She looked at him some more then she sagged in his arms. “Bear, I appreciate that, but—”
“No buts,” he told her. “You can be with me when I do it. I don’t like them upsetting you. I wish I hadn’t had to tell you any of this. But I knew I couldn’t keep it from you.”
She let out a deep breath. “They’re my problem.”
“No,” he told her firmly. “They’re our problem. And because I’m the daddy, I get the privilege of standing between you and anyone that might try to cause you harm. Physical or otherwise. I’ll put the phone on speaker all right? You let me do the talking, though.”
She sighed. Then nodded. “All right.”
He could see how anxious she was. He needed to get this over and done with so he could set about soothing her.
So, he set her on her feet and stood then walked over to grab his phone. He settled on the sofa with her on his lap. He searched through his contacts until he found the number.
The phone rang.
“Hello?” a male voice asked.
“Hello, Mr. Bantler this is Bear Macall.”
“Oh yes. Hello.” His voice was far less caustic now. But there was a hint of something in there. Nerves? Eagerness? Bear wasn’t sure.
“I’m just calling to let you know that you aren’t welcome at our wedding,” Bear told him firmly.
There was a beat of silence. Ellie had gone so still at the sound of her father’s voice that he was worried about her. He wanted this phone call over quickly.
“What? Why not?” her father asked. “I want to talk to Eleanor.”
“That’s not
possible.”
“Not possible? Not possible? Margaret, it’s that man Eleanor is engaged to, he said we’re not invited to the wedding!”
“What?” Ellie’s mother’s voice screeched down the phone and Ellie jolted, a low whimper escaping her. He tugged her in deeper against him, even though she didn’t relax in the slightest.
“That’s preposterous. We’re her parents,” her mother protested.
“Seems to me you haven’t been proper parents to her in a long time,” he replied calmly.
“Just because she got in a snit over a couple of things that we kept from her—” her father began to say.
“You told her that you were ill,” Bear interrupted him. “You lied to her and you did it so you could keep her at home, running around after you both.”
“Eleanor always had an overactive imagination,” her mother spat out. “And it has to stop. We are coming to her wedding.”
“You come within twenty feet of Ellie and I’ll have you arrested,” Bear told them calmly.
“What for?” her father sputtered.
“Trespassing, since you’re not welcome on the ranch or at her house in Russell,” Bear replied calmly. “But I’m thinking you don’t even have the funds to get here so that’s probably not going to be necessary.”
More silence. Damning silence. Corbin had been right.
“Eleanor is our daughter. A dutiful daughter would take care of her parents. We deserve that for looking after her for so long.”
“Seems to me you didn’t take care of her much at all,” Bear said, feeling his temper stir. “And whatever you think she owes you, which is bullshit since she’s your child, she has repaid by spending years of her life taking care of you. So I’m gonna make this crystal clear. Don’t contact us. Don’t come near us. You are not welcome.”
“I want to hear from Eleanor,” her father demanded. “How do we know you even told her we called. You could be keeping her from us. You could be holding her captive. I’ve a good mind to contact the sheriff’s department and get them out there to check on her!”