Chapter Eleven
They reached Travis Springs by evening. Bryce took the cottage keys and headed straight there. Opening the door, he stared at the quiet, empty cottage where the girl who meant so much to him used to live. The sofa still had her scent, the kitchen still smelled of her delicious food.
Looking around like an obsessed lover, his eyes fell upon his car keys on the table. There was a small note below it. Opening it eagerly, he read and reread the simple message there,
Thank you for everything. I'm sorry if I've hurt you - Goodbye.
Goodbye? It meant that she wasn't ever coming back. The thought stumped him and for the first time in his life, he felt a few tear drops fall from his eyes.
His feet took him to her bedroom and he lay on her bed, smelling her scent on the sheets, on her pillows. That was when he broke down and cried like a baby till he fell asleep.
Olivia Summers waited for Bryce for a long time at the dinner table. When he didn't come, she served him a plate and carried it all the way to the cottage. The main door was wide open and Bryce was nowhere to be seen. Keeping the food on the table, she went to look inside the bedroom. There sprawled on the bed was Bryce with his face embedded in her pillows as he slept soundly. The wet pillow covers gave away his mental state. Olivia felt too bad for her son. There was no cure for heartbreak. He brought it upon himself. He had never cried when Gwendolyn betrayed him, so it meant only one thing, that he was serious about Ivory. Maybe she was the one for him.
With fresh determination Olivia, softly closed the cottage door and left. Tomorrow was a new day,, a new beginning and she would speak to her son and convince him to pursue her. With that positive thought, she went back to the house.
When Bryce didn't make an appearance at the house at 8 o'clock in the morning, Olivia Summers decided to take matters in her own hands. So going to the cottage, she opened it with a duplicate set of keys. She went to the kitchen and started making coffee. Bryce came rushing out to see who had come in.
He was disappointed to see his mom instead of Ivory as he had momentarily imagined.
"Mom, what are you doing here?" He asked surprised.
"Making you coffee, son," she answered, handing him his cup of coffee. "Come to the house for breakfast," she added.
"I'm not hungry," he said grumpily.
"Not eating won't get you anywhere," she told him.
"I just don't have any appetite," he said unhappily.
"Not eating will make you look and feel sick. You need to pursue her. So eat," she scolded.
"I can't pursue her mom. I'm not good enough for her. I'm too old for her. I'm not as educated as her. Why would she want me?" He grumbled.
"She loves you despite everything, isn't that reason enough to pursue her?" She coaxed.
"What about when she loses interest ?" He said as Olivia nodded her head.
"You might also lose interest," she said.
"No, I will never lose interest. I love her and I will forever," he said with lots of emotion.
"Then maybe the same goes for her. If you don't talk, how will you know? I was born and brought up in Austin. Your nana was a heart surgeon there as you know. You granny was a professor. Your Julia aunt is a dentist and Maria is a lawyer. I was studying nursing when we came on a vacation to Travis Springs. I met your dad, who was 10 years older than me. We fell in love. My family was against it, but Robert pursued me for two years. He never gave up. He won my family over and married me. So you see, true love knows no bounds, age, education or status," said Olivia as Bryce sat there with his face an expression of surprise. He never knew his parents' story. If his dad could do it, so could he.
"Furthermore, she hasn't given her resignation at the school. She's spending her vacation with her folks. Give her time. See if she comes back. If not seek her out and win her over," she said as Bryce grinned. Yeah, he would do just that.
"Thanks mom, you're the best," he said, getting up and giving her a hug.
Olivia relaxed, so her pep talk worked. "Now come down to the house for breakfast," she said, getting up to leave.
"Yeah, give me 10 minutes," he said as his mom left.
Bryce looked much relieved after his talk with his mom. He confirmed from the school about Ivory and true enough, she hadn't resigned. He found out from her college that she had taken a week's extra leave apart from the two week's term leave that they gave. Going by that calculation, Ivory should be here by the end of two weeks. A little relieved, Bryce went on with his usual work at the ranch.
After a week, Blade returned from Dallas. He updated Bryce about the work that was completed there. They updated the accounts works together. For two weeks Bryce had enough pending work.to take care of. Everyday, he waited for Ivory to return, but she didn't.
He trudged along with his work for two weeks which seemed like two years. When she didn't return, he decided to get her phone number from Briella and track Ivory down. He wasn't giving up, he would hunt her down to her parents' house and bring her back with him. He would do anything to get her back, he just couldn't function anymore without her.
So, with a fierce determination, Bryce visited Briella and procured Ivory's phone number. He gave it to the private detective that the sheriff recommended. He tracked her down in a day to Bear's Creek in Randall county, Texas. Getting the address from him, Bryce packed his stuff and drove to Randall county in his GMC Sierra.
