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Elijah
Elijah knew Scarlett was stubborn. She’d always been that way, even as a kid. Any time she set her mind on something, she didn’t let go. She was like a rabid dog who had locked its jaw onto a piece of meat.
Why was he so surprised when she refused to leave his side?
She stood before him, her hands on her hips and all her weight on one foot. Her eyes made it clear that she had zero intention of backing down, no matter what he might come up with as an excuse.
All he could do was sigh. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Tough.”
He clenched his teeth and straightened away from the engine. “You don’t understand.”
“I understand perfectly. You’ve found a way to get even with me for how I treated your sister, and that’s why you’re here. Did you lie on the phone? Tell my dad you were Lucas just so you could come by and take control of this place?”
“What? Are you crazy?”
“Are you?” she spit back.
He gaped at her.
Scarlett flushed and snapped her mouth shut. Her voice softened as she dropped her gaze to the ground. “I get that you don’t like me very much. It makes sense, okay? But I meant what I said when I told everyone I’m staying. You don’t have to believe me. No one does. Because frankly, I’m not doing it for anyone but myself.”
“That tracks,” he muttered, earning himself a scowl before she looked away again. He grimaced. What had gotten into him that he’d become so volatile? He used to be capable of keeping his mouth shut, and suddenly, with Scarlett, he couldn’t even muster that.
“Yeah, I know how you feel about me. Can you do me a favor and just tone it down a little? I’m not hurting anyone by being here.”
He held up a finger, then stopped himself. She wouldn’t see it the way he did. Even if he told her that the longer she stayed, the more likely folks would get attached, she wouldn’t care. She wouldn’t see that a deeper attachment meant a deeper wound when she left.
All he could do was let her make her mistakes.
Elijah wasn’t about to apologize for any of what he’d said, even though something inside him wanted to. The way her face had crumbled when he’d brought up Anna still didn’t sit right with him.
But the truth needed to be spoken. At least now she knew where he stood and why he felt the way he did.
He flung a gesture toward the barn. “You got tools?”
Scarlett snorted. “Yeah.”
“Well, don’t just stand there. Go get them for me. I can’t fix this thing without a few more tools.” He half-expected her to make another snarky comment or tell him to get it himself. But when he glanced up, she was gone.
Maybe she wouldn’t be so hard to work with. A guy could only hope.
Scarlett was back in no time, lugging a large, red canvas tool bag. She dropped it at his feet and the metal tools clanged against one another. “What do you need?”
A smirk spread across his lips and he held out his hand. “How about a five-eighths spark plug socket. You got one of those?” There was zero chance she knew what he was talking about. A girl like Scarlett who went to college in California and worked internationally? She probably didn’t even know the difference between a Phillips and a flat-head screwdriver.
The way Scarlett hesitated confirmed his suspicions. While he knew he’d already been tough enough on her, he couldn’t help piling on. She deserved it.
She leaned down and dug through the bag, then held something out toward him.
“Nope. That’s not…” His voice died in his throat as he took the tool and turned it over in his hands. His gaze cut to her, finding her digging through the bag again. “Actually, this is…” Once again, he was at a loss for words as she held out a small metal disk.
“You needed the gap tool, too, right? Whenever my dad had to fix the sparkplugs on his truck, he needed that.”
Elijah took the offering between his finger and thumb, then shot another surprised look in her direction.
“Anything else while I’m down here? I know it’s a mess, but my dad was never very good at keeping it organized. You’d probably have a hard time finding what you need.” Scarlett was still crouched down by the bag when she thumbed over her shoulder toward the barn. “I don’t know if he has replacement parts, but I seem to remember he’s had to replace them once a year. Want me to go check?”
