Chapter Eleven
Will
The first week in our new home has gone well. Most of the stuff in my apartment stayed there because my brother moved in, and I only took my clothes, work and school equipment, and photos of Melanie.
Melanie and her mother packed up her room, taking some of her treasures and her clothes. Beast moved it into the house while I was on a job site. The tension between the two of us has grown. Maybe letting his daughter go is harder than he imagined, or the fact that he knows exactly what I’m doing to her every damn night is driving him insane.
Perhaps I shouldn’t rub it in his face that I’m hard every time Melanie’s name is mentioned, but I’m a twenty-one-year-old man who saved all his firsts for his one and only. He should be happy that I chose his daughter. I could be that backstabbing piece of shit who betrayed the code and tried to steal her from under me.
I work my tail off and come home to find Melanie isn’t home yet. I check the tracker, and she’s at her parents’. Making the short drive, I rang the doorbell and they let me in. “Hey, Rett. We’re in the kitchen.”
“Do you want a beer?” Beast asks me. I’m surprised by the peace offering.
“No, thanks.” I give Melanie a light peck on the cheek, which causes her to frown.
“What are you making?”
“I’m teaching Mom to make Dad’s favorite brownies from scratch. We’re on round three.”
“Oh. So you’re too tired to go out for dinner tonight?”
“A little? I hope you’re not upset.”
“Not at all. Are all of these bad?” I question, my stomach rumbling. We have some leftovers at home. It’s not like we don’t have things to eat there, but I promised her a nice dinner together in Dallas.
“Yes,” Mary gasps, yanking the plate away.
“Can I have a word with you?” Beast asks.
“Sure.” We step into the living room and take a seat.
“I had a talk with Mary today, and she said that Melanie is still going to UNT and that you both aren’t planning on any kids any time soon.”
“That’s the plan.”
“So you rushed to get her out of the house because?” Was he really under the impression that I wanted to just knock up Melanie and keep her at home? Yes. I want her to have my babies, but all the Steele Rider wives had careers at one point.
“I’ve spent my days without her. I love her, and that means giving her what she wants too. If she told me tomorrow that she doesn’t want to go and she wants to have babies already, that’s what she’d get, but I know she has dreams. We’re young. Unlike your generation, Melanie and I were blessed to meet as kids. I didn’t need to date to know she was the one. She and I didn’t hang out as teens because even then, being around her was painful.”
“I’m glad she’s not giving up her dreams. I was just worried that these feelings will change in the future.” He sighs before taking a long pull from his beer bottle.
I scoff. “I was off at college well before I declared any feelings for her. Never once did any girl draw my notice. Not all the girls in bikinis on the hot days. Trust me when I say my friends were constantly pointing them out and chasing down women. I walked away. My heart and mind always went back to Melanie. I can’t explain it because it’s not like she’s the same girl she was even four years ago. Well, her smile is the same, her laugh is the same, and my need to protect her is the same.”
“Good. You remind me of your father, but—”
“Younger and impulsive?”
“I wouldn’t say that, but your father was intense and disciplined.”
“Well, thanks, but I’ve learned from all of you, and I promise that I’ll give your daughter all the love and tenderness that I’ve witnessed growing up.”
“Hence the reason why I believed I’d be a grandfather in months instead of years,” he chuckles. I’m glad I wasn’t drinking because I would have spit it across their living room. He’s referring to the fact that they all can’t keep their hands off their wives, and he’s right.