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I don’t beat around the bush. “Long story short. I have to take care of something that could potentially be dangerous, and I don't want your daughter anywhere in harm's way. I'm trusting you to keep her here. Under no circumstances do you allow her to leave.”
I watch Carson’s face go from indignant at being told want to do to ashen in the span of minutes.
He looks at me guardedly. “So you're trying to protect her?” he grunts.
“Yes,” I confirm. “She’s not happy with my decision to have her come back and stay with you while I do this, but her safety is the most important thing to me, and I believe you’ll do your best to keep her safe.” I’m not kissing the man’s ass. I truly believe that next to me, in her father’s care is the safest place for her to be.
Something like respect flashes in his eyes as he looks me over again before he says gruffly, “She's my daughter. Of course I'll watch over her.”
I turn to leave, but Carson’s voice calls out to me. “I just need to know one thing before you go.”
I half-turn to look at him. His jaw hardens again. “You say you love my daughter and you intend to marry her. As a father, I think I have the right to know what kind of man she's getting involved with. I realize she's eighteen, and I can't control her choices. She's definitely made some lately that I don't approve of.” His eyes skirt over me again. Message taken. He doesn't approve of me. Oh well, it won’t change a thing. I’m not letting her go.
He finally gets to the point. “Are you a cold-blooded killer?”
I stare at him stoically, though I am admittedly taken aback by his question. In his own way, he’s asking me for an explanation of my prison stent, which is more than most people have ever done. I know he's only doing it because of my involvement with his daughter, but still.
I tell him the truth. “I'm a convicted murderer, and I'm not going to lie to you and tell you I regret it. I would do it all over again.”
He doesn’t blink as he lets me go on. “A man raped my sister so viciously she didn’t survive the attack.”
His face blanches. I don’t have to spell it out for him. He’s smart enough to put two and two together.
He holds my eyes as the knowledge sinks in before he asks, “Are you involved in anything dangerous?”
Again, I know what he's asking me. If l engage in any sort of criminal behavior that will put his daughter in jeopardy. It’s a fair question, one that any self-respecting father would ask the man who wants to marry his daughter.
I shake my head. “No, sir. Never have been. Never will be. All I care about is Olivia and making her happy and keeping her safe.”
The man stares at me for a few more moments as if he’s trying to assess if I’m telling him the truth, and then I see respect light in his eyes.
He holds his hand out to me, and I shake it firmly. Neither of us speaks any more words, but we don't need them. I see the message clear as day in his eyes. He respects me for avenging my sister. He'd have done the same thing for someone he loved. He can sense that I'm genuine when it comes to his daughter and that I'll take care of her.
And really, that’s the most that any father can want for the man who claims his daughter, isn't it?
“Do what you gotta do, son.” He nods at me again.
I nod my head in return, a strange tightening taking place in my chest at the acceptance in that word.
Son.
Now that's a word I never thought I would hear Olivia’s father calling me.
