“I’m coming back,” I said firmly. “I’ll come back until I get your approval because as long as she wants me, I’m keeping that girl. And one day, I’m marrying your daughter.”
Mr. Riley blew out a harsh breath from his nose as he twisted to face me better. “If you didn’t intend on respecting our wishes anyway, why ask? Why the show?”
“It’s no show, sir. It’s a hard situation when, like you said, I’m already dating her, and I already knew full well what your response would be. But that’s how much Savannah means to me. I want your approval, and I plan on being here, asking you until you change your mind.”
“We won’t.” The answer was simple, but he almost sounded saddened by it, as if he was the one receiving the answer.
My head lowered in the beginnings of a nod and my weight shifted to continue toward the door again, but I stilled. “You know the old plantation house?”
Their eyes darted from me to each other and back again, clearly taken aback by the change in direction.
Mr. Riley cleared his throat. “Uh, yes. Yes, of course.”
“Savannah’s dream is to get married there. Did y’all know that?”
Her mom seemed to melt at that for a moment before she controlled her expression, the way she always did around me. Her dad’s face just creased as he studied me as if he was trying to figure out where this was headed.
“No,” he finally answered. “We didn’t.”
“For years, we’ve been talking about that place,” I said, voice soft as I gave them this.
Not that it was a secret. My family knew because Savannah and I talked about it all the time. But I’d never outright told someone because it was ours.
“About a future there. About owning it one day—turning it into a bed and breakfast. Getting married there.”
Twin looks of amusement crept across their faces, and Mr. Riley scoffed, as if they thought our dreams were farfetched.
“I will make it happen,” I said confidently and tried to ignore the way my blood simmered in reaction to their disbelief. The way my entire being tried to lash out in response. I took a couple deep breaths and forced my jaw to unclench as I continued. “Like I said, we’ve talked about this for years. Savannah’s told me for years about the wedding she wants there, in detail. But she wants to give up that dream wedding for a courthouse.”
Their amusement faded in an instant.
“Or Vegas.” I felt their anger and fear slam into me. Felt it fuel what was already inside me. “As soon as she turns eighteen—”
“Out of the question,” Mr. Riley barked before I could finish.
“Absolutely not,” his wife said, voice subdued.
“I told her no.” I hated that I wasn’t able to unclench my fists. But I could feel their hostility. Could feel their blame as Mr. Riley rose to his feet, narrowed eyes on me. “I told her no,” I repeated. “I’m giving her that dream wedding one day. I’m not sneaking off to a courthouse or Vegas just so we can be together. So y’all can’t keep us apart.”
At that, Mr. Riley jerked back, and his wife slowly lifted her hand to her chest.
“But that’s where Savannah’s head is at. Your constant trying to force us apart makes her want to give up her dream and go to extremes. Thought y’all should know.”
“Thought you should try telling us how to parent,” Mr. Riley shot back, frustration wrapping around every low word in a way that made everything go so still.
I slowly counted backward and rolled my neck before meeting his hardened stare. “Didn’t say that.”
“Better cool it, Beau.”
“You know, that doesn’t actually help,” I ground out, teeth clenching tight and a fine layer of red coating my world at his response.
His reaction.
All it ever did was fuel what I tried so hard to suppress.
Disapproval poured from him as he gave me a look that shouted I was proving why they wanted me away from their daughter. “Think it’s time you left.”
I slanted my head in assent and started turning for the door again when Mrs. Riley spoke up.
“You think you wouldn’t hurt Savannah,” she said, voice soft and hesitant, almost shaky. “You tell yourself that, and I’m sure you want to believe it. But we’ve experienced differently. We’ve seen it.” Her head moved absentmindedly as her stare remained fixed on the floor, looking in a way I’d never seen Savannah’s mom.
Then again, she was usually either backing away from me or mad at Savannah because of me.
When she didn’t go on, her husband released a slow sigh and gestured to her. “One of Christi’s good friends in college went through an abusive relationship. Everything started out fine until it wasn’t. She swore up and down he was a great guy, that nothing was happening, but everyone knew. You could see it in him.”
“And then we were almost too late,” Savannah’s mom said, voice wavering. “She wouldn’t come around anywhere we were, claiming it was because of the things we said about him, but we had a feeling. So, we went to her.” My eyes followed when she abruptly stood from the couch, her terrified stare snapping to me. “And I will not watch my daughter go through the same.”
Mr. Riley watched her leave the room, looking conflicted when he turned back to me. “Christi and another friend found her. They thought she was dead at first. Body completely beaten and broken from repeated abuse.” He cleared his throat, head bobbing. “His family and friends couldn’t believe it. They kept saying he was the greatest guy. Had a little bit of an anger problem growing up and got in fights in school, but he would’ve never hurt her.” He gave me a knowing look.
Of everything they had ever told me, tried to make me believe, it was the one thing that didn’t hit me right in the gut with the truth of it.
“I’m sorry,” I said after a moment. “I’m sorry for what happened to her. But . . .” I lifted my arms before letting them fall. “For so many reasons including my anger, I know I’m not good enough for Savannah. And I know I have a problem, I’m aware of that. But I know down to my soul that I’m not that guy.”
“That’s just it,” he said sadly. “You don’t.”
“No, you want me to be him, and you won’t give me a chance to prove you wrong.”
“I won’t give you a chance to prove me right.”
A disbelieving huff scraped up my throat. “Okay,” I mumbled as I once again headed for the door. A few feet away from it, I turned back to find him following a good, safe, distance away from me. “Does Savannah know?” I jerked my chin toward the living room. “About her mom’s friend? About where y’alls fear of me comes from?”
“It also comes from what you’ve done,” he said pointedly.
“Does she?”
He studied me for long, tension-filled seconds before answering, “There isn’t a need for her to know right now.”
I nodded at his veiled warning even though I didn’t agree with it. “I’ll be back,” I said again as I took the last steps toward the door and reached for the handle, refusing to waver. “I won’t stop coming back until I get your approval.”