“There’s an opportunity for me in New York City,” she blurted as he scanned the page.
“I can see that,” he replied, his voice void of emotion as he returned the letter to her. “You’re going to tell that Chelsea woman no, aren’t you?”
Her heart sank. Nervously, she glanced around, trying to find the right words, when Mabel the Cat padded into the room and hopped up onto the desk as the other cats paraded in after her. Could the animals sense that tensions were high? She stared at the cats, not sure what to say to Cal to make him understand.
“Mabel,” he said, sounding more like an old schoolmarm than the man who’d professed his love for her. “You know that you can’t go.”
Can’t go?
Anger coursed through her body. She loved him, but she wasn’t about to let him tell her what she could and couldn’t do.
“It’s just a meeting, Cal,” she replied, doing her best to keep her tone even despite wanting to hit him over the head with her stiletto.
He crossed his arms, going into stone-faced farmer mode. “From what I read, it sounds like more than a meeting.”
The disapproving lilt to his voice made her want to scream. But she didn’t. She could reason with him.
She lifted her chin to let him know that she wasn’t about to back down. “Why couldn’t I do both? I’ve got a system in place for the Eat Elverna marketing plan. We’re not inventing the wheel anymore. I could handle everything from anywhere on the globe.”
Cal’s gaze hardened. “We need you here in Elverna. I need you here in Elverna.”
She took a step toward him. “I understand that. I do. But this is something I’ve always wanted, and we don’t even know what it is. I can’t see the harm in listening to what Chelsea has to say,” she reasoned.
He raked his hands through his hair. “I knew it,” he muttered under his breath.
“Knew what?” she shot back, her patience wearing thin.
Yes, the man was wary of cities, but he wasn’t in charge of her.
No one decided her path.
“That Elverna would never be enough for you—that I would never be enough,” he bit out dryly.
“It’s not like that, Cal. It’s one meeting,” she answered, but deep in her heart, she wanted it to be more. Should she feel guilty for following her dreams? And what was wrong with pursuing more than one opportunity? She loved Eat Elverna. She’d poured her heart and soul into this town. But who was he to tell her that this was all she could have?
He shook his head. “It’s exactly like that. It’s the reason you never stopped carrying around your passport. You were always looking for a way out of here. I was too stupid to see it.”
His words cut to the bone. But he wasn’t wrong. She hadn’t removed her passport from her purse. But that didn’t make her a bad person or any less committed to Elverna—or him.
“Why can’t you be happy for me, Cal? Why do you think I can’t pursue both?”
“Because I know you,” he replied. “The minute you end up in one of those fancy cities you’ve always dreamed about visiting, you’ll never look back. And I can’t protect you there. I can’t protect you if you leave.”
“Protect me?” she questioned.
“Yes, to protect you and to provide for you. I love you, Mabel. I need you here with me. I made a promise to your brother.”
She took a step back. She wasn’t some obligation, and she sure as hell was not about to let him bring Jamie into this.
“My brother has nothing to do with us!” she parried back as Mabel the Cat scampered across the desk. The kitten stepped on the laptop’s keyboard, and a new page appeared on the screen, opening up a social media account that didn’t belong to the town.
But one she’d never forget.
“Oh my God!” she exclaimed, her heart hammering as the account for Castle King—the very Castle King who’d ruined her prospects weeks ago appeared. “It’s you?” she shrieked, pointing at the laptop.
“What are you talking about?” Cal questioned, his gaze bouncing from the screen then back to her.
Could he not see that the ruse was up?
Her eyes grew bleary with hot tears. If anyone wanted her home, it was the man who tallied each day of her absence.
“Mabel!” he exclaimed. “What is the Castle King?”
A wave of nausea washed over her as she stormed out of the cottage. “It’s on your laptop, Cal!”
“Slow down!” he called, but there was no stopping her. She’d seen enough.
“Can’t we talk about this?” he pleaded.
Talk about ruining her life? That was rich!
Fuming, she ignored him, but he followed her into the main house as she stomped up to her room. Without acknowledging his looming presence, she opened her closet and grabbed a few dresses, then laid them on the bed.
“What are you doing?” he asked, looking completely dumbfounded.
The nerve! As if he had any right to question her!
She pulled her suitcase out next. “Packing, Cal! I’m packing.”
She blinked back angry tears as she gathered what she’d need in New York.
He paced the length of her room. “You have to be joking.”
She pointed to the suitcase. “Does this look like a joke?”
“You’re leaving for New York now?” he asked, his cheeks red with irritation.
“Why, yes! Aren’t you quick on the uptake!” She couldn’t stay here another minute. She’d take the bus into Chicago and book the next flight out. She wasn’t destitute. She had plenty of money in her account.
“Stop acting crazy!” Cal chided, and his tone did nothing to quell her anger.
She stared him down. “I’m not acting crazy. Crazy is taking away everything I worked for. Crazy is thinking you had the right to do it!”
He looked away. “You’re not making any sense.”
She gripped his chin and forced him to hold her gaze. “How about this for making sense, Cal? You don’t love all of me.”
He reared back. “Of course, I love you, Mabel. I’ve always loved you.”
She shook her head. “No, you don’t. You only love Mabel in Elverna. Mabel on the Farm! Freaking Farm to Mabel! But that’s not all of me. That’s only a part of me.”
It made sense. To him, his promise to Jamie was nothing more than to bring her back to Elverna and put her into a box—a box that excluded her passion for travel and fashion. He wanted that wide-eyed farm girl. But she’d made a promise to her brother as well. A promise that she’d follow her dreams—whatever they were!
She removed her necklace and held it out, feeling naked without it. But she had to do this.
“Here, you should take this back,” she whispered, staring as the M dangled from the chain.
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “So, you’re done with me and this town?”
“I’m done pretending, Cal. I can’t be what you want. Take it!” she said, tossing the necklace at him.
He caught it. “And don’t forget your passport—in case they want you to go to…” He glanced at her corkboard. “To Paris or Australia or Antarctica. Who knows! You could end up in Timbuktu!” he jeered.