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“Would I be right if I guessed that we’re not riding over to Four Mile just for the hell of it?” Russ asked as he pulled away from the house.
“You would.”
Russ shot him a quick grin before turning his attention back to the road. “I want to tell you to spit it out, but you take your time.”
It was obvious that he already knew, or at least had a good idea of what Bentley wanted to talk to him about.
“I want to spit it out right now. But I was kind of hoping to look you in the eye when I asked you – I thought I should wait until you’re not driving.”
Russ laughed out loud. “There’s no need. We both already know what you’re asking, and I hope that we both already know what my answer is.”
Bentley felt the tension in his shoulders ease. “I was hoping.”
“Well, you don’t need to hope anymore. Nothing would make me happier.”
“Okay, I feel like a coward asking when I already know the answer, but I won’t feel right if I don’t ask you properly.” He cleared his throat. “Russ, I need to tell you that I love your daughter, and I plan to love her and do my best to care for her and make her happy for the rest of my days. So, I’m here to ask for your blessing – for your permission to ask her to marry me.”
Russ didn’t say anything for a long few moments, and when Bentley turned to look at him, his eyes were shining. Bentley cleared his throat again and had to swallow around the lump in his throat.
Russ let out a short laugh. “And they think that we’ve gone off to do manly stuff. I won’t tell them you cried if you don’t tell them I did.”
Bentley laughed with him. “Okay, you’ve got yourself a deal.”
“And, yes, you have my blessing, and you have my permission.” Russ shot a glance at him. “But I need to tell you that, more than that, you have my gratitude. You know how things have been. I didn’t even know I had a daughter until she was five years old. I missed out on the next twenty-three years of her life by complying with her mother’s wishes. I’ll always regret what I missed. But I promised myself and I promised Alyssa that I’d spend the rest of my life trying to make up for what we missed.
“I don’t mind telling you that I dreaded the day when she would meet the man she wanted to marry. They say that a father feels like he’s losing his little girl when that happens. I haven’t had her in my life long enough to be prepared to lose her.”
He cleared his throat and drove silently for a little while before he spoke again. “I couldn’t be happier that it’s you. I don’t need to welcome some guy and hope that he will become a part of our family and not take her away from me to be a part of his.”He smiled. “We already are family. But even more than that, even if you weren’t Ria’s son, I’d still be happy that you’re the one she chose. You’re a good man, Bentley; I trust you to keep her heart safe and to make her happy.”
Bentley had to swallow again around the burning sensation in his throat. “I give you my word. I plan to love her and take care of her, to keep her heart safe and make her happy for the rest of my days.”
Russ nodded. “Okay, are we good?”
“We’re good.”
Russ let out a short laugh. “And when we get to Four Mile, are we going to Laura’s store?”
Bentley grinned at him. “We are. It meant a lot to me that you wanted me to be there when you chose Mom’s ring. It’ll mean a lot to me to have you there when I choose Alyssa’s.”
“Same.”
Bentley had to smile. Russ wasn’t exactly an emotional kind of guy, and Bentley was glad that his one-word answer brought that part of the conversation to a close.
“Do you know when you’re going to ask her?”
Bentley ran a hand through his hair. “I’m hopeful, but I have a few more details still to organize before I can.”
Russ shot him an inquiring look. “I’m not going to ask you to tell me anything that you want to keep personal. I’ll just say that if there’s anything you want me to help with, I’m here for you.”
“Thanks, I was hoping you might say that. I don’t know for sure yet, but I might need to ask you a favor.”
Russ smiled. “Anything you want, anytime. And if that’s about figuring out your proposal, sure. But I want so much more thanthat as well. Going forward, I want you to know that I’ve got your back, okay?”
“Thanks.” Bentley didn’t trust himself to say more than that.
“And of course, I mean because you’re with Alyssa, but I also mean because we’re family. You and your sisters. I want the three of you to know that you’ve got me now – that I’ve got your backs, okay?”
“Thanks, Russ. I think we already know that; you’ve done a good job of making it clear to all three of us.” He chuckled. “Although, I’m not sure that you know what you’re letting yourself in for. You’ve got no worries with me,” he added hurriedly. “But I’m sure there will be occasions when both Willow and Tori will make you wonder what you’ve gotten yourself mixed up in.”
