Chapter Fourteen
Lana
Days seemed to blend into each other and I traipsed through them in a daze. It took me a while to calculate, but it appeared it had been four days that I had successfully ignored Gabe. Classes passed in a blur with me barely taking anything in. I knew I would have to get copies of Carey’s notes if I was going to stand half a chance of passing this part of my course.
Mom and dad were waiting for me when I got home on the fourth day. Dad’s face was etched with worry and mom had been crying.
“What’s happened dad?”
He handed me an eviction notice. I scanned its contents, rage filling me. “What the hell?”
“Matt delivered it by hand. He took the liberty of drafting it up in preparation for the estate being signed over to him.”
“It says here that he will give us a month to move out? Who does he think he is? Does Gabe know about this? What did he say?” Mom and dad didn’t respond. They just looked at each other and then back at me. “What?” I demanded.
“Lana, Gabe told me about you rejecting his marriage proposal. Why didn’t you tell us what happened?”
All the fight left me. “I…things have been pretty messed up for me mom. I enjoy being with Gabe, I really do, but when he proposed to me I freaked out. I feel so ashamed, mom. I feel like I’ve betrayed Kyle and I couldn’t deal with this whole thing with Gabe anymore.”
Dad put his arm round me. “Honey, you’re beating yourself up too much about this. Kyle’s gone. Do you really think he would have wanted you to stop living your life?”
I burst into tears. “I don’t know. All I know is that it feels like if I have feelings for Gabe, it means that I am betraying Kyle.”
“Do you have feelings for Gabriel, sweetheart?” Mom asked gently.
“Yes…no…I don’t know.”
She placed a piece of card in my hand. I wiped my tears away and looked down at a card made by Louie with a huge pink heart on it. “I think you need to stop lying to yourself, Lana. Look at that card. That’s love right there. You’ve got to stop hiding yourself away and open up to new love.”
“You’re right,” I whispered. “Where is Gabe?”
“He had to go back to DC for a few days for work. He said to call him if you were ready to talk.”
“Okay, I will. But first there’s something I have to do.”
I carefully placed the card on the table and headed out into the cold air. Crossing the track, I reached the farmhouse and banged loudly on the door.
“Matt! Are you in there?” I banged again but there was no answer. I took off across the field and headed towards the cow barns. A couple of the farmhands were standing talking and waved at me as I approached. “Hey there. Have you seen Matt?”
The older farmhand shrugged his shoulders. “He’s about somewhere. I think he might have gone down to the buildings by the creek. Said something about heading down there at some point to take some measurements.”
I thanked them and trudged through the muddy field in the direction of the creek. It was bitterly cold, so I dug my hands into my pockets and hunched my shoulders. Finally, a row of three stone outbuildings appeared at the far edge of the farm. I hadn’t been out this far in years. From what I could remember, the buildings had housed some of the livestock back when Gabe’s grandfather had the farm.
The first building was empty, so I walked back out and moved on to the next. The second one was empty too, so I continued on to the third. Sure enough, Matt was inside, talking loudly on his cellphone. I stepped inside and waited until he turned my way. His eyes narrowed when he saw me.
“Listen, something’s come up. I’ll call you back,” he said into the cell, before ending the call and slipping the handset in his pocket. He walked over to me and flashed one of those smiles that don’t quite reach the eyes. “Lana, what are you doing all the way out here?”
“Looking for you.”
“Well you found me, so what can I do you for?”
I held out the eviction notice. “What is the meaning of this?”
He eyeballed the piece of paper flapping in my hand and smirked. “I’d say it’s pretty clear what it is.”
“Don’t act smart with me, Matt. You don’t have the right to send an eviction notice to my parents. You’re not getting the farm.”
He seemed genuinely tickled. “We’ll just have to agree to disagree on that. Besides, I’m going to prove that your relationship is fake.”
“You seem so damn sure of yourself, don’t you? How do you know it’s fake?”
“Oh, come on! Everyone knows you’re still moping over that guy who died. And Gabe? Well, you were there when he said it. There’s no way he will ever marry another local girl.”
I let my lips curve up in to a sneer. “You think you know everything, but you don’t.”
Matt moved closer to me. A little too close for comfort. “Why don’t you enlighten me then?”
I thrust my chin up in defiance, fixing him a deadly stare. “Gabe proposed to me for real. Even used your mother’s engagement ring to do it.”
Matt tutted and rolled his eyes. “Yeah? Where’s the ring then?”
I looked down at my finger. “Um…I…well, I haven’t actually accepted his proposal yet, but that doesn’t mean anything. The point is that it’s not going to be a fake wedding. It’s going to be real.”
“Bullshit.”
“It’s true. And if you weren’t so hellbent on destroying everything your family has built on this land, and your relationship with your brother, you might know that.”
“Hang on a minute. You said you haven’t accepted his proposal. Why is that?”
I looked down, unsure of myself. “It’s complicated.”
“What’s complicated about it? Are you going to be marrying my brother or not?”
“Yes. I love him!” I yelled, frustration coursing through my veins.
Matt stared at me incredulously.
“I love him. I’ve always loved him, okay? I got a shock when he asked me to marry him for real and I ran out. And I’ve been a total asshole to him, not answering his calls and running away from him because I didn’t know what to do. But I do now. I want to be with him, Matt. I want us to stay here on the farm as a family. Me, Gabe and Louie. All I need to do is call him and say yes.”
I pulled my cellphone out of my pocket and searched for Gabe’s number. I knew that I had to tell him there and then, in front of Matt, so that he would finally believe that there was no point in fighting over the farm anymore.
Before I even managed to hit the dial button, Matt grabbed for the cell and snatched it out of my hand. “Hey! What are you doing?”
Matt stepped away from me and pressed the button to end the call. I ran at him. “Give that back!”
He pushed me away and I fell to the ground. “No. You’re not going to call my brother.”
“What the hell are you doing Matt?” I looked up in confusion as he towered over me.
“He doesn’t know that you plan to really marry him. He’s back in DC, oblivious to the fact that you’ve suddenly decided that you love him after all.”
I tried to stand up but Matt pushed me back down. He looked to the door and then back at me. We both scrambled for the door but Matt was quicker than me. I tried to push him out of the way but he shoved me hard and slammed the door shut.
“Matt! What are you doing? No!”
I screamed and banged on the door. The sound of the bolt sliding across was deafening. “Matt! Let me out!”
“No one knows where you are, Lana. When Gabe comes back on Monday to sign the papers, he’s going to realize that you’re gone, and he will sign everything over to me.”
He was certifiably crazy. I slammed my body against the door again, yelling in frustration. “Matt! Stop this. You can’t leave me in here! Please. Let me out!”
There was no response. He had left me here on my own. Oh my God!
I screamed in a mixture of frustration and terror. How could I have gotten myself into this situation? Why the hell had Matt done this? I quickly searched the inside of the building, looking for a way out. But there was nothing. No windows, no gaps in the walls, just the one door at the front which had been locked from the outside.
“Help! Somebody help me!” I yelled, over and over until my voice was hoarse.
No one could hear me. No one knew where I was. By the time anyone found me, it was all going to be too late.
I slid down on to the dirt floor and howled with rage.