15. Ellis
Chapter fifteen
Ellis
We spent nearly three hours cuddled together on that couch until the snowfall stopped and we no longer had an excuse to stay in the cabin.
“We need to head home,” Cara said, stretching her limbs.
I was reluctant to let go of her. It wasn’t every day I got to hold the barely dressed body of the woman of my dreams. Even if we hadn’t had sex, that was the most intimate moment I’d had in years. Just holding her against me was more fulfilling than any fling I’d had in the past years. What they said was really true. It’s different when there’s love.
Cara got up to get dressed and pressed a kiss to my lips before extinguishing the fire we’d lit in the fireplace.
For a few moments, I enjoyed the view of Cara, her blonde hair disheveled, in the soft light that came through the dirty cabin windows.
She must’ve felt my gaze on her because she turned around and smiled.
“Come on, Ellis. They’re going to get worried about us if we don’t show back up soon. Put your phone away, and help me get the horses ready.”
“Just checking when the next snowstorm is predicted to come so I can plan our next trail ride accordingly. Look, bad weather on Thursday.” I showed her the phone with a grin. “Do you want to go on a ride with me on Thursday?”
She laughed. “No way, mister. I want a proper date, understood? And don’t get your hopes up too high. This was an exception.”
I sighed as I got up and put my clothes back on. “That doesn’t sound very promising.”
“Don’t look so sour. I’ll go on that date with you, and we will have fun, but what else do you expect to come of this?”
I didn’t know what to answer. My life was in Stenton, and hers was here. A two-hour drive, doable for a long-distance relationship, but I worked seventy hours a week, often more, usually on weekends, sometimes until the middle of the night. Making it work sounded impossible, yet I wanted so very much to make it work.
“I can’t help it, Cara. The heart wants what it wants. I care about you so much. Always have, always will.”
“I care about you, too, Ellis. But we need to be realistic. We’ll take the time together we can get and we enjoy it, and then we go back to our normal life, okay?”
I shrugged. “We’ll see.”
Cara blew out some air. “Stubborn bastard. Come on, let’s get going.”
I wasn’t ready to give up so easily. Somehow, I would figure out a way to be part of Cara’s life again. And of our son’s life. Cara was still oblivious to the fact that I’d figured out I was Riley’s father. I was more certain than ever, since she slipped, that he was really twelve, not eleven, like she’d initially told me. Sooner or later, I would have to confront her about why she’d tried to hide my son from me, but it wasn’t the right time just yet. The first order of business was getting back with Cara. Hopefully, she would be more open with me then.
Since the weather had cleared, the ride back to the ranch passed surprisingly quickly. Or maybe the fact that I wanted to squeeze every last second out of my time together with her made it pass faster.
One way or another, much earlier than I wanted, we arrived back at Cedar Creek Ranch. Wyatt was working a large black horse in the round pen when we led our horses back to the stable.
“You’re back,” he said when we walked past. “Did you get caught up in the snow? My parents were starting to get nervous. Mom was that close to calling the police.”
Cara stopped and leaned against the fence to talk to him. “We’re fine. We weathered it out in your old cabin.”
“And how did Mr. Fancypants like it?” Wyatt asked without taking his eyes off the horse running circles around him. “Did he like what he saw?”
I couldn’t suppress a smile. “I had some breathtaking views, yes.” Mountains and pine forests were nice, but they were nothing compared to the sight of Cara’s naked body. Wyatt Spencer didn’t have to know those details, though, so I left it at that.
We returned to the stable, and under Cara’s guidance I took off Jupiter’s bridle and saddle. Decades had passed since I’d last spent time in a stable, but things were coming back to me quickly, and I had to admit I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the animals. Maybe that was a hobby worth picking up again if I could find some free time in my busy schedule.
Just when I carried Jupiter’s saddle back into the tack room, my phone rang.
“Ah, work calls. I guess that means we’re truly back in civilization,” Cara said with a sad sigh.
I quickly checked the display and saw my father’s number. Not really in the mood to get another lecture on why the deal was taking so long, I considered not answering, but I’d ignored a lot of his calls over the last couple of days and could tell he was getting angry, so I picked up.
“You need to return to Stenton right away, Ellis.” That was his first sentence.
No way in hell I would leave Brightwater, not when things were finally moving in the right direction with Cara. “I can’t. I’m really busy here,” I said as I tried to hang up Jupiter’s bridle one-handed.
“It’s Harper,” my father said, voice ice cold.
I froze midmovement. “Is she in trouble?”
“There was a car accident.”
The bridle slipped out of my grasp and clattered to the ground. “What? What happened? Is she alright?”
“She’s in the hospital.”
“How is she? Jesus Christ, Dad, talk to me.”
“She drove her car into someone’s house because she was drunk. That’s what happened. She’s injured but apparently not in any immediate danger. She’s being transferred to the Whitebay Medical Clinic right now.”
I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. Whitebay Medical Clinic was a high-end private clinic my father donated large amounts of money to every year. It was stuffed full of renowned experts, but they didn’t have an emergency room or an intensive care unit, so if she was transferred there, it probably meant her injuries weren’t severe.
“Okay, I will be there as soon as possible. Meet you there.”
As soon as I hung up, Cara’s face appeared in the doorway of the tack room. “Sorry for listening in, but is everything alright? You sounded panicked.”
“It’s my sister. She had a car accident.”
Her eyes went wide. “Harper? Oh my God, is she alright?”
“I’m not sure. My father was very tight-lipped, but at least her life isn’t in danger. I think. I’ll have to leave Brightwater right away. I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone, but our date is going to happen, okay?”
I leaned in an pressed a quick kiss on her lips.
She caressed the side of my face and even in my worried state the simple gesture made my heart beat faster. “Don’t worry about that now,” she said. “Go take care of Harper.”
I arrived at the Whitebay Medical Clinic a little over two hours after my father’s phone call. Parking in the hospital parking lot set the tone for the experience. Not that I lacked the funds, but nineteen dollars per hour caused even me to raise an eyebrow. The hospital itself was a sleek but bland building: beige facades with large glass panels, surrounded by manicured greenery. There even was a fountain topped by some kind of modern art sculpture.
When I walked through the double sliding glass doors into the large lobby, I was greeted by polished marble floors, minimalist furniture, soft ambient lightning, and an unnerving quietness.
Usually, hospitals were bustling, busy places, but this lobby had the atmosphere of an exclusive spa, and except for two people in peach-colored scrubs and a Middle Eastern–looking man in a burgundy velvet bathrobe, no one was there to fill the large space.
The woman at the reception desk greeted me with a wide smile. “We’ve been awaiting you, Mr. Benton. Your sister is residing on the sixth floor. Room 608. You’ll find the elevator over there. Feel free to speak to the staff if you need anything.”
I followed the receptionist’s directions to my sister’s room through wide, well-lit corridors just as quiet as the lobby had been and found my sister’s room without issues.
Worried about the state I would find her in, I knocked on the door with the number 608.
To my relief, my sister called out, “Come in.” She sounded weak, but at least she was conscious—a good sign.
I entered the room and found Harper in the hospital bed. She had several cuts and bruises on her face, and a large white bandage covered most of her forehead. Her left arm was in a sling, her hair was a mess, and her face looked pale, but other than that, she seemed to be alright.
“Hey Ellis! Pretty nice room, huh?”
It was. The room was at least twice the size of a usual hospital room. It had wooden flooring and warm beige walls. Floor-to-ceiling windows flooded the room with light, and a flatscreen TV on the wall, at least sixty inches big. Ignoring the IV stand, the numerous medical monitors, and the fact that the bed had a remote control with more buttons than an airplane cockpit, it almost looked like a hotel room. A pretty expensive hotel room.
I pulled over the armchair, which was as beige as the rest of this hospital, and sat down next to her bed, taking her hand, careful not the squeeze too hard because it, too, was covered in scratches and cuts.
“Where’s Dad?” I asked. I’d expected to meet him in Harper’s room, but there was no sign of him.
Harper tried to shrug but winced in pain halfway through the motion. “No idea. He hasn’t shown up yet. Damn, this hurts.”
“How bad is it?”
“Not too bad. I have a broken collarbone and a broken rib. And a pretty nasty gash on my forehead, but other than that, I’m feeling alright. Might be the pain meds, though. They’re not stingy with the good stuff here. I’ll give them that.”
“What happened? Dad said you were drunk.” I tried not to sound too accusatory.
“Eh… appropriately tipsy for early afternoon.”
“Harper, cut the joking. This is serious. What happened?”
She looked at me with a little pout. “You are taking all the fun out of this, Ellis.”
“Harper…”
“Fine, yes. I was drunk. Camilla and I were goofing around, and before I knew it, we were in someone’s living room.”
“What the hell, Harper? Is Camilla alright? Was anyone else injured?”
“No! Camilla is fine. She only got a few scratches and a black eye from the airbag. They’ve already discharged her. Don’t make a big deal out of this.”
With a frustrated sigh, I let go of her hand to rub my eyes. “This is a big deal. Someone could have died.”
“Yeah, but nobody did, so calm down, okay?”
I shook my head in silence. I knew Harper partied a lot, but drunk driving was incredibly irresponsible, even for a rebellious young rich girl like her. And I didn’t at all like the fact that she was already drunk enough to lose control of her car in the early afternoon.
With a sinking feeling in my stomach, a realization set in.
“Harper… do you… do you have a problem with drinking?”
She snorted. “Of course I do. Look at my life. Drinking is the only way to not die from boredom and emptiness.”
She was trying to sound funny, but I’d known her all her life, and I could hear the trace if vulnerability in her voice very well.
Had I missed the signs? I’d been so busy with work that I didn’t even notice how my little sister had slipped from recreational drinking into alcohol abuse. And who knew what else she took during those party nights? I was her big brother. I should’ve noticed she wasn’t well. Full of guilt, I took her hand in mine again. “This is not good. We need to do something about this.”
Her brow furrowed, and her lip quivered a bit. “Hey, come on, stop it. Don’t look at me like this. Don’t—”
The door flew open, and my father waltzed into the room. His eyes wandered over Harper, but they were icy cold, showing no concern, just anger.
“I just got off the phone with the owner of the house. He’s going to sue.”
Harper’s expression changed quickly. “Hello, Father. I’m feeling alright. Thank you for asking.”
Our father stood at the foot of her bed, shoulders rigid and his mouth a hard, thin line. “Don’t expect me to clean up your mess this time, Harper. What on earth were you thinking?”
“It was an accident, Dad. I wasn’t thinking anything.”
“You were drunk.”
“A little tipsy, maybe.”
“The police report said you had a blood alcohol of point two seven percent. That’s not a little tipsy. That’s drunk.”
I reflexively let go of Harper’s hand. “Honestly, Harper?”
“Okay, maybe more than a little tipsy. But I’m young, and I have more money than I know what to do with. Let me live a little.”
“Oh, the judge will just love this,” my father said.
Harper rolled her eyes. “As if you would let it come to that. Just imagine what the newspapers would write about us. Rich girls gone wild. Benton heiress runs over a garden gnome.”
“So this is what this behavior is all about?” my father asked. “You are trying to embarrass me?”
“Good lord, could you be any more narcissistic? No, Dad, not everything is about you. I just wanted to have some fun with Camilla, and we got carried away. I’m sorry I crashed into this guy’s house, but no one got hurt, not really, so can you please stop making this a big deal?”
Our father crossed his arms, lips pressed together tightly. “I’ll call the owner again. But don’t think you’re getting off scot-free. This will have consequences.”
“Are you sending me to bed without dinner?”
Father didn’t answer. He just looked at her with an expression that made my blood run cold, pulled out his phone, and walked out of the room without another word.
Harper fell back into her pillow as soon as the door shut behind him. “Phew. All in all, he’s taking it very well. Can you open that Jell-o for me?”
I let out a sigh and reached for the cup of red Jell-o on the bedside table.
“Oh, don’t look so dour, Ellis.”
“No, Harper. I’m with Dad on this one. Messing up your life is one thing, but this could have killed someone. Point two seven percent. I can’t believe it.”
Unsurprisingly, my words seem to have a much bigger impact on her than our father’s.
“I know. I really messed up this time,” she whispered. Then, after a long pause, she asked, “What do you think he will do to me?”