“Sure glad I caught up to you at last. I been on your trail nearly a week little lady.”
“You have?” she gasp with a flare of her eyes toward her father. “You were looking for me?”
“We had an appointment to discuss our future and I missed it. I always keep my word. Please excuse my appearance Ma'am.” I lift my hat to her mother. “I been in Arkansas, Louisiana, now here. I've come to take Dallyce back to Foxworth.”
I'm being polite but at the same time letting them know I'm not here to get into a discussion. She's coming with me.
“Now hold on,” her father starts. “Dallyce only just filled us in on meeting you. She neglected to mention you're old enough to be her father.”
“Daddy,” my girl shrieks. “No one cares about years and age when caring is all that matters. You said that Shea was making me do the running and you were wrong. I'm sorry but you're wrong about him in every way.”
“I'm just concerned about what you're going to do with your life.”
“I'm going to start with a job as a waitress in a diner,” I say, drawing myself up.
“You are not,” Shea says before my father even gets the chance to put his own objection forward.
“I'm not?” she squeaks in her kitteny voice.
“No woman of mine is slaving at a job as long as I've got legs to stand on and hands to work with. Anyway you're going to be busy with figuring out a design for the house I'm going to construct for us on the ranch.”
“You're building us a house?”
“Yep. My current place is more bachelor pad than a woman like you deserves. I got it squared away with Abe and the Boss already. You made quite an impression on the boss's daughter.”
“Chloe? She was really friendly and interested in my ideas about unhappy kids visiting with the horses.”
“And you can do more talking with her on that when we get home and you're settled in. With me.”
Her eyes fly to her father's face and I can tell how vitally important it is to my girl that her parents approve. It makes it all the more sweet that she was adamant about coming to be with me in the storm of their disapproval. I love her all the more because of it.
“The storm is raging out there. Why don't we all sit down for dinner this evening and get acquainted,” her father says. “Then you guys can take off on your journey in the morning.”