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“I’ve been a fool Lexi,” Kane said, his eyes only for her. “I’ve been worried that I’m not good enough, that I’ll never be able to provide for you in the manner which you’re used to, when all the time, you were trying to tell me that you don’t care about all of that.”
“I don’t,” she answered, her heart racing with love for this man who had gone through so much and who had thought that he didn’t deserve to have anyone in his life other than his dog. “I only care about you.”
His heart swelled by the look in her eyes. His whole life, whatever was in his future, it all lay with her. Smiling, he moved closer, lowering his head…
Stonewall’s reaction was immediate. His expression turned thunderous.
“What in the hell is this now?!” he demanded. Mandy still hadn’t responded other than the self-satisfied smile that was on her lips. Surprisingly, she didn’t seem at all as outraged as her husband.
Kane wasn’t able to hide his own surprise at their coming out, but Lexi just gave a small shrug of her shoulders and a sweet smile that he returned. Puffing up his chest, he stood a little taller and addressed Stonewall.
“I know this might come as a shock — God knows, I wasn’t expecting this myself — but Lexi and I, we love each other.”
“And we’re going to be together,” Lexi filled in with a firmness in her voice that held no room for disagreement.
“Like hell you are!” Stonewall cried. “She’s my little girl… and you were supposed to be protecting her, not seducing her! I will kill you!” He lunged towards Kane, meaning to make good on his threat. Lexi squealed as Mandy shouted at him to stop. Kane simply stepped aside as Stonewall charged at him. The bigger man missed, stumbling into thin air.
The gathered news crews couldn’t hear what the disturbance was about, but they were recording the whole show, broadcasting live to the nation as more of the drama unfolded.
“Mr. Rockefeller, there’s no need for that—” Kane began only for Stonewall to go for him again.
He got closer this time, swinging a fist in Kane’s direction. Kane’s arm blocked the blow as easily as if he were swatting away a fly, which only served to make Stonewall angrier. He went for Kane again when Mandy suddenly called out in a stern and commanding voice that pierced through the madness.
“Oh, stop it, you fool. The man’s a trained marine. Calm down and we can discuss this like civilized people.”
Stonewall whirled on her. “Civilized? He is working for us! He isstaff! How can you stand there and let this happen?”
“Because we raised our daughter to make her own decisions and she’s usually pretty good at it. Why don’t we go home and talk about this?” Mandy’s reasonableness only seemed to set him off more.
“Are you forgetting that she was taken on his watch?!” He looked ready to explode.
“I doubt any of us will ever forget that,” Mandy responded, seeing the stricken look that came over Kane’s face. In that moment, she saw the love he felt for her daughter, and a peacefulness came over her.
“I’m going to destroy you until you’ve got nothing left!” Stonewall threatened until Lexi couldn’t stand any more of it. She ran between the two men, protecting Kane with her own body.
“Stop it! Stop talking about him like we’re better than him just because we have money! Anyone can make money, but there aren’t many people in the world who has gone through what he has and still be a good person. Kane and I are happy and we are together. You just have to accept it,” Lexi cried.
“Or else what?” Stonewall demanded.
“Or I will go away with him and you’ll never see me again,” Lexi said. Despite her love for Kane, just hearing herself say the words caused her eyes to mist up. She loved her parents and couldn’t bear it if they made her choose between them.
Stonewall looked wounded. He’d never expected to hear those words coming from his daughter, but seeing how she meant them, the fight left him. He deflated completely, seeming to shrink several feet smaller.
Mandy rubbed his back with a circular motion and stepped forward.
“You really love our daughter?” she asked Kane.
Kane nodded. “As much as I never expected to, but yes.”
Mandy’s eyes turned misty of their own. “Well, OK then,” she said simply.
Stonewall looked startled by her response. “OK, what?”
“OK, they have our blessing.”
“No, they don’t!” he began, but Mandy interrupted him.
“Honey, give it up,” she said. “It’s a lost cause. You only have to look at them to see how they feel about each other. And does it really matter what his job title is? You were only a junior exec earning less than eighty grand when I met you. Of all people, you really can’t talk.”
