Page 95 of Branded

“I don’t know. Maybe.” She hands me another dish. “What else did he say?”

“He asked about the contract. And I told him the truth, that if you want to leave, I won’t stop you. That the contract doesn’t matter if you decide you can’t do this.”

Tears fill her eyes. “You keep saying that.”

“Because I mean it. I’d rather you choose to stay than force you. Even if that means losing you. But I want you to stay,” I say quietly.

“Lennox.” Warren’s voice from the doorway. “Can I talk to you? Alone?”

She looks at me, uncertainty in her eyes.

“It’s okay,” I say. “Go talk to him.”

“The guest room is on the second floor, third door on the left,” Warren says to me. “Your bag’s already there.”

“Dad, Sebastian is my husband. He’s staying in my room.”

“This is my house, my rules.” Warren’s tone isn’t harsh; it’s just firm. “You two are still figuring things out. For tonight, he’s in the guest room. Tomorrow, after he proves himself, we’ll talk about the rest.”

I see Lennox about to argue, so I pull her close, whisper in her ear, “It’s fine. One more night won’t kill me.” I kiss her temple. “Let him have this.”

She huffs but nods, following her father out of the kitchen.

I head upstairs to the guest room, already mentally preparing for the test that will come with the sunrise. Tomorrow I’ll prove I can work a ranch. Tonight, I just hope Warren’s conversation with Lennox doesn’t convince her to stay in Montana permanently. Because the thought of going back to Texas without her makes my chest tight.

31

LENNOX

I follow my father out of the kitchen, through the living room and onto the back porch. The evening air is cold enough to bite.

He moves carefully to the railing, his cane tapping against the wood planks, and stands looking out at the ranch he’s built despite the stroke that tried to take it all from him. The silence stretches until I can’t take it any more.

“What did you want to talk about?”

“Everything.” He doesn’t turn to look at me. “Sebastian told me about Janie being in trouble. About you stepping in. About the arrangement you made.” He pauses.

My chest tightens. “Dad.”

“I’m not asking, Lennox. I’m your father. I deserve the truth. Is there anything he left out?”

He’s right. He does deserve it.

I look at the man who’s raised me alone after Mom walked out on us. Who’s survived a stroke that should have killed him. Who’s built this ranch into something that will last generations despite every obstacle thrown at him.

And I tell him everything.

“It was an auction. Rich men bidding on contracts. Women fulfilling those contracts as wives for a set period of time.” The words come easy. “It’s technically legal, marriage contracts, settlements, all documented. But it’s exploitation dressed up in paperwork.”

“And Janie was supposed to be auctioned?”

“She wouldn’t have been able to handle it. She’s not… Janie’s been through so much already with her family and the cult she grew up in. This would have destroyed her completely.” I move to stand beside him. “So I traded places with her. Signed the contracts myself. Sebastian runs these operations. Finances them. But he’d never participated before. Never bid on anyone.”

“Until you.”

“Until me.” I look out at the darkening pastures. “I still don’t know why. Why he broke his own rule. Why he bid at all. But he did. Two million dollars for a two-year marriage contract.”

“I don’t like it. The lying and the secrets, the way you looked when you got back to this house.” His voice trails off.