Chapter 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.
“Dad,” I start, but he holds up his hand to stop me.
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t have helped Janie. I’m saying I understand why you did it. You’re a Briggs, it’s what we do.” He shifts his weight. “But you can’t save everyone. And you definitely can’t save people by destroying yourself.”
“I’m not being destroyed.”
“Aren’t you?” His voice is gentle but firm. “You married a man who bought you at an auction. Who legally owns you for two years. Who has every advantage: money, power, and the contract itself. That’s not a partnership, sweetheart.”
The truth of it hits hard, because he’s right. I’ve been trying to convince myself that Sebastian and I are building something, but at its core, I’m just surviving. Making the best of an impossible situation.
“What else could I do?” My voice cracks. “Janie’s safe because of those papers. I can’t just walk away.”
“Sebastian says you can. Says he won’t enforce the contract if you want out.”
“And I believe him. But that doesn’t change the fact that I promised two years. That walking away means breaking that promise.” I wrap my arms tighter around myself. “You taught me that our word means something. That a Briggs doesn’t break promises just because they’re hard.”
“I also taught you that some promises aren’t worth keeping.
That walking away from a bad situation isn’t weakness, it’s wisdom.
” Dad moves closer, his steps careful but deliberate.
“If you stay with Sebastian, I need to know it’s because you’re choosing to, not because you think you’re trapped by some contract. There’s a difference.”
“I know there’s a difference.”
“Do you? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re convincing yourself you have to stay.
That you owe Sebastian something. That leaving would make you a quitter or a coward.
” He reaches out with his free hand, cups my face.
“But sweetheart—you don’t owe him anything.
Not gratitude, not loyalty, not two years of your life. ”
“But the contract.”
“Fuck the contract. I’m serious, Lennox. If Sebastian Drake is the man he’s trying to be, he’ll tear up that contract and let you choose freely. And if he’s not, if he’s just playing at being better while still using legal leverage to keep you, then you come home. To hell with the consequences.”
I stare at my father, seeing the fierceness in his eyes despite his physical limitations. He would go to war with the Drake family if necessary to protect me.
“What do you think I should do?” I ask quietly.
“I can’t answer that, Lenny Lou. Only you can.
” He drops his hand but stays close. “But I can tell you what I see. I see a man who’s trying, really trying, to be better than what he was raised to be.
Who’s willing to give you power even when it scares him.
Who flew up here knowing I’d figure things out. ” Dad pauses.
“So you think I should stay?”
“I think you should make whatever choice feels right to you. Not to me, not to Sebastian, not to Janie. To you.” He turns back to look at the ranch.
“And I think you should know that whatever you choose, you’ll always have a home here.
Always have a family who’ll protect you.
The Drake money, power and legal contracts don’t mean shit if you decide you want out. I’ll make sure of it.”
The promise settles something in my chest. Knowing I have options. Knowing I can leave if I need to.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“Don’t thank me. That’s what fathers do.” He smiles slightly. “Now. Tomorrow I’m testing your husband. Seeing if he actually remembers how to be a rancher, or if California has softened him too much.”
“He knows ranching. Even if he’s terrible at rounding up cattle,” I say, my voice lighter than it has been in days.
“Then he’ll do fine. But I want to see it for myself.
Want to see if he respects the work that built you into who you are.
” Dad’s voice is firm. “And if he can’t keep up, if he treats ranch work like it’s beneath him, then we’re having a different conversation about whether he deserves to take you back to Texas. ”
“That’s not fair.”
“Life’s not fair, Lenny Lou. He bought my daughter with money he made from exploiting other women’s desperation. The least he can do is prove he’s not useless.” Dad’s smile is grim. “If he can’t handle how I raised you, how’s he going to handle being married to you?”
I can’t argue with that logic.
“What should I do tomorrow? While you’re testing him?”
“Work beside him. Show him what you’re capable of. Let him see you in your element, doing the work you love.” Dad starts moving toward the door. “Pay attention to how he reacts.”
“He’s already seen me work and he’s followed my orders, Dad. We rounded up twenty-three head in the middle of the night, just the two of us. Well, just me basically, he was kind of just there.” I laugh.
“This the dick-swinging war?”
“That’ll be it.”
“Well, it doesn’t surprise me much, you’ve always been exceptional on the back of a horse. Better than your brothers to be honest.” He laughs and leans against the doorframe. “My old bones are telling me I need to go to bed, my girl. See you in the morning.”
“Night, Dad,” I say as I hug him tightly. He goes inside, leaving me alone on the porch with my thoughts. I pull out my phone and see a text from Sebastian.
Sebastian
Your father’s a good man. Terrifying, but good. How are you?
Me
He’s going to work you into the ground tomorrow to prove a point.
Sebastian
I can handle it. More worried about you. Are you okay?
Am I? I just confessed what Sebastian left out. Tomorrow I’ll have to watch Sebastian prove himself worthy of—what? Me? This marriage? My family’s grudging acceptance?
Me
I’m tired. And confused. And not ready to talk about any of it.
Sebastian
I’m in the guest room if you need me. Third door on the left. Otherwise, I’ll see you at six.
I stare at that text for a long time. I’m in the guest room if you need me.
Everything with Sebastian keeps coming back to choice. He gave me one before I left for Montana. Gave me another just now by not assuming I’d sleep beside him in my own house. Small things. But together they matter.
I go inside, say goodnight to my sisters, who are clearly dying to ask questions but hold back, and climb the stairs to the second floor.
I pass my old room, the one I’ve been sleeping in since I arrived.
Pass the bathroom and stop at the third door on the left where Sebastian is staying.
He’s the outsider here, being tested and judged.
I should go back to my room. Should maintain distance and give us both space to process everything that happened today.
But I don’t want to sleep alone. I don’t want to lie in my childhood bed thinking about auctions, contracts and the two years still stretching ahead of me.
I open the door quietly. The room is dark except for the moonlight through the window. Sebastian sits on the edge of the bed. He looks up when I enter, surprise crossing his face.
“Lennox?”
“Is the offer still open?”
“Always.” He stands slowly. “What do you need?”
That’s the question, isn’t it? What do I need?
I close the door behind me, lock it quietly. My heart is pounding, adrenaline from the conversation with my father still coursing through me. Fear and anger and confusion all twisted together into something that feels like desperation.
“I need…” I stop, not sure how to articulate it.
He moves toward me slowly, giving me time to change my mind. “What are you asking for?”
“I need you to own me.” I grab his belt, pull him closer, my voice desperate. “I need to feel like I belong to someone. Like I’m not just drifting. Make me forget everything except that I’m yours.”
His hands come up to cup my face, his dark eyes searching mine with an intensity that makes my breath catch. “Are you sure? Because once I start, once I take you the way you’re asking, I’m going to make sure you know exactly who you belong to.”