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Well, that just proved what she’d been assuming. He was either embarrassed to be with her when he was around his friend, or he wasn’t truly interested in her at all.
Bits of her heart crumbled into dust like chalk that had been stepped on. The pain in her chest deepened. If this was how he was going to act, maybe Lucas was the one who’d come up with the solution—however unintentionally.
He needed to eliminate Taven’s influence in his life.
Taven shot another look in her direction. “Hey Ella, you’re looking…”
“Don’t even breathe a word to me, Taven. Or I’ll have that nail gun so far up your—”
“Ella,” Lucas chuckled, “that’s not how we treat visitors.”
She stared daggers at Taven. “Visitors best be careful what they say when they’re on my turf.”
Taven tossed back his head and let out a laugh. “Man, she’s gotten brave. I remember when you were just a timid little girl.” His gaze swept over her form. “Well, maybe not that little.”
Her face flushed hot as all her insecurities came rushing back to the surface. She’d worked hard to get to a point in her life where she was happy with who she was, and with one sentence from Taven, those thoughts were being washed away like sand on the beach at high tide. Ella curled her hands into fists and her eyes flitted to the nail gun she’d threatened him with.
Lucas stepped between them with a strained laugh. “Come on, Taven. Let the past stay in the past, okay? Let’s rememberwho’s been working with her for the last couple of months. She could take you down in under five minutes.”
Taven huffed, then muttered, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. She’s big enough to do it.” He smirked, his eyes darting in her direction. He knew he’d said it loud enough for both of them to hear.
What was worse was the fact that Lucas didn’t say a single word.
She watched them walk toward the barn door, all the while being unable to catch her breath. It was like they were in high school all over again. Taven draped his arm around Lucas’s shoulder as Lucas talked about the restoration project and their voices faded.
Ella whirled around, slamming both hands down on the table. She let out a growl and knocked the lunch bag across the room with a vicious swipe. Even with her eyes shut tight, she couldn’t push out the wicked comments that clung to her. Hot tears burned behind her closed eyes, threatening to escape, threatening to leave scorched lines down her cheeks.
Lucas hadn’t changed. He was just one of those people who couldn’t think for himself. He latched on to whomever he wanted and fell in line. But what could she expect? He was the fourth child in a family of twelve. His identity would always be based on those around him.
She sucked in a few deep breaths, then pushed away from the table and paced back and forth. Thank goodness their relationship hadn’t gone far. He’d shown a softer side to her, and she’d given him the chance he requested. Now she could tell him that she knew with complete certainty that he wasn’t the guy for her.
Ella let out a slow, even breath, stopping her pacing as she came to the realization. It was numbing just thinking about how things had progressed and how they would end. Surely, the painwould hit her harder—but that would come later. For now, she needed her protective shell to help her get through the next several minutes.
The second Lucas returned to the barn, she’d tell him. They were over. She didn’t owe him anything. He could go be with the friend he wanted to protect more than her and that would be that.
She wasn’t a victim, she reminded herself. She was a strong woman who deserved better, and if Lucas wasn’t capable of delivering that to her, then she could scrub him from her life altogether.
Ella lost track of time as she stood there in the quiet. It could have been a full hour for all she knew. But the second a shadow darkened the doorway, she was ready.
21
Lucas
Lucas wasn’t sure what he would find when he returned to the barn. Ella was clearly upset. And Taven was an idiot for thinking he could say what he had. But he was still a friend who was going through a lot.
His friend had to go through his family’s old belongings. Lucas hadn’t expected that to be such a hard thing until he’d heard something straight from the horse’s mouth, something he hadn’t known for all these years.
Taven had been abused by his father.
Lucas couldn’t even say anything to Ella about it because it wasn’t his secret to tell. He just had to hope that Ella would understand he needed to spend a little extra time with his childhood friend while he was in town. Then they could really get into why he felt like he didn’t deserve her and fix the distance that had grown between them.
He stood in that barn doorway, watching her, wishing he could simply head home and let her cool down. Even from this distance, she looked like she was a caged lioness that needed to pounce on something.
Unfortunately for him, he was the only prey around because he wasn’t prepared to let the girl he had feelings for take out the guy who was misunderstood.
Lucas nearly backed slowly out of the barn when Ella’s eyes landed on him. His heart thundered in his chest, and he wasn’t sure if he’d survive this little interaction.
As he took a step toward her, he considered what it might be like to just call this whole relationship a wash. What if he admitted that they were simply not a good match?
