The Marriage Auction: Book One(41)

Erik squinted as he took in Sutton Goodall.

You couldn’t deny the man was gorgeous. Even if he and his family were the worst of the worst. They definitely had good genes because Sutton was well over six feet, had a chiseled jaw, nice eyes, and a body that was made for manual labor. If we weren’t in a generations-long feud, I’d have found him very handsome. Many of the women back in Sandee talked about him rabidly, but I personally hadn’t seen him in years. While I was in high school and then college, he’d been away making business deals from what I understood. Jarod had briefly mentioned in one of our phone calls that he’d come back, and the town floozies were in a tizzy over it. Guess that would end quickly once they found out he’d married a McAllister.

The town was going to freak.

Not to mention our pa.

I shivered thinking about how my father was going to react. He’d respond with dramatics and bad behavior for sure. My sister thought I hadn’t seen the fist fights between him and my mother or between him and Dakota as I grew up. I knew he didn’t reserve his fists for bar brawls and had no problem laying into my mother or my sister.

What neither Dakota nor our mother saw was the way he’d constantly pinch me whenever I was around him. Nearly every day. Sometimes several times a day. He’d tell me my ass was too fat and pinch it hard enough to leave a big purple and blue mark. Same with my belly being too big, and my arms too flabby. I had so many marks on my ass, belly, hips, and inner arms that Jarod had thought I needed to see a doctor. I made excuse after excuse.

I bruised easy.

The goats got their nibbles in.

The chickens were feisty.

I fell into a prickly bush.

You name it, I made up an excuse. It only stopped when I went away to college.

Suddenly I felt two warm hands cupping my jaw. I blinked through the haze of horrible memories and came face-to-face with Erik’s concerned gaze.

“Hey, now. It’s okay. If you want me to break up this wedding, I’ll do it. Anything to make those tears disappear.” His thumbs swiped at the falling tears.

I shook my head, sniffed, and accepted the handkerchief he pulled out of his pocket.

“Thank you. I’m fine.” I swallowed down the old memories and patted my face with the soft cloth. “My sister has to make her own decisions, and if she feels like she needs to do this, then I won’t stop her. I can only be here to support her.”

I offered a halfhearted smile as Dakota called for me.

“Savvy, we need a witness,” she called out in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Coming!” I wiped at my eyes again and put my hand into Erik’s. “Stay with me?” I whispered.

“For as long as you need. Always.” He laced his fingers with mine.



I walked up the aisle to music I didn’t recognize. When I got to the front I stepped to the right and faced Sutton and Erik, who stood several feet from my position. Erik was serving as the groom’s witness while I was the maid of honor…kind of. I glared at Sutton, trying to show my undying hatred for the man through a single look.

He smiled widely and winked at me.

I looked away on a scowl and watched as my sister walked down the aisle. She didn’t do that slow one-step thing most brides did. Instead, she was all business. She didn’t even hold the flowers up at her waist. They were down at her side, brushing against her dress. Some of the petals fell off and dropped to the floor as she trotted up the aisle.

Laughing would have been uncouth, so I looked away and focused on Erik’s glorious features. The man was unearthly attractive. Everything about him said take my picture, put me in a hot guy calendar, and plaster my face all over social media and movies. He was that good-looking.

And he was mine.

My husband.

Well, soon-to-be husband.

We still needed to talk about that part.

Dakota made it to the front, and Sutton held out his hand. She looked at his outstretched palm as though it would bite before she snarled and placed hers within his.

His lips twitched with what I assumed was humor as he turned toward the officiant.

For most of the service I stared at Erik. I couldn’t help it. But when he’d look at me, my heart would race and I’d focus back on Dakota. She treated the ceremony as though it was a business interview, responding when necessary, keeping her silence otherwise.

“Do you take this man, Sutton Duke Goodall, as your lawfully wedded husband?” the officiant asked.

“I do.” Dakota cut off the rest of the words the man was about to say. “Let’s hurry this along, shall we?” she grumbled.

Sutton chuckled and nodded. “As the lady requests,” he said, confirming it was okay to move forward at a faster clip.

“Do you take this woman, Dakota Leanne McAllister, to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“Absolutely, I do!” Sutton boasted with a big smile as his chest rose with what could only be seen as pride. He positively glowed with it as he brought the back of her hand up to his mouth and kissed her there. Incredibly strange reaction from someone who was supposed to be a horrible human being from a wretched family.

Could it be that he actually wanted to marry my sister? I mean, she was beautiful, smart, knew everything about how to run a farm, and could be genuinely funny when she wasn’t trying to take on the brunt of a failing legacy.