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Right now, the best thing for her to do was to stay busy. She could bury herself in her work until she could speak with Annabel—nope.
Annabel would be livid if she found out that Scarlett had kissed her brother. That was the only rule she had. No fraternizing with her brothers. Since Annabel was Scarlett’s only friend, there really wasn’t anyone she could confide in.
She couldn’t think of that now.
Work first.
Relationships later.
But not with Elijah.
* * *
Scarlett successfully avoidedElijah after their little moment by the creek that ran through her property. Once she got her work done, she took off. She couldn’t be at the farm, not when she’d have to face her father or Elijah.
Heaven only knew what would happen if she had to talk to either of them about what she’d done. Just thinking about it made her face burn. She needed to get her mind off that kiss, and the only option she had at her disposal was to hang out with Annabel.
It was probably a good idea to keep Annabel away from Elijah in case he planned on telling her about it. That thought alone spurred Scarlett’s decision to kidnap Annabel and make sure they didn’t have a chance to speak until she could tell Elijah to keep their secret.
She pulled up at the Keagan residence, not surprised to find most of Annabel’s siblings finishing up their own chores. Dinner would be on the table soon. Perfect timing. She’d be able to pull Annabel away from the ranch, and they could go have some fun.
Annabel wasn’t in the barn, nor was she in any of the fields nearby. In fact, none of her brothers knew where she was.
Scarlett stood in the middle of the path that led to the barn when Annabel’s truck rambled up the dirt driveway. Pure relief flooded Scarlett’s body. Now, if they could just leave before Elijah got home.
Her friend climbed out of her truck, her little sister Charlotte doing the same from the passenger side. Annabel smiled toward Scarlett but took a few steps to the bed of the truck. “What are you doing here, Scar? I didn’t think I’d see you until the weekend.” She retrieved a few plastic bags of what appeared to be groceries.
Charlotte gathered more of the same.
Scarlett hurried forward and kept her voice low. “Can’t I want to see my best friend? Maybe take her out to dinner?”
Annabel chuckled. “Is this about my birthday?”
The blood drained from Scarlett’s face. Annabel’s birthday. Of course. How could she have forgotten? She really was a bad friend. “Yeah. That’s exactly it.” There was no use telling the truth in this moment. It wouldn’t help anyone.
Annabel moved past Scarlett and headed for the house. “You know I do birthday dinners with my family on my actual birthday. I just figured we’d celebrate together this weekend.”
“You sure? Because I thought we could get out of here and have some time just the two of us.” Scarlett shot a worried look toward the road. Elijah could appear any minute. And leaving now almost felt… wrong. “But we’d have to leave right now to get there on time.”
Annabel laughed again. “What has gotten into you?” She pushed open the door to the house and nodded for Charlotte to head in first. “You’re welcome to stay, though. I got all the fixings for a baked potato bar. Bacon. Sour cream. The good stuff.”
Scarlett was about to get on her soapbox to tell Annabel that she could let her baked potato bar wait for one day, when Elijah’s truck arrived at the house. Scarlett spun around in the doorway and her eyes connected with his through the front window.
She wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw a sinister grin cross his face. He was definitely going to spill the beans. He was going to tell Annabel and they’d get in a fight, and then Scarlett wouldn’t have anyone.
Scarlett shot a look inside the house where Annabel and Charlotte had disappeared, then swung her gaze back around to Elijah just as he got out of the truck. He shut the door and leaned his shoulder against it.
Her hand sought out the doorknob until it made contact, and she pulled the front door shut behind her. She blocked the door, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be able to get past her. He’d demonstrated just how strong he was and his ability to move her wherever he wanted her to be.
The acrobatics taking place in her stomach seemed to like reliving that particular moment today.
Traitorous emotions.
Scarlett crossed her arms and smoothed her expression so he wouldn’t be able to read her. That was her only line of defense. She needed to know what he’d do or say before she could plan her own defense.
Maybe it wasn’t going to be so bad. Annabel might even laugh if she heard the whole story. Elijah was going to dump Scarlett into freezing water. She had to dosomethingto save herself. And Elijah probably didn’t even like it.
But there was no telling. His own expression was flat and unreadable. They were at an impasse at this moment. And their time was running out.
