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“You know you need to face him, right?”
“I know.”
“I understand you are scared, but one thing Valkyrie will appreciate is mettle and backbone. You need to show him you are the man for his daughter, to take care of his grandchild, and that this was never meant to hurt him…” his father said quietly.
“Because that man out there will make your life hard if he doesn’t respect you, son. Having a child is tough enough and will change things between you and Nicolette. You do not need her father picking away at the ‘foundation’ of your marriage, too.”
“I never meant to hurt anyone…”
“You should tellhimthat.”
“Is it chicken to admit I’m scared and might wet myself? He’s furious and I could hear him screaming at me.”
“No,” his father said tenderly, smiling at him. “It’s recognizing your opponent and being truthful. Courage comes from facing your demons and when that baby gets here? You need to be the man that sets the tone for your family.”
“What do you mean?”
“You can be a pushover, stern, a fearful parent, or…” his father paused, smiling wryly. “You can be open, loving, accepting, and exceedingly protective of your eldest boy, because you have complete confidence in him, knowing you raised him right.”
Luke hugged his father tightly.
“I’m still scared.”
“I’ve seen him hit someone,” his father uttered, hugging him and chuckling. “You’re a smart kid. Just don’t wet yourself. It will come up at every family gathering.”
“Oh, gosh…” Luke began nervously, taking a deep breath and swallowing as he unlocked the door.
He saw Nicolette’s dad was on the telephone, walking towards his car, silently, and realized that the man was going to leave. Coming down the stairs, he felt everyone’s eyes on him and saw Toby nod in the distance, just before he turned to speak to Samantha.
Every pilot there was waiting and watching as he walked towards Nicolette’s father, who turned at the last minute.
“Can I call you back, Marisol?” Valkyrie said quietly. “Luke is standing right here, and I would like to talk to him… yes,talk. Yes. I love you, too.”
Nicolette’s father hung up the phone and stood there, looking at him as Luke’s heart pounded in his chest. He could see so much of Nicolette right now, realizing that she was very similar to her dad… and he imagined she was probably the most precious thing to him in the world – just like he felt about her.
“Sir,” Luke began softly. “We never meant to cause problems or hurt anyone…”
“You crossed a line,boy.”
“I know I did – because I know no one will ever be good enough for Nicolette, but that doesn’t change the fact that I love her.”
“Youwithheldit from me,” her father started and there was a telltale tic in his jaw, realizing that Valkyrie was holding back.
“We hid it from everyone, because we didn’t want any problems or heartache after seeing how things were between Toby and Samantha…”
“That’s not the same.”
“Sir? Thumper being angry, aggressive, or upset with Toby for the last several years – isvery muchthe same thing,” Luke said quietly, trying not to get pounded into the ground by this man that had at least seventy pounds and five inches in height on him.
“With the way Toby felt ostracized, left for the academy, and avoided people? I didn’t want things to be like that for us. This is my home. Nicolette is my world. I want things to be good between our families.”
“By keeping this all a secret?”
“By giving you time to get used to us being a couple,” Luke countered. “Neither of us meant for you to find out like this.”
“You understand that it’s not just about the secret, right? You took my only daughter and…” Valkyrie grew quiet, looking away, clearing his throat emotionally – and Luke realized that he’d hurt the man who was his new father-in-law.
Deeply.
