“One and a half,” Victor responds. Another person joins the bidding. It gets up to over four million dollars.
“Four and a quarter,” the man up front says. Victor looks at me and I plead with him with my eyes.
“More?” he asks.
“He can’t have her,” I say, knowing I’m disobeying.
“Going once, twice,” the auctioneer begins. Victor is about to raise his hand and speak up when another man speaks up.
“Four and a half,” he calls out.
Victor goes to raise his hand again, even though it’s more than what he brought. I place my hand on his, stopping him. There’s something about this new man that’s entered the bidding war.Why did he wait?The bidding is up to five and a half million.
The bald man makes one more feeble attempt, and this time I think he may have won. It’s like everyone in the room is holding their breath. The auctioneer is about to say sold.
The other bidder chimes in. “Six million.” He almost sounds bored. The bald man in the front shakes his head at the auctioneer.
“Sold, for six million.” I watch as the man stands to go claim McKenzie. He smirks at the bald man and salutes at him.He planned this. I wonder why.
Six Months Later
We still haven’t found Alice Brighton, but Victor has learned that her son is looking for her too. He’s decided we will only go to the auctions twice a year. Phoenix, Alice’s son, doesn’t trust Victor because he was asking questions about Alice, and Victor was bidding on the woman Phoenix bought. Victor thought it would be best to lay low for a little while.
We buy someone at every auction, then give them the option to move to Mississippi with us and Victor will help them get back on their feet by hiring them at one of his restaurants. By this point, everyone is involved. Malachi has offered jobs at the clubhouse, Lincoln, Bass, Connor, and Julian have all offered jobs as well as Ansley.
Lincoln and Ansley have expressed a desire to go to one of the auctions. Victor told them they needed to wait until he could get Phoenix to trust him. I’m working in the greenhouse Victor builtme, planting seeds for flowers I plan on selling at the farmer’s market in a couple of months. I still work for Lincoln, but it’s on a contract basis now. He’ll ask me to help with certain projects.
I finished the garden app I was working on with Lane’s help. Since Victor bought cows and chickens, this has become an official farm. I love being outside with the animals and working with my flowers. Victor and I go on horse rides on a daily basis. Cinnamon has officially claimed me as his person. We recently got a border collie, Sammy, to help herd the cattle and anytime Sammy is near me while I’m with Cinnamon, Cinnamon gets so jealous, wanting all of my attention.
I kind of love it. There’s a nudge at my calf. Glancing down, I smile at Sammy. I squat down to pet him. “Hey, Sammy. I was just thinking about you.” He tries to lick me, but I pull back. “No, not on the face.” He licks my arm and wags his tail so hard his butt is wagging too. I laugh at him and wrap my arms around him, hugging him before I stand.
Victor says I spoil him too much for a working dog, but I can’t help it. He still does what he’s supposed to do; I just have to give him all the pets and love for doing it. I grab the tray and take it to a shelf. Turning to leave, I jump slightly at the sight of Victor leaning against the door entrance of the greenhouse.
“Hi,” I greet him, walking to him quickly. Sammy runs to him, wagging his little butt.
“Hey, treasure,” he replies before squatting to pet Sammy for a minute. “Sit,” he orders, and Sammy listens immediately. I roll my lips between my teeth and Victor raises an eyebrow at me. “I take it you haven’t gotten that down yet.”
I shake my head. “No, but I’ll work on it. I promise,” I tell him.
Victor frowns, looking skeptical. He steps forward and wraps his arms around my waist. “Should I punish you?” he asks.
I lift one shoulder and try my best not to smile. “Maybe.”
He chuckles and pulls me into him. “You enjoy your punishments way too much,” he says. He grips the back of my neck, leans down, and kisses me. His tongue strokes mine and I’m ready to climb him. When he pulls away, I’m disappointed. He wraps his arm around my shoulder as we walk back to the house.
“You’re home early,” I say as Sammy runs ahead of us. He knows it’s almost dinnertime.
“I have a surprise for you,” he tells me. My stomach flips, wondering what surprise he has for me.
“What kind of surprise?”
He glances down at me and I give him a sweet smile. “That won’t work on me, treasure.”
I tuck my bottom lip between my teeth and look away. He says that, but it usually does. He spoils me and I will appreciate it for the rest of my life. When we get into the house, he feeds Sammy, then leads the way up to our bedroom.
I stop at the sight of the black dress laid out on our bed. “What’s that for?” I ask.
“We’re going to the club tonight,” he says. I squeal and clap my hands together. We’ve talked about this for a year now, but he said he wouldn’t take me until he knew I was ready. “I’ve reserved a room.” I exhale and look at him for instructions. “Take a shower, shave, and put the dress on. Don’t wear anything under it. I’ve asked Betsy to make us some salads for dinner. We’ll eat, then we’ll go.”
