Throttled (Wild Riders #1)(26)
“Didn’t think we’d ever see you again,” Royce Bennett’s voice was as deep as the day is long and still sent a shiver down my spine. I’d pulled into Nora’s parents’ driveway with the hopes of telling them that I had every intention of winning their daughter back, but seeing her father step out from behind the car he was working on in the garage, I was having second thoughts. His tall, broad frame and gruff appearance had intimidated me as a kid and still did. Despite the fact that I was taller than him and a professional athlete, the fear of him kicking my ass was just as strong.
“How you doing, Royce?” I had asked, walking up to him and extending my hand.
“Depends,” he’d said. “What can I do you for, Reid?”
“Nora actually suggested that I stop by.”
“That so?” He pondered the words I’d just spoken. “I’m surprised she even gave you a second look.”
“Well, I’m very convincing when I want to be.” I had offered a smile, but it faded as soon as he failed to reciprocate. My effervescent charm was not working on Nora’s father. Not that I’d expected it to. Flashbacks of the first day Nora had introduced me to her father as her boyfriend replayed in my head. I’d known Royce Bennett my entire life and he’d always been nice to me, until the moment the words my and boyfriend came out of his little girl’s mouth. I was then faced with the challenge of proving my intentions were true and that I wasn’t just some pervy kid looking to score with his daughter. Took me almost a full year to convince him that I was to be trusted, and judging by the way he was staring me down I was back on page one with him. “Look,” I said, taking in a deep breath. “I’m back for the time being and I fully intend on earning Nora’s forgiveness for the way I left things between us.”
“I’d say that’s the least you could do.”
“It might not mean much, but I can promise you that I’m not going to hurt her,” I swore. I would have taken a blood oath if he’d suggested it. The wrench he was holding in his left hand said that it might be a real possibility that I’d be bleeding soon. I waited for him to either whack me over the head or tell me to leave.
“You know, I’ve learned a few things over the years... especially where my daughters are concerned.” A smile threatened his lips at the mention of Nora and her sister. “As much as I want to tell you to hit the road and never look in her direction again, I think it’s probably best that I sit this one out and let her come to her own decisions about you.”
“I appreciate it,” I replied, sounding more like a question than an answer. I was hoping that he’d say he knew I was the one for Nora and back me up, but I should have known this wasn’t going to be an easy feat. “I think.” Having him say he thought her giving me a second chance was a good idea might have helped, but I knew winning her back was something I had to do by myself. I was used to getting things done by myself on the track. I just needed to put the same effort into things with her.
“I mean, hell,” he chuckled, “I’ve been biting my tongue about her seeing the Gregurich boy for two years now, so maybe I don’t know what in the hell I’m doing.”
“Not a fan?” I pressed.
“I think you know the answer to that,” he said, pointedly. “That little shit ripped through my prime hunting ground one morning on that dirt bike of his and scared off a prize buck. Never even apologized for it.”
Figured. Beau had always been selfish and unable to take responsibilities for anything he did. Maybe this was Royce’s way of telling me I was already a leg up by admitting my faults and telling him, and Nora, how sorry I was. He wouldn’t say it, but when he asked me to come inside and say hello to his wife, I had a good feeling about winning him over again.
“Well, my Lord,” Becky Bennett had wrapped her arms around me tight enough to press the air from my lungs. “Reid Travers. Look how much you’ve grown up.” She smiled as she ushered me over to the kitchen table. As soon as I sat down, she cradled my face in her hands and just stared. “You sure look different. In a good way,” she added with a wink.
“Thanks, Becky,” I felt myself blushing like a teenager. “You haven’t aged a day.” I knew how to sweet talk a mom, especially Nora’s mom. She and I had always had a great relationship and I wasn’t lying when I said she looked the same as I’d remembered. She’d always been a pretty lady and I remembered my dad suggesting that I hold on to Nora because if her future was looking like her mama then I’d be a lucky man. Her sweet, dimpled smile made it even harder to apologize for hurting her girl.
“Reid, I’m not going to lie and say that I didn’t want to take a switch to you when my baby came home crying the day you left, but over the years I’ve realized that what you did wasn’t to hurt her. You were both kids. It would have been hard to make a relationship work. Especially, with everything you had going on in your life”
“Try explaining that to her.” I hung my head.
“I’ve tried, honey,” she confessed. “But you know her. You know how stubborn she is.”
“Don’t we all,” Royce added. Laughing for the first time since I’d showed up. I had a lot of good memories with this family, and I’m sure Nora had many with mine. We had both been blessed with fantastic role models when it came to making relationships work and being parents. Seeing Becky and Royce again, and thinking about my own parents, made me want what they had. And, I wanted it with Nora.