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They made quite a pair. It was probably for the best. They had a lot they both had to work out. At least now, they each had a plan.
25
Elijah
It had only been a week since their breakup, but Elijah felt like it could have happened yesterday. The wound was still fresh. No matter how much he told himself to get over it, he couldn’t seem to forget how she had made him feel.
Elijah’s crush on Scarlett had run deeper than a bottomless crevasse in the Himalayas. He’d fooled himself into believing it wasn’t there, and all it had taken was for her to tell him how she felt about him.
It wasn’t fair.
Every day was a new struggle. He’d watch Scarlett come and go from the house to do her chores, but she’d never speak to him—not that he deserved it. He probably beat himself up over what he did to her more than she ever could.
Annabel wasn’t speaking to him either. Between the two women, he had been officially shunned. His sister had managed to take it upon herself to tell the whole family about what he’d been up to and everyone seemed to come to the same consensus.
Elijah deserved every bit of guilt and shame that came with his decisions. It was as if he’d betrayed his family by trying to create a life for himself outside of the Keagan household.
The only one who didn’t seem to care was Lucas. But then, Lucas was the black sheep of the family anyway. He probably secretly enjoyed the fact that everyone was focused on someone else rather than him.
Elijah couldn’t help but dwell on this ominous thought. He had always been the one everyone could depend on. He didn’t get into trouble. He took care of those who were younger than him. He’d prided himself on not being the sibling Wade had to worry about.
All these mind-numbing recollections swirled in his head as he stared out in the distance at the bright skies. The sun dipped behind the trees, putting a chill into the air. The cold was good. At least he could feel something rather than the endless ache in his chest.
A low, rumbling chuckle came along with a pair of boots connected to some faded Wranglers. Lucas settled beside him on the back steps of the house. He didn’t say anything right away, but Elijah knew better than to believe Lucas would leave him alone. Lucas never really could keep his thoughts to himself, and up until now, Elijah hadn’t really cared.
“I’d really rather you didn’t say a single syllable.”
Lucas laughed again. “You know better than that. How many evenings did we sit out here chatting about how ridiculous it was for Wade to fall for a Callahan when that rich guy came to town? How many times did we take bets on how long it would take for Wade to give up? Think about it. There’s nothing much to do besides work, date, and judge people.”
“Yeah, well, I’m a little tired of all the judgments.”
“My judgments aren’t the same as the ones you’re getting from the rest of the family, and you know it. I don’t think you did anything wrong.”
Elijah stiffened, his gaze sweeping over to his brother. “You can’t mean that.”
“Sure, I can. You were looking out for number one. You have to think about your future as much as any of us. I think it was smart. And if I had your work ethic, I might have done the same thing.”
That wasn’t what Elijah wanted to hear at all. Lucas wasn’t exactly the one with the best moral compass. At this point, Elijah was wondering if he should just wash his hands of the whole thing. He didn’t need the judgmental stares from his family, and he had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before the whole town heard about how he’d usurped the farm out from under Scarlett.
His brother nudged him. “Cheer up. This was what you wanted, right? You didn’t go over to that farm to win a girl. You went to solidify your future.”
Bile rose in Elijah’s throat. The problem with Lucas’s words was that Elijahhadwon the girl, and that had been the best thing that had happened to him all year. He’d had Scarlett in his grasp. There wasn’t much he could have done to mess it up, and yet he’d managed to do so. “Yeah,” Elijah muttered, catching his brother’s pointed gaze. “I guess you’re right.”
“You know I’m right. Scarlett was pretty and all, but she wasn’t your type.”
Elijah froze, the ache, nausea, and every other emotion coming to a complete standstill. “What?’
“Scarlett wasn’t your type. She wasn’t a cowgirl. She probably doesn’t know the right end of a pitchfork. She’s pretty, and she’s smart, but not in the way that would help you run a farm. I don’t know why you let that relationship drag out as long as you did.”
Without realizing it, Elijah’s hands balled into fists. “Take that back.” His voice was a low growl and it seemed to catch Lucas off guard.
His brother stared at him as if a pair of snakes had crawled out of his mouth. Lucas let out a weak chuckle. “What?”
“Scarlett is more of a cowboy than you will ever be. She’s smart and hardworking, and she’d be able to run that farm into the next century with her determination alone. She might not have realized it at first, but she could do it if she wanted to.”
“Easy, Elijah. I was just saying that you shouldn’t be beating yourself up about what happened.”
“Well, leave Scarlett out of it.”
