Freedom in Marriage: A Southern Historical Romance ✅

Chapter One

**This has not been edited or proofread.**

Easton

Not much had changed since I'd been away for school. The white house in front of me still stood tall, and I knew without even having to see it that the back lawn would be well-tended-to. My father would not settle for anything less, drunk or not.

My older brother walked out of the house onto the front porch that spanned the width of the house, and he jerked in surprise at the sight of me standing in front of the gate that would lead me onto the walkway that headed for the front steps.

"Easton? Is it time for you to be home already?"

I chuckled and pushed open the gate, stepping through before closing it back behind me. The white picket fence was still standing sturdily, but I could tell a couple of boards had been replaced since I'd been gone.

I'd only come home long enough to spend major holidays, like Christmas, with my family. I enjoyed my time away from home up north. My brother had opted to stay down south, going to school locally. He didn't mind being here too much, but he was also much better at compartmentalizing than I was.

He knew how to tune my father out, and he knew how to ignore my mother when she got in one of her foul moods. I did not, and more often than not, I fought with my parents because of it.

But regardless of my feelings, I was the oldest. I was expected to return home and take over the lumber business, Abernathy Lumber. Something in my gut told me my old man didn't have much longer, and my gut rarely ever let me down.

"Is that kind of greeting I get?" I teased once I was on the porch. Ethan chuckled and wrapped his arms around me, clapping me on the back. I dropped my bag and did the same to him, squeezing him to me. Despite our parents, I was glad to be back home with my siblings. I knew Ethan had taken over a lot when I left, like caring for our little sisters, Emma and Evangeline, but now that I was home, I intended to take over as much as I could so my little brother could live his life.

"Nah. I'm glad you're back home." He sighed. "Dad is going through some changes, I think. He's been grumbling a lot about you not being home yet. You might want to go ahead and deal with it. He ain't talking to me."

I clapped a hand to his shoulder. "Let me get my bag upstairs, and then I'll head to his office."

Ethan nodded. "I'm heading into town. You need anything?"

"Nope," I assured him. "All good here."

He tipped his hat at me before slipping out the front gate and strolling up the road, his hands in his pockets. The perfect picture of comfort and unbothered.

Sighing, I lifted my bag from the porch and headed into the house. It was quiet, which meant Emma, Evangeline, and my mother were more than likely down for their afternoon naps.

After walking up the stairs to my room, I set my bag on the floor by my bed before walking back down the stairs to my father's office. He was sitting behind his desk, his whitened hair a mess on his head, wrinkles prominent in his skin from years of drinking and old age. He looked up at me when I walked in, grunting in disapproval because I hadn't knocked.

I hadn't knocked on his door since I was sixteen. I mostly did it to annoy him.

"Ethan said you probably want to talk to me."

Pa nodded. "Yes. Now that you're home from college, you can take over everything here—the estate, the business." He grabbed a stack of papers and pushed them toward me. "I just need you to sign these, and it'll put everything in your name."