Chapter 1.4: Blind Love

Scarlett prepared for this. She figured out a strong argument and practiced a convincing speech. She perfected her best puppy dog eyes and readied herself for tears. She knew Elijah would hate the idea of borrowing money from his father, but Scarlett  was determined. She wanted to buy her own horse and start her own ranch. She wouldn't go back to working for Mr. Johnson. She couldn't.

Elijah stares at her incredulously. "You can't be serious. Borrow money from Ryder? No. Absolutely not. No way."

Her big blue eyes fill with tears. "Please Elijah?" she begs.

"Scarlett, you know how much I hate that man! The last thing I want is to be in debt to him!"

"You don't understand!" Scarlett bites her lip, fighting the urge to tell him about her encounter with Mr. Johnson. "Eli, I can't go back there. Please? Please?!"

Elijah frowns. "What's wrong with Mr. Johnson's ranch? I thought you liked having him as your boss."

Scar sighs. She knew it would come down to this. "Elijah, he... He kissed me."

"He WHAT?!"

"I tried to stop him," she explains quickly. "Honestly I did. He just wouldn't leave me alone." She feels the tears begin again, the shame of the whole event still fresh in her mind.

Elijah pulls her into a hug. "Oh Scarlett. I'm so sorry."

She rests her head on his shoulder, relaxing in his arms. "Now you understand why I want this so bad. Ryder was more than happy to help. Please Elijah?"

"Okay," he relents.

The next day, Scarlett adopts her first horse, a stallion named Spirit.

After they get acquainted...

She attempts to mount her faithful steed.

Eventually she succeeds, but riding proves to be another matter entirely.

Spirit shows her where he got his name from.

Ouch.

Meanwhile, Elijah pays a visit to the now gray-haired Johnny Johnson, Scarlett's old boss.

"Stay away from my girlfriend, Johnny," he snarls. "If you ever bother her again, I'll break your face."

Johnny laughs, his mouth twisted in an ugly smirk. "Yeah? You and what army?" he sneers. "I'll go after whoever I want, whenever I want, and right now I want Scarlett. If you think you're going to stop me, kid, then you've got another thing coming."

Elijah feels his temper snap. Blinded by rage, he leaps at Johnny and begins pummeling the older man, his hands becoming bruised and bloody from the beating.

The early morning sun beats down on his back as Elijah stands up and wipes the sweat off his face. Johnny falls to ground and lays still, his breathing slow and labored. Eli glances around quickly, and, not seeing anyone, he hurries away.

A neighbor will find Johnny soon, Elijah tells himself. The asshole got what he deserved, he reasons. As he runs home, his body aching from the altercation, Eli tries his best to convince himself that he did the right thing, that he doesn't feel guilty about what happened. He's not worried about jail. He knows that his boss Kanoa will help keep him out of the slammer. Elijah just hopes that Mr. Johnson is indeed okay.

That night, Eli wants nothing more than to be with Scarlett. As they lie together, their bodies pressed firmly against each other, Elijah finally manages to push the haunting images of Johnny out of his mind.

"I love you Scar," he whispers.

She smiles, her bright eyes full of happiness. "I love you too Elijah," she whispers back. They make love, deep and gentle, before falling asleep in each others arms.

The following day, Elijah runs into his father outside the grocery store.

"I decided to divorce Carmen," Ryder tells him.

Eli stares back at him, his face impassive. He doesn't really know what to say.

"I- I want to stay here in Appaloosa Plains," Ryder says. "I never realized how exhausting it was to be famous. I'm tired of being treated differently. Around here people don't really know who I am, or if they do, they don't seem to care. And I- I miss you."

"Okay," Elijah replies simply.

"You- You mean that?" Ryder asks, surprised.

Elijah smiles hesitantly. "Yes. Scarlett likes you Dad. And, well, I like Scarlett. We talked about it yesterday, and she said that she thought you might end up wanting to make your home here. She seemed to think it was a great idea, and as long as she's fine with it then so am I."

Ryder grins. "Does this mean we're cool now?"

"Yeah."

Ryder hugs Elijah, patting him on the back awkwardly. "I missed you son."

"I missed you too Dad."


Challenge Notes:

I downloaded Spirit from Mod The Sims. Here is the link, in case you want to download him. He's so beautiful, the creator did a wonderful job with his coat. <3

There will be kids soon, I promise. Also, more drama next chapter. =)