Fate (Drift Series Book 4) Read Free

gaze back down to the scattered pictures and papers on her desk.
    Shade laughed and reached for my hand, giving it a squeeze before I left the room.
    I went into the living room and sat down next to Richard. He never so much as glanced at me from out of the sports magazine he was holding up in front of his face.
    “You’d been in there long enough. Thought I’d pull you out before you came walking out of there in a dress and pigtails,” he said with a straight face.
    I didn’t say a word and smirked at his humor.
    “That’s all I’ve heard about since you proposed, Leo. Thanks for that.”
    “I guess I’m a gift to you in many ways.” I teased, trying to jar a reaction out of him from behind that magazine but got nothing other than a playful huff.
    “Mr. Lewis, I was thinking…”
    “About what?” He interrupted while never shifting his gaze.
    “Well…seeing that I really don’t have any friends my age besides Scruffy…”
    “Mmmm hmmm.”
    “It’s kind of hard to fill up a line of groomsmen with just one. Since you, Benjamin, Sheriff Taylor and Scruffy have been like family to me…well…I was curious if you all would be my groomsmen at the wedding?”
    There was an awkward moment of silence as he flicked the magazine in front of him before folding it back together and placing it beside him. Finally, his eyes met mine.
    “Give my daughter to you and stand behind you as you take her away from me?” He smiled, “Leo…I’d be honored to stand behind you at my daughter’s wedding. Thank you for asking me.”
    “Thank you, sir.”
    He started rubbing his hands back and forth across his legs and breathed out in a nervous fashion.
    “Something bothering you, sir?”
    With a slight pause, he answered.
    “You know, Leo, I don’t want you to get the wrong impression about what I’m about to say.”
    I looked at him perplexed.
    “I am thrilled to have you as my son-in-law, and am very glad that you love my daughter as much as you do. It’s easy to tell that she means a lot to you.”
    “She does. She’s my whole world.”
    He tucked his bottom lip under his top one, “I know she is…and you’re everything to her. Which is why I’m worried about this union between the two of you. Even though no one is saying anything about it…everyone else is worried about this also.”
    “Sir?”
    “Leo, you’re a demon. That alone is an astronomical obstacle for a father to overcome and comprehend when it comes to someone dating his daughter. Not to mention you’re a demon in a very highly volatile situation. What is my little girl going to do if one day something happens to you and you don’t return to her? It would devastate her. I’m not sure if I could stand to see her go through that much pain. Like I said, no one in our families are saying anything about this because the two of you are so happy together, but it is at the forefront of our minds.”
    “I guess my situation is similar to a husband going off to war. No guarantees of a return home there either. I don’t mean that to sound harsh, but we all live on borrowed time.”
    “Well, true, but…” He paused.
    “I understand what you are saying, though. I’ve had the same concerns myself. Like I’ve said before, I can’t guarantee that I can win this thing with Hell. As a matter of fact, it’s more than likely that I won’t. The only thing that gives me hope and keeps me strong is the thought of always coming back home to see her. She is my will. Without that, my one percent chance falls to zero. I know it’s not the most logical thing to do, not like it’s ever been done before that I know of, a demon marrying a human girl, especially given my circumstances on top of that, but it just feels right. I love her and I have no other way that I can think of to let her know she is one of a kind other than to commit to her for as long as I have here on this earth. It feels like we were meant to do this together. I can’t explain