
“Char, how unpleasant to see you,” Pearl says, her voice laced with dislike.
Char smirks before looking up and searching the sky.
“What are you doing?” Pearl snaps after a few seconds.
“Oh, just waiting on that house to come falling on your witch-ass,” Char says casually. Pearl’s back goes rigid.
“Get out of my way!” she orders.
“No problem.” Char obliges.
Before Pearl gets into the car, she looks at me and delivers one more threat. “This isn’t over, Eva.”
“Bye, Mom.”
Pearl rolls her eyes at Char before hopping in the car. I look at Char and laugh when I see she’s using her middle finger to ‘scratch her nose.’
Once their car disappears from sight, we walk back inside. “What was she doing here?” Char asks. I spend thirty minutes retelling everything that happened.
“What a bitch.”
“I know, but I ain’t got time to deal with this right now. I have to talk to Brantley,” I say as I grab my purse and rush out of the house.
I wish I would have known I was rushing to a heartbreak.
Chapter Seventeen
DON’T BE SORRY, BABY.
JUST GET OUT OF THE PLANE!
When I pull up to The Tavern, I’m thankful for the empty parking lot. I have no doubts that the conversation we are about to have is going to be uncomfortable. I don’t know how mad Brantley is going to be when he finds out I hid the fact that I’m a millionaire from him.
I walk in to see him wiping down the bar. From the rigidness of his body, I know something is wrong.
“Hey,” I say as cheerfully as possible. He glances up at me, not once losing the scowl on his face, and looks back down.
Something is definitely wrong. I take a deep breath and slowly make my way to him. Why does it feel like I’m walking the plank? I sit in one of the bar stools across from him and silently beg him to look at me.
“Is something wrong?” I ask slowly.
“Is it true?” he asks just as slowly, but still doesn’t stop wiping the already sparkling clean bar. Now
I’m confused.
“Is what true?” That was the wrong question to ask. Brantley picks up a glass that was sitting on the bar next to him and throws it across the room, where it hits the wall and shatters all over the floor. I jump up and take a few steps back, trying to put some space between us, but Brantley isn’t having it. He eats up the space in a few long strides and wastes no time getting in my face.
“Did you lie to me, Eva? Are you really the rich girl I pegged you to be from the start?”
I can feel the color drain from my face. So does Brantley. He gives me a sarcastic smile. “Don’t bother fucking answering. Your face just gave you away.” He starts to back away while running his hands through his hair.
I clear my throat as I stand up straighter. If he wants to fight about this, we will, but I won’t give up on us. I just found him. “I didn’t lie to you,” I say calmly.
“Lying by omission is still lying!” He roars. “So don’t give me that bullshit.”
“How did you find out?” I yell back. Brantley gives me a disbelieving look.
“Is that really the motherfucking question you want to ask me right now? You know what, fuck it. I found out when your mother waltzed her stoic ass into my bar and filled me in, after she let me know what a piece of shit I was and how I would never be good enough for you. By the way, babe, she’s as big of a bitch as I thought she would be.”
Pearl. The very bane of my existence. I should have fucking known she wouldn’t just leave. She had to put her claws into the one place I loved, the one person I love.
I take a tentative step toward him. “Brantley, I’m sorry she said that to you, but please, what she said is bullshit. Please don’t listen to her,” I beg. “I was going to tell you, I swear.”
Brantley, who had his back to me before, whips around to face me. “When, Eva? When were you going to tell me? Before or after your bid for my bar was accepted?”
Now it’s my turn to look at him with wide eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“Game’s up, babe. Pearl showed me the paperwork. I know you’re putting in an offer for The Tavern, and as soon as my month is up, it’s yours.”
“Brant, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I insist.
“Stop fucking lying!” he bellows
“I’m not,” I shout. My stomach churns as nausea hits the back of my throat when Brantley grabs my upper arms—not painfully, but rough—and jerks me to him.
“I saw the papers. Everything that comes out of your mouth is a lie. You’re just the spoiled little bitch I thought you were. I don’t want to see you. I don’t want to hear from you. I want you to get the hell out of my face and out of Alaska. You don’t belong here, princess!” After that devastating blow, he lets me go and takes a step back. His arms are crossed and his face is set in stone. No remorse. Nothing. He means it. Every. Word.
You don’t belong here, princess.
You don’t belong here, princess.
It’s that last sentence that keeps replaying in my mind. It’s the only thing I hear over the rushing sound in my ears. I don’t tell him that I knew nothing about Pearl’s offer for the bar. I don’t even tell him I love him. I just numbly walk past him and grab my purse before walking out the door. I hate myself for wishing he would stop me, wishing he would call me back. He doesn’t.
I drive back to Robert’s cabin, never once shedding a tear. I put the truck in park and walk inside. Apollo wastes no time running to me and I lean down and give him as much love as I can muster before walking to the kitchen table and quietly placing my purse down. “What’s wrong?” Char asks me.
“I’m leaving. I’m going back to Carolina.”
Now she comes to stand in front of me. “What do you mean you’re leaving? What about Brantley?”
“Brantley and I are done,” I say casually, like my heart isn’t breaking, and make my way to the stairs.
“Is this about the money? Come on, Eva, just give him time to cool down,” she reasons. I reach the top step before turning back to her.
“It’s not about that. It’s the fact that he’s right. I don’t belong here, and I’m not staying here another night longer, so could you be my best friend and call Gilbert I want to leave immediately,” I snap.
“Okay. Yeah, I will,” Char says softly after realizing that I’m not changing my mind.
“Thank you,” I say, a little nicer this time. I’m almost out of earshot when I hear her call my name again. This time I don’t face her, but I do stop.
“I hope you’re not making a mistake.” I close my eyes against the pain in my heart before taking a deep breath.
“I’m not,” I lie.
***
It only took me thirty minutes to pack my Louie Vuitton luggage and all of Apollo’s things. Gilbert was already waiting for us when I arrived at the dock.
Charlotte made the decision to come home too, saying she didn’t want to leave me alone, but I know that’s not the truth. She’s running scared and using me as an excuse to do it. I don’t have the energy to call her out on it.
We just sat down and laid Apollo’s carrier between our seats when we hear Charlotte’s name being called over the wind from the plane. My heart stops when I see James running up to the side of the plane, looking confused.
“Charlotte? What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he yells over the noise. She sticks her head out of the door, her face full of remorse.
“I’m going home, James.”
“You are home. Get outta that plane!”
“Please don’t make this harder,” she pleads. I can hear the tears in her voice.
“You promised, remember? You promised you wouldn’t run scared,” he reminds her frantically.
“I’m sorry, James.”
“Don’t be sorry, baby, just get out of the plane,” he says, his voice thick with emotion. The plane starts to turn, getting ready for takeoff. “Charlotte, get off of that fucking plane!” James roars. Char shakes her head and shuts the door.
“I hope you’re not making a mistake.” I echo her earlier words.
“I’m not,” she says, but the tears falling down her cheeks are telling me she’s lying.
“Charlotte, you don’t have to come. I’ll be fine.”
“This isn’t about you, Eva. It would have come to an end eventually. Everything good in my life does. I just ended it earlier. This way it won’t hurt as bad. So, could you be my best friend and drop it?” she snaps.
I bite the need to point out that it looks like it’s still hurting her just as bad and face forward.
“Gilbert?” I say over the headphones.
“Yeah?”
“Can we make a stop in Snowridge? I have something I have to do before I leave.”
“Yeah, darling,” he says sadly.
“Why do we have to stop in Snowridge?” Char asks.
“Snowridge National Bank.”
***
It took an hour to convince the manager at the bank to accept the payment for Brantley’s bar without having to call him, but it got done. He may be done with me, we may be over, but I’m not going to sit back and watch him lose everything he’s worked for, especially not to Pearl.
So, the spoiled little rich bitch paid off his loan. He now owns The Tavern, free and clear.
I climb back into the plane and put my headset back on. “Get me outta here, Gilbert,” I whisper.
“Sure, darling.”
Chapter Eighteen
I DON’T CARE WHERE YOU’RE GOING,
AS LONG AS YOU TAKE ME WITH YOU…
“We suck.” Charlotte sighs as she plops down on the couch next to me.
It’s been two weeks since I left Alaska, and I haven’t come out of this empty state I’ve been trapped in since Brantley broke me. During the days where I have to be around people, I can pretend I’m fine. I can plaster the fakest smile on my face and pretend that my heart isn’t shattering with every breath I take, but at night it’s impossib
le.
In my haste to leave, I didn’t really think about where I was going to live once I got back to South Carolina. The condo I lived in before was shared with Elliot, so that was out, and there was no way in hell I was living under the same roof as Pearl. Thankfully, Charlotte’s mom ran off with one of her many boyfriends, leaving the trailer empty, so Char graciously let me stay with her.
Every night, I lie in a twin size bed in a trailer that smells like cigarette smoke and flip through memories of Alaska. I replayed our first date, the first time we made love. Everything he whispered to me while I was in his arms echoed through my ears, making the pain almost unbearable, but I haven’t cried. The tears just won’t come. I’m numb.
Pearl is obviously really delighted to have me back, and, after more arguing, eventually agreed to drop the whole idea of me marrying Elliot as long as I agree to never go back to Alaska. No problem. I don’t belong there.
I should be mad at Pearl. I should be screaming, yelling, hell, even throwing things at her, but then I think, why? All she did was be her devious self. It was Brantley who believed every lie. It was Brantley who told me to leave. It was him who shattered my heart and broke my spirit. I hate him, and I hate it even more that I am irrevocably in love with him.
Even though Pearl has agreed to drop Elliot, this doesn’t mean she hasn’t tried to set me up with every semi-rich guy she can find. I’ve lost track of how many times she’s attempted to persuade me into a blind date. I shot her down every time. She may have me back in South Carolina, but she has lost me as her personal doll. She can find a different way to make her money.
“I think I’m broken,” I inform Charlotte while I watch my hundredth episode of Jerry Springer. You think I got problems? You should watch this show.
“Why do you think you’re broken?” Char mumbles back. It would appear she’s numb as well.
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