Deacon smiled and cupped his hands around Ry’s cheeks. “Will you please marry me?”
He nodded. “Yes, Daddy. Tomorrow?”
Deacon’s laugh rumbled through Ry as the man pulled him in for a hug. “Minimum three-day wait. But by next week, absolutely. We should go get the marriage license today, unless you want to take an afternoon off somewhere else.”
“Oh, I’m taking tomorrow off to take you to the doctor. I’ve already told them I’m not going to be in, that I had a family emergency.”
“Family, hmm?” Deacon smiled.
“Yeah. My boyfriend.”
“Not your Daddy?” He slipped his hands around Ry’s ass and ground his hips against him.
“I think I’ll keep that part between us.”
“Well, Del knows, because I had it out with her this morning. That’s one of the reasons I forgot to check my blood sugar, but she was already so upset that I didn’t want to dump that on her, too. Besides, it’s my responsibility, so it’s my fault.”
“Wait, so she…knows what, exactly?”
He grinned. “I flat-out told her that I’m your Daddy, and you’re my boy, and I like spanking your ass, and you like me spanking it. I figured if that didn’t shut her up, at the very least it would definitely ensure she never wants to move in with us.”
Ry processed what he said and laughed. “You are a sadist, Daddy.”
“Duh. And you’re marrying me.” He ground against him again. “So who’s really the nutty one, hmm?”
“Both of us.” Ry draped his arms around Deacon’s neck. “So what comes next?”
“We get married and enjoy life. It’s that simple.”
Ryland rested his forehead against Deacon’s. “You make it sound simple, Daddy.”
“Because it is. I love you, and we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together. Meanwhile, I’ll do my best not to be stupid and shorten mine any sooner than necessary.”
“Yes, please. That would be greatly appreciated.”
* * * *
That night, Ry decided to put forth an effort. With a little help from Winter and Deacon, he learned a couple of Del’s favorite dishes. One trip to the grocery store later, and he had dinner ready and waiting by the time Del arrived from work.
“What’s this?” she asked.
Winter ran up to her. “Grampa made you dinner, Mommy!” She dragged Del around the table to what was her usual seat. “See?”
He watched her actually studying the food, processing…then she looked at him. “You cooked me dinner?”
“Peace offering. Please? We’re family. Can we start over fresh and move forward from this point?”
Deacon remained quiet, watching and not interfering. Ry damn well knew nothing her father said would change her mind.
All he could do was put forth his best effort and hope it was enough. If not? At least he and Deacon would both know they’d done all they could.
Del helped Winter into her chair, then walked around the table to hug Ryland.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you for saving him.”
He finally hugged her back. “Winter technically saved him,” he whispered.
“You know what I mean.”
“I love him. I promise, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll prove it to you.”
“You break his heart, I swear I will kill you.”
He laughed. “That’s one promise I know you won’t have to keep.”
She finally released him and returned to her seat, dropping a kiss on the top of Deacon’s head on her way around the table.
Winter eyed her. “You like Grampa now? I love him.”
She nodded. “Mommy’s going to try to be nicer to Grampa.”
Under the table, Deacon nudged Ry’s foot with his own and dropped him a wink.
“Good,” Winter said with a decisive nod. “Because Grampa rocks.”
Deacon reached over and squeezed Ry’s arm. “He sure does, honey. He sure does.”
THE END
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