Page 13 of Some Cowboys are Off-Limits

“Over my dead body.”

Elijah and Scarlett both jumped at Carlos’s stern words.

“That money is for you to start a life for yourself. You’ll find someone you love, and you’ll buy a house and start a family. I’ll not have you spending your life savings trying to rescue me from some ill-thought-out decisions.”

“But Dad—”

Elijah’s eyes bounced from father to daughter. He didn’t know what prompted him to cut in, but suddenly he stepped forward. “I can help.”

Carlos glanced over toward him. “Yes, we’re very appreciative of anything you can do to help us get started, but as I said, I can’t pay you—”

He shook his head. “I don’t need to be paid.”

This caught Scarlett’s attention. Her wide, clear eyes landed on him. He couldn’t tell if it was shock, distrust, or something else that filled them, but there was one thing he was certain of. She wasn’t happy.

Elijah cleared his throat and straightened his shoulders. “I will help out as long as you need until you get on your feet.”

Carlos’s tired face creased with confusion. “I can’t ask you to—”

“You didn’t. I offered.”

“Why?” Scarlett demanded.

“Scarlett,” her father warned. He held up his hand to prevent her from charging at Elijah. Or at least that was how it appeared.

She pushed aside his hand and stepped around it. “No. We deserve to know his intentions. People don’t just offer to work for free. Especially people who don’t already have it made.” Her cheeks flushed, but her serious gaze remained steady. “Why would you offer to help us when you clearly don’t like me very much?”

“Scarlett, that’senough,” Carlos snapped.

She jumped and glanced in his direction.

“Get inside.”

Her mouth fell open and her blush deepened. “What?”

“You heard me. Get inside. We’ll discuss this later.”

Scarlett shot one more livid look in Elijah’s direction, then stomped toward the house. The door swung open and then slammed shut, sending some nearby birds fleeing from the branches of a large oak tree.

Carlos sighed and faced Elijah. “My apologies for my daughter.”

“It’s no problem.”

He studied Elijah for a moment, his eyes narrowing. “She does make a good point. Why would someone like you be willing to help us? You have enough on your plate as it is.”

Elijah shifted his weight from one boot to the other. “I suppose you make a good point.”

“I know I do.” The corners of Carlos’s lips lifted slightly. “My daughter seems to think you are holding something against her, and for the life of me, I can’t think of one reason why someone would.” He stepped forward, closing the gap between them and his voice lowered. “Is there something I should be aware of?”

There was nothing like the fear of being sized up by a protective father. Wade had mentioned just how hard it was to get into Zeke Callahan’s good graces—on several occasions. Unfortunately, Lucas and Elijah had found his anxiety hilarious. They’d pushed every button Wade had when it came to wanting to impress Brielle’s father.

Interestingly enough, Elijah had zero interest in impressing Carlos. But he definitely didn’t need a gruff old man—who could probably take him in a fight—to be upset with him.

Confessing his prejudices to Scarlett’s father would be a very bad idea. Elijah swallowed hard, fighting the urge to take a swift step backward. “No, sir.” He grimaced, his voice tight and almost sounding like a squeak. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Scarlett is my sister’s best friend. I don’t have any opinions one way or the other about her except that she might hang around too much.” Hopefully, that excuse was enough to make Carlos believe him.

The old man’s gaze narrowed even further, then his face broke into a smile and he clapped a heavy hand on Elijah’s shoulder. “Alright then. Let’s get down to brass tacks. If you’re going to volunteer your services, it has to be worth it to you.”

“Sir—”

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