Page 126 of The Lucky Heart (Jamison Valley 3)
“I’m just looking out for you.”
“What did you say?” My whisper made his eyes grow wider.
He dropped his head and spoke to the floor. “She doesn’t belong here.” Was he trying to convince me or himself? “She’s not cut out for this life. She’s a spoiled, rotten brat, just like she always—”
“Dad, stop.” My gentle tone surprised me as much as it did him. “Tell me. Please.”
His face was white now. “I told her you wouldn’t inherit the ranch if she married you.”
I rocked back on my heels, shocked to my very core.
“Elliot,” Mom gasped and clutched her chest. “No.”
He turned to her, pleading for support. “When she leaves him again, he’ll go right back into the army. Or leave town. Is that what you want? To go through all of that again? I’m just looking out for my son.”
Mom wasn’t buying anything he was saying and started yelling while I stood silent.
How could he do this to me? He’d really take away my home, my job, just because I was marrying a woman he didn’t like? This was not my father, the hero from my childhood, the man who had taught me so much.
“You will apologize and fix this!” Mom yelled.
“Olivia—”
“Do not talk to me!” she shrieked. “If you don’t make this right, you’ll find yourself out of this house. You haven’t even given Felicity a chance. He is my son and she will be his wife. No husband of mine will treat my children like this. I’m ashamed of you! I can’t believe—”
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nbsp; “Mom,” I said, interrupting her rant. “Don’t.” I didn’t want her to say something she’d come to regret.
She looked at me with tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Silas.”
I nodded and turned to Dad. “I’m leaving.” Mom’s gasp filled the room, but I didn’t stop. “All I’ve ever wanted was to run this place with you, to take what you’ve taught me and build on that, to continue your legacy. But you won’t let me. You won’t let me share this with you and you won’t let me share this with the one person who makes me happy.”
“Silas, I-I just—I’m sor—”
I shook my head. “No excuses, Dad. You’ve made your stance clear and now I’m doing the same with mine. She will always come first. If that means I have to give up all my dreams to make hers come true, then that’s what I’ll do. The ranch is yours. I’ll be gone this week.”
“No, Silas. Don’t leave,” Mom begged. “We’ll figure this out.”
“I’m sorry, Mom, but I don’t think we will.”
The drive into town from the ranch was tense. Paxon tried to cheer me up but Elliot’s ultimatum kept replaying in my mind.
Leaving would be a snap. All I’d have to do was drop off Pax, pack a bag and hit the highway. Silas would have the ranch and he’d be free to choose someone who met with his father’s approval. I considered it for a millisecond and laughed at myself.
I wouldn’t make it ten miles.
I wasn’t running away again. Not from Prescott and certainly not from Silas. No matter how difficult things got, I was sticking it out this time. Elliot had tried to push me into a corner but the only person he’d trapped was Silas. I didn’t have to make a decision because it wasn’t mine to make.
This was Silas’s choice.
It was his home, his job and his dreams at stake. I’d tell him what Elliot had said and then leave it up to him. I loved him too much to take away his future and make a decision for him. If Silas wanted to cancel the wedding so he could keep the ranch, then I’d honor that choice. Would it hurt? Definitely. But we didn’t need to get married to be happy or to love one another.
If Elliot’s protest was our marriage, then I’d just stay his permanent girlfriend. We’d be like those couples who were completely committed to one another but had chosen not to become husband and wife. We’d be married in spirit.
I could do that.
Yeah, right.
