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“No!”
Carlos’s head reared back, and he stared in shock at Elijah through the glass pane. Scarlett walked around the front of the truck and took his hand in hers. “You should have told me…” Her voice broke. “Not Annabel. You should have told me we might not have much time together.”
His eyes clouded over. “So you know.”
Scarlett nodded her head. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s… complicated.”
“You’re my dad. You should be able to talk to me about this sort of thing.” Scarlett shot a quick look at Elijah, and he could almost swear that she wore a smile beneath her sad gaze. “Elijah was just the one brave enough to do something about it.” Her voice trembled, and she pulled his other hand into hers. “I love you, Dad. I was coming home before I even knew what might be going on. I couldn’t leave you here alone.”
Carlos’s expression softened. His voice lowered to the point where Elijah couldn’t hear it through Scarlett’s open door. They spoke softly to each other, and Scarlett threw her arms around her father’s neck.
Elijah shifted uncomfortably in his seat. If he could shut Scarlett’s door and pull away, he would have. Scarlett and her father needed a moment together to heal. He could see that based on witnessing what might have very well been the first moment they’d connected on this level.
So he remained in his truck until they moved away and headed for the house.
Now he was torn between leaving and heading out to do the remainder of the work he’d planned on getting done before he found out about Carlos’s illness. There was no telling how long Carlos and Scarlett would be talking—not that he wanted to rush them.
Ultimately, he knew what he had to do. This wasn’t about him. It never had been. Elijah got out of his truck, retrieved Scarlett’s suitcase, and placed it at the foot of the porch stairs. Then he got in his truck and did the hardest thing he’d remembered doing since confessing his feelings for Scarlett.
He left.
* * *
Every dayfor the next two weeks, Elijah arrived at the farm that was still under contract to become his. He still hadn’t had the conversation with Scarlett that he’d wanted to have, but from what he could tell, she was getting along with her father better lately.
Scarlett also spent a great deal more time at his home—spending time with Annabel. He’d catch her eye several times, but nothing ever came of it. She didn’t seek him out, and he didn’t corner her.
While at work, he spent most of his time wondering when Carlos would track him down and demand to change the contract they’d signed. The rest of his time was spent waiting for Scarlett to make the first move. He could understand that she might need her space to figure out where she wanted things to go.
But the longer he had to wait, the harder it was to maintain his patience. Elijah couldn’t think of a single thing he could do more than he already had. He’d told her he loved her. He’d confirmed he wanted her to stay. Heck, he even showed her that he wanted her to prioritize her family.
What more did she need? Was she still holding the contract against him?
That had to be it.
Neither Elijah nor Carlos had done anything to void the document. Well, that was going to change whether the Perez family liked it or not.
It was a Saturday afternoon when Elijah returned to his home, having seen very little of Scarlett, only to realize she was once again at his ranch with Annabel. He glanced at her new beat-up truck, noting how it seemed to match the personality of the new Scarlett, who had decided to stick around.
Upstairs, his contract for the farm called to him, demanding to be pulled out from its hiding place beneath his mattress. This was his opportunity to make everything right. Elijah retrieved the paperwork and headed down the stairs. The house was quiet, most of the Keagan residents having already gone out for the evening, leaving only Annabel and Scarlett visiting in the living room.
He shuffled the papers as he hovered outside of the room, unsure if his sister or Scarlett would turn him away. Annabel was like the gatekeeper as of late, though she hadn’t mentioned even once that he should stay away from Scarlett. Quite the opposite, actually. She’d asked several times why he hadn’t just gotten this part over with.
Elijah could do this—relinquish everything he thought he wanted for the one thing he realized was most important.
The room got eerily quiet, and his head snapped up. Two pairs of eyes stared at him expectantly. Annabel moved first. “I’m going to get us something to snack on.” She stood and brushed past him, but as she did so, she murmured, “Like a Band-Aid. Just rip it off.”
Elijah’s eyes were glued to Scarlett, all his nerves on edge. She rose to her feet and stared back with a confidence he admired so much. Gone were the high-end shoes and clothes she’d worn when she first arrived a few months ago. Her hair wasn’t perfectly coiffed but rather pulled into braids. She wore an old Stetson hat that had probably belonged to her mother.
She was beautiful.
Scarlett shoved her hands into her pockets as she stared at him. She tilted her head, and a small smile touched her lips. “Hey, Elijah.”
He nodded to her. “Scarlett.”
Her gaze flitted down to the papers in his hands. “Was there something you needed?”
