Owned Forever by Willa Edwards

ready when you get home from your honeymoon.” Margo’s eyes continued to survey the place, as if she hoped by looking more she’d see something different—something more to her liking. But they didn’t have any magical rotating walls, so she was out of luck. “It’s awful having your home in disrepair. Do you remember when we had to stay at the Four Seasons for two weeks while the floors were being refinished? It was horrible.”
    Kate nodded. “The house should be ready before the wedding’s over.”
    Kate swallowed, her shoulders dropping another inch, and Daniel’s gut sank.
    “But we’re not going on a honeymoon,” she continued. “We put all our money into fixing up this place.”
    Kate smiled over at him, then looked to Grant. She didn’t look embarrassed or ashamed that they didn’t have enough money to offer her everything she dreamed of.
    Her mother, on the other hand, didn’t look so impressed. In fact, she looked appalled, like they’d committed some terrible wedding taboo by not heading out to the Caribbean right after the ceremony.
    “If you’d let us help out, dear, you could have gone anywhere you wanted.”
    And there it was, the offer of money that always came with way more strings than either he or Grant were comfortable with. He’d known it would be coming eventually.
    Kate wrung her hands together, shifting nervously. “I know. And that’s a very generous offer. But we wanted to do this ourselves.” In other words, without their judgment or ability to enforce their decisions on them.
    “Whatever you want, honey.” Her mother’s words were cold and a bit cutting. As if to say, it’s your decision if you want to live in filth .
    Nervous shakes radiated across Kate’s body. Daniel’s eyes slid to Grant. His brother stood tensely at the back of the room, but he couldn’t move forward. He couldn’t comfort Kate. Not in front of all her family. Not if they wanted to keep their relationship a secret. For the first time in a long time, Grant couldn’t fulfill her need. Only Daniel could. And he wouldn’t let her down.
    Before Margo could say one more backhanded comment, Daniel stepped forward. He grabbed Kate’s hand, giving her all the strength he could. “It’s also the start of harvest season. We need every hand we can to get the full potential out of this year’s crop.”
    Margo smiled at him, the look of disgrace erased from her features. “That’s very responsible, Daniel. I knew you were a good boy the day my daughter brought you home.”
    She placed a hand on his shoulder, confident and calm. Not that he needed or wanted her praise. At least he’d discovered something Kate needed from him. Something Grant couldn’t give her. Her parents liked him. With her parents here, he had her all to himself.
    But besides that, what else did he have to offer? Balancing budgets. Working with vendors. Keeping her bed warm anytime Grant left town or was otherwise unavailable. That was all Kate needed from him. But was that enough? Daniel wished he knew.
     
    * * * *
     
    Kate threw a dollop of sweet mashed potatoes on her plate with a little more force than usual. Gale had gone all out, cooking all the country specialties Kate requested—mac and cheese, fried chicken, a fresh greens salad from the garden. She’d even made apple pie for dessert, Daniel’s favorite. This was nothing compared to the brisket, potatoes au gratin and asparagus she had planned for tomorrow, also some of Daniel’s favorites. But just like with everything else on the ranch, the second they’d sat down, her mother’s face had been covered with a sour puss expression, and it had only been getting worse as they passed the food around.
    Kate forked a bit of chicken into her mouth. Her temper was at its limits, pushed beyond her usual extremes, and given how this dinner was going, she didn’t know how she would survive it without killing one or both of her parents. Beside her, Daniel appeared glum and