My stomach sank. “We hadn’t discussed telling everyone yet. She hasn’t known very long. We were hoping she could meet everyone before we announce that we’re engaged first before talking about the baby.”
Dad nodded, understanding. “I’ll go get her. You wait here.”
My eyebrows drew together. “I don’t know, Dad, I?—”
“Please?” he asked. “I came off like a real shit. I just read that report and got scared.”
I nodded and stood by Aggie as I watched him walk outside. Aggie came over, rubbing my back. “Give him some credit—it’s a lot to take in.”
I tilted my head. “That man’s not the dad I grew up with. Him admitting he’s scared? Never would have happened before he married you.”
She smiled, the wrinkles around her eyes deepening. “That’s not me; it’s therapy. Guess it does work—even on big, bad cowboys.”
I chuckled despite the nerves in my stomach. I hoped Dad’s conversation with Jada was going well.
50.Jada
A soft knocksounded on the driver’s side window, and I jerked up from my phone as I waited for it to load another short video for me to watch. There was phone service here, but not much, clearly.
Although I expected to see Bryce, his father stood at the window, an unreadable expression on his lined, leathery face. It was clear this man spent hours outdoors in the elements.
The driver's side door opened, and Gray asked, “Is it okay if we talk?”
Slowly, I nodded. “Is Bryce coming?”
“I asked if I could speak with you alone.” He got in the truck, grunting slightly as he adjusted himself in the seat, and then shut the door.
I swallowed, not sure exactly what this meant. I didn’t know this man at all, but if Bryce said it was okay, it had to be okay, right?
“What’s up?” I asked awkwardly.
“I wanted to apologize for my harsh greeting. I was in my head about the marriage arrangement and worried how it would affect the family.”
But something didn’t quite track. “If you were worried, why not tell Bryce before we arrived?”
A corner of his lips lifted. “Something got in my head, but Bryce set the record straight.”
I nodded slowly. “Is everything okay now?”
“If I’m being honest?” He scrubbed the back of his neck in a gesture that so echoed Bryce’s. Or perhaps it was the other way around. He blew out a heavy breath. “This isn’t what I wanted for my son.”
My heart crashed to my stomach at the weight of his words.
“All these years, I’ve hoped that my son would find a love like the one I shared with my late wife. Like the love I share with Aggie. I wanted him to find someone devoted to who he is as a person, and I was heartbroken when I found out he was marrying for money instead of love.”
He spoke so earnestly, it was hard to fault him for his feelings. In fact, “I think Bryce deserves that too.”
Gray looked at me, confusion in his cloudy blue eyes. “I don’t follow.”
“When I first met your son, I was fascinated by him, and hopeful. I thought this could really go somewhere. And when he proposed his marriage idea, I thought the worst of him. What kind of man would use marriage as a tool to get what he wanted?”
Surprise was clear on the old man’s face.
“But then I got to know Bryce and the man he is. I learned he was doing this to protect his friends. To him, it was never money over love. It was love for his friends, respect for the effort they put into building the company.”
The lines around Gray’s eyes and mouth deepened. “I never thought of it that way.”
I tipped my head to the side and shrugged. “Bryce has a way of bringing people around to his side. Or me at least.” I smiledsoftly. “I do love your son, Gray, and I’m coming to learn that it’s less about how the relationship starts and more about how it continues that matters.”
