Dawson’s jaw tightened.
He remained where he was.
Lena cried until breathing hurt.
Nobody interrupted.
Finally she sat upright.
The room looked different.
Same furniture.
Same people.
Nothing the same.
She folded the letter carefully.
Then looked at Harold.
“You read this?”
“Yes.”
“And did exactly what she told you not to do.”
Harold’s face was gray.
“I saved the land.”
“For me?”
“Yes.”
“Then why is the deed in your name?”
Silence.
Lena nodded slowly.
“Tomorrow I’m going to Helena.”
Harold stood.
“No.”
Lena almost smiled.
Not from humor.
Habit.
He still thought no was a wall.
She looked at him.
“You no longer get to say that to me.”
“You don’t understand legal matters.”
“I understand my name.”
“You’ll destroy this family.”
Eliza flinched.
Lena looked toward her.
For the first time, Eliza looked frightened rather than offended.
Lena’s anger softened by one degree.
None of this was Eliza’s fault.
Favoritism had benefited her.
But she had been a child inside it too.
Lena looked back at Harold.
“If truth destroys what you built, then perhaps you built it with something that wasn’t yours.”
Harold’s expression hardened.
“You sound like Reed already.”
Lena looked toward Dawson.
Then back.
“No.”
“I sound like Ruth Vale’s daughter.”
That was the first time she said it.
The room went silent again.
She turned toward Dawson.
“I need you to take me to Helena tomorrow.”
Harold laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
Dawson ignored him.
He looked only at Lena.
“I’ll take you if that is what you want.”
“It is.”
“All right.”
She nodded.
Then surprised herself.
“I’m not marrying you.”
Eliza stared.
Dawson’s mouth twitched slightly.
“I didn’t think tonight was ideal.”
Lena almost laughed.
Almost.
She continued.
“I don’t know who I am.”
“Yes, you do.”
Her eyes sharpened.
Dawson corrected himself.
“You know who you’ve been.”
“The rest can wait.”
She looked at him.
“I need to know that if you still want me after this, it isn’t because you know North Star might be mine.”
Something hurt in his face.
But he did not become defensive.
“That’s fair.”
Lena had expected reassurance.
He gave respect instead.
That mattered more.
Dawson said:
“I can prove I came here before knowing any of this.”
“How?”
“My sister has the letter I wrote asking her opinion before I came.”
“You asked your sister?”
“She knows me better than anyone.”
“What did you write?”
He smiled faintly.