“But you couldn’t. Neither could I. I never forgot you.”
Savannah crossed her arms over her chest. “Do you expect me to believe that? After the way you broke up with me?”
He started to answer but what could he say? Other than the truth. And he still questioned whether he should tell her or not.
“You just said it was over. No explanation, no anything. Why would I believe anything you said? Can you see why I’d have a hard time trusting you again?”
“Yes. Given what you think you know. But what you’re thinking isn’t true.”
She gave him a disbelieving look. “At first I thought you’d gotten what you wanted and I waited for the gossip that would be all over school. Because I couldn’t imagine that you hadn’t told your friends that you’d scored with the banker’s daughter. But I never heard a word.”
The banker’s daughter. The banker, who was the crux of the issue. “Because I never told anyone. That night meant a lot to me too, Savannah.”
“Really?” she asked, dripping sarcasm. “Then why did you dump me flat three days after we had sex?”
He’d told her father he wouldn’t tell Savannah the truth unless she asked. She was asking. It was time.
“You said you loved me,” she continued. “But that was a lie.”
“No, it wasn’t a lie. I did love you.” She was still close to her father. Would she believe him? Or would she think he was making excuses? Or lying? It wouldn’t take much for her to believe he was feeding her a line.
“Then why? If you loved me so much how could you do what you did?”
He scrubbed his hands over his face. “This is going to take a while. Let’s sit down.”
“Thanks, I’ll stand.”
“Don’t be stubborn, Savannah.”
She shrugged again and followed him into his office. They both sat on the couch, one on either end.
“Well? Explain it to me.”
“You won’t like it.”
“I didn’t like it before. Just tell me.”
Harlan believed in ripping off the bandage. Just put it out there. “Your father is the reason I broke up with you.”
She stared at him, then looked disgusted. “Try again. My father didn’t even know we were seeing each other.”
“Yes, he did. I don’t know how he found out but believe me, he knew.”
“If he’d known he’d have forbidden me to see you. He never did, therefore, he must not have known.”
“What would you have done if he’d forbidden you to see me?”
“I wouldn’t have let that stop me. I’d have seen you anyway.”
“You’re saying that no matter what your father said or did, you’d have defied him.” He believed she’d have tried but there was no way she’d have succeeded.
“I’ve had a lot of practice going against my father’s wishes.”
“But you hadn’t back then. Your father knew you, Savannah. He knew how you’d react. So he took steps to make sure I was out of the picture. And ensure you’d never know a thing about it.”
“Are you telling me he threatened you? Seriously?”
“Not me, specifically. He threatened my family.” Clearly, she didn’t believe him, but he plowed on regardless. “My parents were struggling. They did their best but even with my dad working two jobs and my mother one, they didn’t bring home enough to do more than barely make ends meet. My brother and sister and I worked too, but we all hoped Travis could go to college on a baseball scholarship, maybe even go pro. He wasn’t able to work much, not with baseball taking up all his time. The family was depending on me. When my father lost his primary job they needed my help even more.”
