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Her scowl deepened. “Yeah? Prove it. Give me one example of where I left.”
This time he glanced at her as he held onto whatever it was he had his hands on in the engine. “You left when you went to college.”
Scarlett laughed derisively. “That’s the best you can come up with? College? Of course I left to go to college. I was accepted into Stanford. I’m going to go to the top school if I get in so I can have the best education money has to offer.”
Nonplussed, he straightened, then crossed his arms. “Do you know what it did to Anna when you told her you would go to a local college with her but then changed your mind the second you got into the school of your dreams?”
Her heart stumbled. She’d forgotten about that promise.
“Annabel was so excited that you’d be going to the community college just out of town that she planned a huge surprise party for you. But when you told her that you got that acceptance letter in the mail, she called it off.”
“You’re… lying,” she whispered, suddenly feeling nauseated.
Elijah shook his head. “She told us not to tell you. Instead, you guys went out to celebrate, just the two of you.”
That, she remembered. They went to a club where there was dancing, and Anna had gotten incredibly drunk. Scarlett’s stomach knotted even tighter.
“So yeah. When you make promises about staying, don’t blame me for being skeptical.”
She swallowed back the bile that rose in her throat. “Well, that’s just one example.”
He released a dry, humorous chuckle. “You need more? How about when you took that internship in New York? Or when you told her that the job in Germany would only last a year at most and then you’d come back and find something closer to home?” He shook his head. “I’m not saying that everything between you guys is your fault entirely. Annabel needed to find herself, too. But when you make a promise to someone—or stand on that soapbox you like so much, then you better stick with it.”
The sick feeling inside her continued to grow. He was right about the promises she’d made in the past. She’d even made those promises to her parents. But each time she checked in and told them she wanted an extension at work, they supported her.
Well, her mother had.
She couldn’t say the same about her father. He hadn’t said much when it came to her decisions. He’d only said he loved her. She couldn’t be certain he’d felt the same way as her mother regarding her choices.
Did Annabel feel the same as Elijah? Was she secretly waiting for Scarlett to cut and run again?
It felt like the wind was knocked from her lungs. Her shoulders drooped, but her heart continued to beat erratically. She wanted to tell him she was sorry—that she didn’t realize how her actions had hurt them. But she couldn’t bring herself to say any of that.
She was just stuck.
Scarlett could feel him watching her, though she refused to meet his gaze. He was probably gloating over this win. He thought he had her all figured out. But he was wrong. He didn’t know her—he didn’t know that she wanted something different. It had taken losing her mother—losing the opportunity to tell her goodbye that had changed her.
“You’re wrong,” she finally mustered. She focused on him, crossing her arms. “And I’m going to prove it to you.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“And when I do, you’re going to eat your words.”
He didn’t respond. She thought she might have seen a hint of a smile touch his lips, but when she looked harder, she realized she was wrong.
“And I don’t know what you’re up to with taking this farm from us, but it’s not going to work.”
This time, he lifted his brows but nothing more. Boy, his stoic attitude was really starting to annoy her. While she struggled to maintain a calm, collective exterior, inside she was fuming. It wouldn’t do any good to throw a tantrum. Either he’d tell Anna, or her father would find out. Either way, she was up against a wall with nowhere to go.
Stuck.
That word hit a chord in her head, making her almost dizzy. If she had any chance at all of getting her friend and father on her side again, she’d have to make things work with Elijah first.
That sounded about as likely as one of her pigs sprouting wings.
Scarlett pressed her lips together tightly, took a deep breath, then exhaled. “Okay, now that we have that settled, what can I do to help?”
7
