Wade
The awkward moment when you’re sitting across the dining room table from the town sheriff, a man you admire greatly, the man who also saved your life, insinuating you’ve been fucking his daughter, was a situation I would have greatly loved to have avoided.
I had been home for almost two weeks, and acclimating back to everyday living had been a challenge.
Most of my trainees had been fine with Sterling taking over their sessions, but for some reason, Izzy had thrown the world’s biggest hissy fit. Even Ray had mentioned how out of character it was for Izzy to be so defiant, especially when it came to her rodeo prep.
She was slated to race in the NFR in Vegas in a little over a month, so every moment was pivotal in her training.
Two weeks of playing catch-up while battling the stresses of ranch life made things beyond exhausting. I’d fallen into bed each night, wrapped in Ray’s embrace as I drifted off into a nightmare-free slumber.
Neither of us wanted to be apart for long, so she’d all but officially moved into the big house with me until construction on our place was finished.
Things were a little tight, but we made it work. After all, it was only temporary. After telling Max my plans to move onto the back ten acres of the property, I reached out to a local builder, someone we’d been friends with in high school, and inquired about getting plans drawn up.
Ray and I had pored over floor plans, design features, architectural styles, and so much more over the last week that my head was still spinning and my eyes were struggling to uncross. But watching my girl in her element had always been one of my favorite pastimes.
Truthfully, she could have said she wanted to live in a cardboard box on the side of the road, and I would have found the sturdiest one and staked it down wherever she’d asked.
Things had fallen into an easy rhythm as Ray and I adjusted to being a couple, rather than just friends. But the best part of our relationship was just that: being friends first gave us a solid foundation to build from.
Neither of us was without our faults, but it was easier for us to move past a disagreement since we knew each other backward and forward. She was my right-hand man, my better half, and the woman who could bring me to my knees with just a look.
That same look is how I ended up sitting across from her dad, awkwardly talking about my intentions with his daughter.
Emmanuel Cortez wasn’t an inherently scary man. He was tall and thin with a thick head of dark hair and the same caramel skin as his daughter.
Yet, as he sat across the table from me, I felt like a chihuahua trembling under his gaze. Neither of us had spoken yet as Ray finished prepping dinner.
She had somehow talked everyone in their household into a Friday night family dinner. Although over half of their family didn’t live at home anymore and weren’t able to come for a simple meal, she’d made sure that the twins, Benny, and her father made themselves available.
I’m sure this was her twisted way of indoctrinating me into their unit, but I couldn’t deny I was a little terrified of the man seated in front of me.
“So, Wade.” Emmanuel spoke slowly, drawing out each word as he crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back in his kitchen chair. I couldn’t tell if he was playing good cop, bad cop, or if he was silently judging me across the weathered wood table.
“Yes, sir,” I replied, sitting up straighter and fighting the urge to fiddle with the silverware lined up in front of me.
“You and my daughter?” His question was simple, but the answer was not. I wanted to express in great detail how much Ray meant to me, how much I cherished and loved her unconditionally, how often I had already thought about my ring on her finger, and her carrying my last name.
Instead, I settled for cordial, not looking to overwhelm the man since this was his oldest, his baby girl, the first one to be in a serious relationship—well, one we actually saw making it long term.
Izzy could insist six ways to Sunday that she and Tanner were headed to the altar, but they’d been engaged just under a year, and nothing about the two of them together made a lick of sense.
“Yes, sir,” I nodded, taking a sip of the water in front of me. Emmanuel casually reached for his beer, taking a sip without breaking eye contact.
I could tell why he was such a revered part of the law enforcement community; the man could make even the toughest of criminals break with his set jaw and unrelenting stare.
“I’m not going to lie and say I’m not worried, but I also can’t say I didn’t see this coming,” he said, setting his beer back down with a definitive thump. Finally breaking eye contact, I took a deep inhale, thankful for the absence of his weighted gaze.
I’d never met the parents of a girl I’d been dating before, but I’d also never been seriously involved with anyone.
Even though I’d known Emmanuel for the majority of my life, he was no longer looking at me like his daughter’s best friend. He was scrutinizing me as the man who would be responsible for her well-being for the remainder of her life.
I could only imagine the emotional toll this was taking on him, relinquishing his baby girl to the hands of another man.
“Sir, I want you to know that I love your daughter.” I cleared my throat, sitting up straighter in my seat.
“Ray has been my best friend for most of my life. She’s been there for me in some of the happiest and, subsequently, the hardest moments I’ve ever lived through.
She is the strongest, most loyal, and beautiful woman I have ever had the pleasure of being around.
I can’t promise you I won’t fuck up. I’m human.
What I can promise you is that for the rest of my life, it would be my honor to spend each day reminding her of her worth, cheering her on in all of her dreams and goals, and standing behind her every step of the way.
Your daughter is the reason I am half the man I am today. She has taught me to love without reservation, find the beauty in each day, chase after the things that are most important, and what it’s like to be worthy of being loved.”
I watched as he took in my words, his eyes downcast toward his lap, where he turned the gold band of his wedding ring around his finger.
In all the time since Ray’s mom had died, he still kept his ring on. I hadn’t really grasped the idea of a love that left you missing half of your heart until I stopped fighting what I felt for Ray.
“I’d like to ask for your blessing, sir. I wholeheartedly plan to marry your daughter. Not now, maybe not even a year from now, but as soon as she is ready, I’d like to spend the rest of forever with her.”
He silently nodded, and I didn’t miss the single tear that tracked down his cheek, even if he did his best to hide his emotions and wipe it away.
“You have it,” he said softly, lifting his gaze back to mine.
Swirling through his eyes, I saw hints of pride, pain, and happiness.
“I’ll have you know—that square fucker, Tanner, didn’t have the balls to come and ask to marry my Isabella.
So, thank you. Thank you for being a respectable young man that I’d be proud to have as part of our family…
officially. After all, your ass has been hanging around this house for the better part of seventeen years.
You’re tough to get rid of, Wade Daniels. ”
Both of us chuckled as I stood, walking around the table and extending my hand out to him. He stood, gripping my hand in a firm handshake before pulling me into a tight hug.
“Welcome to the family, son. But if you hurt my daughter, I know the best places in and around town to hide a body and how to get away with it,” he said, pulling back and looking me dead in the eyes.
A nervous chuckle crawled up my throat but died when I noticed the seriousness behind his gaze.
“Yes, sir.” I nodded just as Ray breezed in from the kitchen, a pan of enchiladas in her hands.
“Dinner’s ready!” she called out to the house as she set the dinner in the center of the table. Looking between her father and me, her brow furrowed in confusion, and she asked, “Why does it look like someone died in here?”
I let out another nervous chuckle as I placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, heading back to my spot at the table. Thundering footsteps echoed through the halls as Sofie, Lucy, and Benny made their way to the dining room.
Ray served everyone with pride, having orchestrated this whole ordeal. She filled each of the kids’ plates, even though they were completely capable of doing so themselves.
She placed a plate in front of her father, leaned down to kiss him on the cheek, and then did the same thing to me before grabbing her own dinner and sitting beside me.
If there was one trait I loved most about Rayna Cortez, it was her ability to love and care for those around her unconditionally.
She’d been thrust into adulthood way before she should have been due to circumstances out of anyone’s control, but instead of letting life get her down, she grabbed the bull by the horns and took it for a ride.
There was no other cowgirl I’d like to spend riding through the rodeo of life with than the woman seated across from me, smiling at all the love and life that surrounded us.