Page 93 of Branded

I expect anger. I expect him to tell me to get off his property. Instead, Warren just nods slowly.

“I appreciate the honesty. Most men in your position would’ve kept lying.” He turns toward the barn. “Walk with me.”

I follow him inside, watching him navigate the uneven ground with practiced ease. He moves to a stall where a gray mare waits, and starts running his hand down her neck with his good hand.

“You know what it’s like,” he says quietly. “Running a family operation. Having people depend on you. Having to make choices that aren’t clean but are necessary.”

I nod, waiting to see where this is going.

“Then you know that sometimes you do things to protect your people. Things that look bad from the outside. Things that cross lines.” Warren keeps his eyes on the horse. “The Briggs family has been ranching in Montana for five generations. We’ve built something that’s managed to survive. And we’ve done what needed to be done to protect it.”

The words hang in the air, weighted with meaning.

“We’re not angels, Sebastian. We’ve dealt with threats to our operation in ways that would land me in prison far past the years I have left. We’ve protected our own when they’ve gotten into trouble. We’ve made sure problems disappeared before they could destroy what we’ve built.” He finally looks at me. “So I understand what it means to operate in the gray areas. To do questionable things for the right reasons.”

“You’re saying you understand why I did this?”

“I’m saying I understand that powerful families do what they have to do to survive. That protection sometimes looks like control. That solving problems often requires methods that aren’t pretty.” Warren shifts his weight. “What I don’t understand is whether you’re treating my daughter like family you’re protecting or like property you own. There’s a difference.”

“I’m trying to treat her like family.”

“Trying isn’t the same as doing.”

“No, sir. But it’s better than not trying at all.” I move closer. “I know how this started. I know what the contract says. But I’m working on making it into something more than just a transaction. On seeing her as a partner instead of what I paid for.”

Warren studies me for a long moment. “What happens in two years? She gets her freedom and her settlement?”

“If that’s what she wants, yes.”

“And if she wants to leave now?”

This is the moment. The test.

“I’d let her go,” I say quietly. “I told her that before she came here. The contract exists, but I won’t enforce it if she decides she can’t do this. She’s free to leave whenever she wants.”

“Why?” Warren’s voice is sharp. “You’ve got her legally bound. Why give that up?”

“Because forcing her to stay would make me exactly what you’re afraid I am. And I want to be better than that.” I pause. “My father built his empire by treating people like assets. My grandfather, his father before that, did the same. That’s how I was raised. But Lennox is teaching me there’s another way. And I’m trying to learn it before I destroy whatever chance we have.”

Warren nods slowly. “Your father. Walker Drake. I’ve heard stories. Man who runs his operation with an iron fist. Who doesn’t take no for an answer. Who treats family business like war.”

“That’s an accurate assessment.”

“And you’re trying to be different?”

“Yes, sir. With mixed success.”

Warren almost smiles. He turns back to the horse. “You know what Lennox’s mother told me? Before she left?”

“No, sir.”

“She said the measure of a man isn’t what he does when it’s easy. It’s what he does when he has all the power and chooses not to use it.” Warren’s voice is rough. “You’ve got power over my daughter. Legal power, financial power. The question is whether you’re man enough to choose not to use it.”

“I’m trying to be.”

“Good.” Warren moves toward the barn door, his gait slow but steady. “Now here’s what’s going to happen. You’re staying in the guest room tonight. And before you take my daughter back to Texas, you’re going to work this ranch. Show me you understand the work that built her into who she is. Show me you respect where she comes from.”

“Sir?”