was wrong. A woman I' d never seen before was standing

rds the truck as

ieked, yanking on the driver' s side door befo

er, confused.

his is my truck! What gives you the righ

of anger. Her truck? I bought this Ford F-150 with my own damn money, a fifty-thousand-dolla

ld and steady. "Tom' s sister. And this i

, that' s rich. Tom gave this truck to me. It' s mine now

of the house, a panicked look on his face. He rushed t

n. This is my sister, Sarah

m. "I don' t care who she i

jump. I looked directly at Tom, my eyes demanding an explanation. He would

ing at the ground. "I was going to tel

d him set up his business, gave him the capital, and bought him this very truck so he could make a living. And now, he

derstand what had just happened when a dusty sedan screeched to a halt in front of our house. Brittan

and started banging on it withou

emaker, opened the do

om and into our home. His wife and Brittany followed, looking around the house like they w

I asked, standing up. My

mother snapped, her eyes landing on me. "We think a renta

want me to pay you five hundred dollars

, his arms crossed. "And that' s not all. Tom and Brittany ar

letely bewildered.

has standards. We expect a gift to show that Tom' s family

. Not as a dowry, not for the wedding, but as a simple

ur family. He didn' t even seem to notice the predatory glint in his future in-laws' eyes or t

I had nurtured and protected was gone. The boy I loved had been replaced by this weak, compliant ma

had been fighting for Tom my whole lif

eedy sneers, and finally to Tom' s pathetic silence. Th

use," I said, my

ffed. "Not until we g

. But I promise you, if you don' t leave right now, you' re going to

ight have lost my brother today," I said, my voice cutting through the tension. "

y would threaten. But they had made a critical mistake. They had underestim

lips. "Fine. Let's play. But be warned, I'm going to take back