Chapter Twenty-Seven - Adelaide Returns To Fordsville

                                    

                                          
Sera fell into a routine with her new job and Zion and saw less and less of Rhett as days went by. She didn't mind at all, since she didn't love Rhett. Although they were engaged, he didn't cross any lines with her, and she was thankful. However, he was still very close to Zion and cared about him the same way he used to. Zion called him "Uncle Let" and it thrilled him beyond words.
Her company offered Sera accommodation, and she contemplated shifting out of River's parents' house immediately. It was located midway between Granddad's ranch and her workplace and the driving time would be double. She would have to drop Zion at Wild Creek Ranch and go to work and pick up Zion and return to her new home. She thought about whether to take the step or not. Although engaged, Rhett didn't mention their wedding even once, nor did he take any initiative to fix the date. So, she, too, left it at that and concentrated on making a stable career for herself.  
However, when she went to check out the apartment one evening after work, she found it was a huge residential complex with daycare centers for the small children of working people and Montessori schools. It was a vast community, in fact. So, she decided to talk to her family over the weekend and shift.  
New York
Adelaide had just finished her shift at the hospital before lunchtime when she received a call from Thomas. Surprised, she accepted the call, a feeling of dread clutching at her heart since he had never called her before.  
"Yes, Thomas? Is anything wrong?"  
"Yes, Adelaide. Please come home now. It's urgent," he said, his tone grave and serious.  
"Is something wrong with Mom?"  
"Just come home, Adelaide. This is urgent," he told her, disconnecting the call. Adelaide packed her stuff, and after informing her seniors, left the hospital and literally ran down all the way home. It was within walking distance, so she reached the apartment in ten minutes and found her brother and Sandy too in Thomas's apartment. Panic settled into her heart. Her mom? Was she serious? She ran to her mom's room and froze with horror at seeing her mom's still lifeless body lying on the hospital bed, fully covered with a white sheet. She staggered to a nearby chair and clutched it firmly to keep herself from falling down. 
"What happened to Mom?" she mumbled. Kayla came towards her and held her to give her support.  
"She passed away in her sleep. I fed her and completed her morning routine. Then I tucked her in and she fell asleep instantly. When she didn't pass any urine for the last two hours, I checked and found that she was stone cold. Mrs. Higgs called Thomas while I called her doctor, who visited us and pronounced her dead. She apparently had a multi-organ failure in her sleep two hours back," said Kayla.  
Adelaide stared at Kayla and then at her mom, realizing that her mom was no more. Strangely, Andrew and Sandy were quiet for the first time. Adelaide didn't feel any tears in her eyes. Her mom was suffering immensely for the last five years and at last, she was free to be with God in heaven.  
The next few days, went by in a daze. Thomas and Andrew arranged her mom's last rites and funeral. Adelaide remained calm, and the only person she was close to was Kayla. They both had bonded well in the last year. After everything was over, Adelaide gave her resignation to the hospital where she worked and they settled her payment. She bought a flight ticket to Great Falls for the next morning, planning to go back to her granny in Montana and live there permanently. It was time to bid goodbye to New York forever.  
"I don't want to stay here any longer, Kayla. I've got a flight ticket to Great Falls for tomorrow. Will you help me pack?" she asked her, and Kayla nodded with a sigh. It was her last day here. Tomorrow, she would return to her humble home and wait for her next assignment.  
They were busy packing together when Thomas went into Adelaide's room, searching for Kayla. "Roselyn, I want to talk to you," he said. Then he noticed what they were up to. "Adelaide, are you going somewhere?"  
"Yes, Thomas. I'm going back to Montana," she said. "Thank you for everything that you've done for me. I am indebted to you for life, but I can't stay in New York any longer. Mom was the only reason I was here. Now that she's no more, I want to return to Montana, to granny forever." Thomas immediately knew why she wanted to return and he smiled warmly at her, a silent communication happening between them.  
"Fine, whatever makes you happy, Adelaide. When's your flight?" 
"Tomorrow morning, five o'clock," she informed him. 
"I'll take you to the airport," he told her. 
"Thanks, Thomas," she said simply.  
"Don't thank me again and again, Adelaide. We're friends, aren't we?" he said with a grin. 
"Sure, we are and we'll always be," she told him while Kayla kept herself busy with her packing, not looking up at Thomas. She had her own packing to do afterward and would have to bid farewell to everything in this house, especially to Thomas. 
"Roselyn, come to the study. I need to talk to you," he said and left, but Kayla didn't follow him. 
Adelaide didn't interfere in their matters, as she was leaving, anyway. She went to sleep early, as she would need to wake up early the next day. The entire night she tossed and turned on her bed, excited at the prospect of going back to Montana, finally. Would it surprise granny to see her? How about Rhett? She sighed, her heart aching for what she had lost. She heard Rhett was engaged to a nice girl.  
She wouldn't come in his way of happiness. She would just see him from afar and bless him with a true heart. Her love wasn't selfish. If Rhett was happy with the woman he was engaged to, then she was happy, too. She showered and got ready for her flight early in the morning. Thomas was up and loading her luggage into his car, he drove her to the airport. Adelaide didn't say a word to her brother and Sandy after her mom's funeral. So, they did not know that she had left, not that it would have made any difference to them, though. 
After bidding Thomas farewell, she boarded her flight and was on her way to Fordsville.  
Wild Creek Ranch, Fordsville
In the meantime, it had been five days since Sera moved out of Wild Creek Ranch to the two-bedroomed apartment that her company provided. River's family warmly accepted her decision and Sera promised to visit them over the weekends. River was very depressed about her decision to move out, but Sera comforted her and invited her to come over and stay with them whenever she wanted.  
It was Friday already and Rhett trained the horses as usual, like all mornings when a cab drove all the way to granny's Emma's ranch. Rhett stopped his work and stared at the cab. He blinked with disbelief at seeing the cab. Was someone arriving at Granny Emma's ranch in a cab? Who could it be? His heart started beating faster with renewed hope. Was it who he thought it was? Was it Adelaide? He ran to Thunderbolt and, fixing his saddle as quickly as he could, he mounted him and rode like lightning towards Granny Emma's house. His eyes didn't waver even for a second from the cab. Even from a distance, he could distinctly make out the slender figure of Adelaide. A tremor ran down his body at the prospect of seeing the woman of his dreams again. 
"Whoa, Thunderbolt, faster boy!" he yelled with excitement.  
Adelaide got down from the cab, and the cab driver unloaded her luggage for her. She paid him and was about to go into the house when she heard Thunderbolt's hooves and Rhett's voice. Was she hallucinating? She turned and saw Rhett, looking handsome as ever, galloping on Thunderbolt and coming towards her, his bare body glistening in the sun, his muscles rippling as he rode. She blinked twice to check whether it was real or a daydream. The horse came to a halt a few feet away from her. Rhett dismounted with his eyes glued onto her. He strode towards her determinedly while Adelaide stood like a statue, watching him as he came towards her. Her mind was numb as she stood in a trance watching the man whom she had dreamed about every second of her life for the last four years approach her. Time stood still. The entire world around them was nonexistent, leaving only the two of them who had craved one another for the past four years.