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“Not in the least.”
She seemed to consider this, but he couldn’t tell if she was annoyed or content with his answer. “Well, just so you know.”
He chuckled without meaning to. “Is that some sort of warning?”
Her dark eyes narrowed. “Call it what you will.”
Aaron nodded and stretched out his legs to cross them at the ankles. He had been about to make a snide comment, then decided against it. He hadn’t come here to make war. It was only fair that he give her the benefit of the doubt. After all, seven and a half years was a long time—more than enough time to change from being selfish and mean-spirited to a woman of kindness and grace.
“Have you enjoyed your time in California? I recall that it was home to you at one point.”
She looked wary but nodded. “I grew up there on my great-grandfather’s estate. It has always been home to me, even after Father insisted on dragging us all to Silver Veil.”
“Silver Veil has become quite the town. You haven’t been home in nearly five years, as I understand it. A lot has changed there. Your father has been quite industrious.”
“I’m sure he has. It has always been his goal to see the town flourish. Silver Veil, along with other small mining towns, is all he cares about.”
So much for her having changed.
“Hardly.” Aaron couldn’t let her get away with that. “He cares deeply about you and your mother.”
“What would you know about that?”
Aaron straightened in his chair. “Your father and I have become quite close. Why do you suppose he would send me to bring you back? He trusts me and knows my heart in matters of importance. He’s been a good and godly mentor to me.”
“Have you no father of your own?”
“I do, but my parents are in Chicago, and your father is close at hand. I believe God knew I would need a friend and mentor and supplied one in your father.”
“And my father’s wealth isn’t a motivating aspect of the friendship?” Her tone was snide and dripped with unspoken accusation as she fixed him with a hard stare.
Aaron shook his head. “Given that my father could buy and sell your father many times over, and that I have an ample savings set up for me by my grandfather, I don’t believe the aspect of money ever entered my mind.”
She turned to look out the window once again. “You can hardly fault me for protecting my family.”
“No, I fault you for not caring enough even to know your family.”
Her head snapped back to meet his calm gaze. He had known she would react, and maybe he wanted her to. He had listened all these years to Daniel Garcia’s longing for a closer relationship with his only child, never speaking a word against her. Now seemed the perfect time to take her to task for her lacking. It was Aaron’s utmost desire to see that she had a change of heart before reaching Silver Veil. Daniel and Helena Garcia deserved better than the heartless, spoiled child they had raised.
“You have no right to speak to me that way. You don’t know me.”
“I know you better than you think. Your father has been quite forthright in sharing his heartache over you.”
“I’m sure he’s told you all sorts of horrible things about me.”
“I didn’t say that. In fact, he has only spoken good of you. You and your mother are the most important people in the world to him, and he loves you without reproach.”
His words seemed momentarily to silence Isabella, though she continued to fix him with a hard stare. Her harshness didn’t bother him in the least.
“I had hoped perhaps the years had changed you—grown you up to see the needs of others,” he said.
She opened her mouth to speak, then rolled her eyes and returned her gaze out the window.
Aaron found his irritation with her growing. “Your father isn’t healthy. He’s been sick for a long time—not that I expect you to know that—but lately it’s much worse. You rarely write to them, even though I know your mother sends letters weekly. And, of course, you haven’t been back to visit in some time.”
“He’s always ailed with one thing or another. It’s just his weak constitution. My mother said nothing about him being sicker. I think you must be mistaken.”
“She wouldn’t say such a thing in a letter. Your mother is a compassionate and loving woman. She wouldn’t want to worry you.”
