Elana’s stomach sank.
Her father had arrived.
Steeling herself, she stepped out of the van. Jack jumped down from the seat and landed on the ground. He looked up at her.
“I guess it’s now or never, Jack.”
Jack barked.
She grinned.
Elana walked across the yard toward the massive house. Before she reached the first step leading up to the porch, the front door opened.
Her father stepped out, dressed in a three-piece suit. He frowned when he saw her.
“Father. How was your trip?” She climbed the steps.
Her father crossed his arms. “Long. Elana, why are you dressed like that? I would have expected you to dress up for my arrival.”
She blinked. For the first time in her life, she really listened to her father’s words. Then she burst out laughing.
He uncrossed his arms and stared at her like she had lost her mind. “What has gotten into you? What’s so funny?”
She shook her head and composed herself. “You are. We are on a ranch, Father. Why would I wear a cocktail dress on a ranch? That’s utterly ridiculous.”
He looked quite offended, but for once she didn’t care.
She walked past him and stepped into the house with Jack at her side.
Ronald stood there at the fireplace with a glare etched into his face. Elana could tell it was taking all his restraint not to throttle her father.
“Hi, Elana,” Ronald said but kept his gaze narrowed on her father.
“Where’s Grandma Cecilia?” she asked.
“She’s upstairs in her room.”
Her father snorted. “Her room? This isn’t her home.”
Ronald curled his fingers into fists. “This is Cecilia’s home for as long as she wants.”
Elana walked over to Ronald and nodded. She turned to face her father. “So why did you come all the way here, Father?”
He lifted his chin in the air. “When you stopped answering my calls, I got concerned. Grandma has been away from home too long. I came to put an end to this nonsense and bring her home.”
She blinked. “You mean you came to take her to the assisted living home.” She waited for his reaction. To his credit, he gave none.
“Your grandmother needs a place that takes proper care of her. It’s clear that she is making irrational decisions,” her father stated.
In that moment, she lost a lot of respect for her father. In that moment, he felt like a stranger to her.
“I don’t need any such thing,” Grandma Cecilia called down from the top of the staircase.
Everyone turned.
Grandma Cecilia was dressed in a sapphire blue pantsuit, her hair and makeup perfectly done.
She looked years younger. But there was one thing that was the same. The determination in her eyes.
