AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Elijah focused on doing all the chores that Scarlett had neglected for that day. He was so deep into his routine that he didn’t see her come charging through the field to speak to him.
Scarlett shoved a stack of papers into his chest hard enough to set him off balance. She gestured wildly at it, her eyes flashing. “What isthat?”
He fumbled with the paperwork until he could get a good look at it, and then his stomach bottomed out. Weak all over, he lifted his gaze toward her with trepidation. She wasn’t supposed to know about this. Carlos had all but guaranteed that it would remain private between the two of them.
“Well? Are you going to admit that you’ve been trying to steal my farm out from under me, or what?”
“I wasn’t trying to steal your farm out from under you,” he replied and then sighed.
“It sure looks like it,” she snapped. “Right there at the bottom of that document. Is that not your signature? Unless you know of some other Elijah Keagan that I don’t.”
He scowled, his hand tightening on the document. “You weren’t supposed to know about this.”
She let out a surprised and yet shrill sort of laugh. “I can’t believe you just said that. And right to my face!”
Lifting his gaze to meet hers, he held the papers out for her to take. “This was the agreement your father made with me to keep working here. He needed the help.”
Scarlett snorted derisively. “You took advantage of him right from the start. I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner. This is the whole reason you’ve been helping out. Not because you’re kind and generous. Or because you…lovedme.” Her voice broke. “It’s because you wanted the land for yourself. You make mesick.”
“Hey now! I didn’t come over here to just take your land. I came over here to help and this was something your fatherofferedme.” His defenses shot up like a drawbridge to keep out any words she’d fling at him like flaming arrows. “I accepted because if it wasn’t me, it would have been someone else. At least now, it’s going to stay in the—”
“What?In the family? You’re no family, Elijah. You’re a traitor. The only ones I care about are my father and Annabel. I don’t need you or what you considerlove.” She turned to go, but he stopped her, reaching out to snatch her wrist.
It was a last-ditch effort for her to understand where he was coming from. He needed her to know that it wasn’t what it appeared to be. He’d fallen in love with her after the contract was drawn up. Did they have a lot to unload here? Sure. His sister. The farm. The contract. All of it would need to be discussed, but first he had to ensure she knew his feelings for her hadn’t changed.
She stopped and stared at where he held her, then her heated gaze landed on him hard. “Let. Go.”
He released her as if her body had turned into flames itself. “Scarlett, we need to talk about this.”
“No, we don’t. For the first time since I’ve arrived, I see you for who you truly are. Do you think for even a second that I could trust you again after what you did? You’ve clearly never trusted me. You never thought I’d change. No matter how hard I’ve tried to prove to you that I’m a different person, you still manage to find new ways to push me back to the ground and keep your boot on my neck. I’m never going to be good enough for you. I’m never going to be perfect.”
“I’ve never said that!”
“You didn’t have to,” she rasped, her voice now emotional. “The second you blamed me for your sister’s mistake, I knew.” She placed a small fist over her heart. “Iknewright here that you would forever see me as a selfish girl who had no thought for others.” She took in a deep, shuddering breath, then released it.
Elijah took a step toward her and she stiffened, moving away from him. Her hands lifted into the air and she shook her head. He’d never felt his body go so cold so quickly. “Scarlett—”
“You wanna know the worst part? I thought out of everyone, you were finally the person to see me for who I really was—for the person I wanted to be. I thought you were the person who would push me to become the best version of myself. I can’t believe I actually thought that you wanted me to stay.”
“I do want you to stay.” His breath hitched and his heart drilled deeper and deeper, making a cavern in his chest. Was she suggesting that she didn’t plan on staying here? Was she going to leave?
“No, you don’t. You never wanted me to stay because that meant you wouldn’t get your farm. You know I would have fought you tooth and nail in the courts until we were both penniless. I put my own money on the line to help my father get out of the ditch he dug after my mother died, and youletme. How do you explain that?” The pain in her voice tore at him with every syllable she uttered.
He wanted her to stop.
Neededher to stop.
Already he was hollow inside. He couldn’t take anymore.
His legs buckled and he did everything in his power to make sure he stayed upright. “What are you saying?” he said. “Are you really going to leave?”
She stared at him hard, a tear slipping from her eye and tumbling down her cheek. “I don’t have any other option. I can’t stay here and watch you take my family’s legacy, now, can I?” Scarlett lifted the papers in her hands listlessly, then dropped them. “I guess everyone was right after all. I don’t belong here. I never did.” She turned and hurried away far too quickly for him to say anything to stop her. Even if he’d found the right words to tell her he was sorry for what had happened, he wasn’t sure he could bring himself to say them.
Fact was fact.
Elijah had signed that paperwork to take over the farm, knowing full well that Scarlett had wanted to do the same. He’d kept that and a couple other secrets from her that he shouldn’t have. He didn’t deserve her trust.
He glanced toward the house just as the door opened and Annabel’s form emerged. Scarlett launched herself up the steps and the two of them hugged. There was only one good outcome from the last week. It appeared that Scarlett and Annabel were as close as ever. They had figured everything out between themselves. Annabel needed that relationship more than he did—even if his heart disagreed with that sentiment.
