Love Unclaimed by Jennifer Benson Read Free Book Online

him. She would do what any true Southern Belle would do, just like Scarlett, she would think about it tomorrow.
    ***
    Gavin found out later that day that his father had, in fact, started in on Audree about the parcel of land. His father caused such a scene that someone called Travis and Clint. They were at the diner waiting for Audree. Gavin knew Audree could stand on her own against his father, but he didn’t like the fact that she had to. He knew he was going to have to confront his father, yet again, about leaving Audree alone.
     

 

    Although Gavin still tolerated his father in his life, he didn’t tolerate his behavior toward Audree. He never had. He had never really understood his father’s dislike for her. She came from a good family, had good parents and her brother was his best friend. The Edwards’, along with Talia’s family had owned the two farms next to the Montgomery’s forever. He knew his father was a greedy bastard. He knew Malcolm wanted to own and control as much land as he could and had, on several occasions, offered to buy the land from Audree’s family since both farms had been combined Audree’s parents were married. They had never buckled and had never considered accepting any of his offers.
    “Father?” Gavin called from the front door of the very large great room in the house he grew up in. He didn’t refer to it as home; it stopped being home the day his mother died. She battled stage IV ovarian cancer the best she could, dying only five months after telling them. That was almost year ago.
    Gavin and Travis never called their father Dad, like Audree and Clint called their father. He wouldn’t tolerate it and had told them it didn’t sound manly. So, from a very young age, they learned they had a ‘Father’ not a ‘Dad’. Gavin promised himself when he had his own children he would be a ‘Dad’.
    “In the office, Son.” He never called the boys by their names. Sometimes, as a child, Gavin had thought his father didn’t even know his name, so it was safer just to call him ‘Son’. Of course, you are in your office. Where else would you be on a sunny day on the farm?
    “Hello, Father.” Gavin walked into the office and waited until his father told him to sit down. Even though he was twenty years old, he still knew the rules of his father’s house .
    “Sit down.” He didn’t raise his head to look up from what appeared to be a balance sheet. “It is nice of you to finally show up. I had heard you came back into town last night to see the Edwards’ girl for her birthday,” he sneered. “She came into her parcel yesterday.” He sounded pissed.
    “Yeah, I heard.” Gavin bit his tongue before he snapped at his father. He needed to stay calm; the man was still his father.
    “I suppose you also heard about the scene in town when your brother came to her defense.” He closed the book on his desk and locked it back in the bottom drawer.
    “No, actually I didn’t hear about it,” he lied. He had a lot of experience and was a good liar around his father. “What happened?”
    “Well, you know I am still not happy about your mother willing that parcel to her,” he sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I have contacted my lawyer again to try to get it back, but to no avail. He said the only ways to get it back are to have her return, gift it back or even sell it back to me. He also suggested if she were to marry into the family and will it or gift it back.” He raised his eyes to Gavin and smiled. “I’m certainly not buying back my own land.”
    “Not going to happen,” Gavin stated. As much as he would love to keep Audree as his own forever, he would never do it to please his father or just to get the parcel back in the family. “Travis won’t be marrying her either.” He stopped him before he could even try.
    “No, your brother has better taste than that anyway.” He chuckled, and Gavin balled his hand in a fist so he didn’t leap over the desk and