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“She’s going to pull through this,” he promised, pulling her in for a hug. “We’re going to get her through it.”
She nodded against his shoulder, holding tight.
“And she’ll want to see that ring,” he told her softly.
“I haven’t said yes yet,” she admitted, pulling back to look up at him with a smile. “I told him he had to ask my father first. So be gentle.”
He grunted at the request, but that shadow of disappointment was gone and the kiss he pressed to her forehead reminded her more eloquently than words that this man had accepted her as his own.
Behind her Duke was muttering something about fathers, but he didn’t sound too put out.
“You say something, Duke?” Natches asked, narrowing his eyes as Angel stepped back.
• • •
This is bullshit, Duke thought in frustration, until he glimpsed that little flash of vulnerability in Angel’s gaze.
Well, hell.
He rubbed at the back of his neck. If this was what she needed, then he guessed he could do it. Couldn’t be any worse than when he’d asked Tracker. Right?
The hell it couldn’t. But it was for Angel.
“Natches.” He cleared his throat. “Could we talk for a minute?” He even asked politely.
Natches stared at him for a few long seconds before turning to Angel and Bliss. “Why don’t the two of you go over there with Kelly and Christa?” he suggested. “Let me and Duke talk for a minute.”
Angel shot him an encouraging smile, then moved away with her sister, though she did look back just as Dawg and Rowdy moved in and hid him from her gaze. The smiles on their faces could best be described as evil.
Duke drew in a hard breath.
“I asked Tracker two years ago, but Angel reminded me this morning that she has a father now,” he told Natches, putting on his best manners. “I apologize for forgetting that, but I’d like your permission to marry your daughter.”
He expected the normal Mackay hard time, but all three men went completely solemn instead.
Natches cleared his throat and blinked quickly. Hell, if that bastard started crying, Duke swore he was going to knock his ass out before he made a fool of both of them.
“I’ve not had a chance to get to know her yet,” Natches said, inhaling roughly. “I was hoping for a chance to do that.”
Okay, it wasn’t “no” exactly.
“She wants to wait until her mother’s stronger.” He nodded, remembering their conversation after their shower. “And I know she wants a wedding. That takes a while to plan, I’ve been told. Besides, once we marry we’re moving to the farm. Maybe raise a few cows. A few babies.” All parents wanted grandkids. Right?
“She won’t be fighting again?” That was definitely an edge of hope in Natches’s voice.
“No, sir,” he stated emphatically. “And that’s a promise from her. She stops fighting and I give her a home and babies. Sounded like a deal to me.”
A grin edged Natches’s lips as Rowdy and Dawg both looked at their younger cousin and gave a slight nod.
“A year,” Natches demanded. “A year and she stays at our home. Chaya needs time with her, Duke. Let her have a year.”
“As long as I can stay with her,” he demanded. “You don’t want to separate us, Natches. She tends to get into trouble.”
Amusement gleamed in Natches’s gaze as Rowdy and Dawg grimaced at the statement.
“So J.T., Mara, and Tracker have been telling us.” Natches rubbed at the back of his neck while sneaking a look at his new daughter before turning back to Duke. “If she’s anything like her mother, then keeping her out of trouble is going to be a full-time job.”
“One I look forward to,” Duke assured him, watching as his fiancée showed off her new ring, her face flushed with pleasure.
