It was nearly dusk by the time Clay opened the front door on the house he was building for Dani, which was kind of silly considering the walls on either side were still two-by-four frames anyone could walk right through.

“They finished setting the rafters day before yesterday,” he said as he stepped inside, Dani’s dads filing in behind him. After three stitches, and one awkward tour of Levi’s lab in Sterling City, he’d parted ways with his dad and brothers and drove the McLendons ten miles west of the ranch to the plot of desert his grandfather had left him.

“The deck wood and felt were installed on the roof today, so we’re close to having it dried in. And the plumber’s coming next week, and the electrician, if the roof passes inspection.” Clay tucked his hands into his front pockets. He was babbling, for God’s sake. Instead of rambling on, he held his breath as her dads looked around the front room, a bead of sweat tickling its way down his spine. Christ, it was hot.

“Nice,” Grey said, his gaze taking in the high ceilings, or where they’d be once they were finished.

“Fireplace?” Matt asked, walking over to the large framed-out box where the slate chimney would soon be built.

“Yes, sir.” Clay hustled over to the drafting table in the corner and snatched up the building plans. The temperature climbed another hundred degrees as Grey, Matt, and Mason gathered around to look at them. “It’ll be a double fireplace,” he said, pointing to the spot on the floorplan. “You’re standing in the main living room, here, and that over there on the other side of the fireplace will be our bedroom, so we’ll have a warm fire in there, too, for when…it gets cold.” The last words came out as a whisper when he caught the dark warning in Grey’s eyes. “So…um…yeah…” Shit. “Let me show you around.”

He walked them through each room, the tour taking less time than he’d imagined it would, their lack of questions leaving an awkward tension hanging in the air between them once they’d circled back around to the front door.

“So, that’s it.” Clay rolled the floorplans up and walked them back over to the drafting table, his mind racing through the speech he’d rehearsed a hundred times before they arrived, still searching for the right place to begin. Now that they’d seen where Dani would be living, it was time to do what he should have done in the first place.

When he turned around to begin his speech, the three of them stood in the middle of the lofty room, their arms crossed over their chests, looking like an old western lynch mob with their stony features and wide-brimmed Stetsons. He cleared the lump of nerves from his throat, but as he was about to speak, Mason turned away and walked over to one of the framed-in squares where a large picture window would be installed soon, leaving them all staring at his back.

“Sure gonna be nice when she’s done,” Matt offered, his jovial voice echoing through the empty expanse.

“Four bedrooms, with two and a half baths,” Grey added, the awkwardness growing thicker every second. “That’s a lot of room for a couple just starting out.”

Clay gave him a tense nod and swallowed what felt like sandpaper. “One room will be an office,” he explained, struggling to speak against the dryness. “You know, for the business. And the others will work great for guests or a gym, whatever Dani wants, until we decide to start a family.”

“And how soon will that be?” Grey asked.

“C’mon, man.” Matt nudged Grey with his shoulder. “You promised.”

“It’s a fair question,” Grey insisted, the look in his eyes more amused than threatening. “Have the two of you talked about it?”

Clay cupped the back of his neck, swiping away more sweat. How in the hell was he supposed to answer that? “Not specifics,” he finally offered, deciding the truth couldn’t hurt, “but we definitely want to wait until Dani finishes school,” he added. “And our business is on more solid footing.”

“That’s what you said about getting married,” Mason grumbled from the window.

“Dammit,” Matt gritted out, pinning Mason with a stern warning glare. “Don’t do this.”

Mason’s stony expression remained frozen except for the angry tick in his jaw, his eyes shifting between Matt and Grey, then back to Clay. “It’s a fair statement, don’t you think?”

Clay’s heart thumped, his pulse racing so fast he could feel it throbbing in the cut on his brow. Dammit. So much for Levi’s influence. What in the hell was it with his family? How hard was it to say a few nice things?

“Graduating early was Dani’s decision,” he rushed to defend himself, but bit back any further argument. While true, he wouldn’t use Dani as a shield. This was not going the way he’d hoped, but if Mason had a bone to pick, now was as good a time as any to get it out in the open. He crossed his arms over his chest and met Mason’s gaze. “Having Cade at the wedding is important to Dani, and what’s important to her is important to me.”

Mason’s shoulders bounced with his incredulous huff. “You still sticking with that story after showing us this?” he asked, glancing up at the ceiling before he leveled an accusing glare at Clay.

“Mason,” Grey warned.

“Story?” Clay took a step back. Was he calling him a liar?

“Do you honestly expect us to believe you only broke ground on this house a few weeks ago, after she decided to quit college?”

“Now dammit, Mason. That’s enough,” Matt insisted.

“Look at this place.” Mason threw his hands up and turned to his brothers. “It’s huge! There’s no way he got permits approved that fast, much less damn near time to have the roof finished.”

Clay opened his mouth to argue, but utter shock prevented him from forming any coherent words.

“Admit it. You put this whole marriage idea in her head.” Mason pointed an accusing finger at him. “And quitting school? Dani loves school,” he said. “Or she did, until she met you.”

“I…”

“And now she’s suddenly excited about moving away from Falcon Ridge?” Mason continued. “Forgive me if I don’t believe you, but that’s not the Dani I know, and if you knew her as well as I did, you’d understand my skepticism.”

Whatever Clay was about to say morphed into one long exhale instead. How was he supposed to respond to this? He glanced over at Matt, hoping for support, but found him pinching the bridge of his nose like he had a splitting headache, much like the one that was beginning to pound against his own skull, making the cut on his brow throb like a sonofabitch.

“You’re right,” Clay finally said in disbelief. “I mean, not about the house or school. Dani still loves school, but falling in love wasn’t part of her plan. It wasn’t part of mine either, but it happened.” Grey’s words on the day he found them in the barn together rang true. “Mine and Dani’s love for each other isn’t optional. It’s not something we can walk away from or put on hold until it’s more convenient.” He met Mason’s gaze to make sure there was no misunderstanding. “It’s never going away, and no matter how much you might wish it, neither am I.”

Mason’s features could have been carved from granite. He stood unmoving, glaring at Clay as if he could somehow make him disappear by sheer will alone.

Beneath the pressure, Clay blinked first. He peeled off his hat and wedged his hand into his sweaty hair. “I don’t know what else to say.” He shrugged. “I invited y’all here because your support is important to Dani. I know I didn’t go about this the traditional way, asking for your blessing before I proposed to her. I’d hoped to correct that today, but I can see it won’t make a damn bit of difference.”

“You have my blessing,” Matt said from where he stood leaning against a bare stud in the corner, tipping his hat in a nod of approval when Clay met his gaze. “I don’t care what these two think. I’d be proud to call you my son.”

A bittersweet grin pulled at the corner of Clay’s lips. He didn’t know what he’d done to earn Matt’s swift approval, but he was grateful for it none the less. “Thank you,” he offered, turning his hat in his hands, “but it’s not enough.”

Grey let out a longsuffering sigh, then took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair, mirroring Clay’s earlier frustration as he spoke. “I’ve already said my piece about this.” His eyes narrowed when they met Clay’s. “I would rather you wait until Dani finishes college, but you both have my blessing regardless.” His boot heels scuffed along the bare concrete floor as he walked over and clamped a hand on Clay’s shoulder, squeezing hard enough to make him grit his teeth against the bruising grip. “As long as you understand that you will die a long and balless death if you ever hurt her.”

The promise in Grey’s eyes sent a jolt of searing pain straight to Clay’s threatened body parts. He made a mental note to one day ask him how he did that, for future reference in case he and Dani ever had a daughter, “Got it,” he gritted out, releasing a sigh of relief when Grey let him go.

Grey set his hat back on his head and pointed a finger at Mason. “Fight this all you want, but Clay’s right. Dani not only needs our support, she deserves it.”

The hard look in Mason’s eyes didn’t soften a bit as he glared at Clay, his clean-shaven jaw ticking in the silence that fell between them. Clay was about to give up and suggest they ride back to his pop’s house for an awkward dinner, when Mason finally spoke.

“Tell me the truth,” he insisted, his eyes narrowing with determined intent. “Did you coerce Dani into quitting college and getting married sooner?”

Clay shook his head in adamant denial. “No, sir. And just to be clear, she’s not quitting,” he clarified. “I did question her taking on so much, with her uncle so sick, planning the wedding, the move, and all the studying she’d need to do to test out early, but she insisted it was what she wanted.”

“Told you,” Matt grumbled behind Mason, eliciting another warning glare.

“Look,” Clay said with a resigned sigh. “I won’t lie. I want us married and her living here with me,” he declared. “I’d have done it the day she said yes, but I’ve made it clear from the beginning. Whatever she wants, whether it’s when we get married or where we live, it’s her decision. And as for this house,” he added before Mason could interrupt, “I’ve put everything I have on the line to get it built before we’re married.” He nodded at the drafting table behind him. “Yes, the floorplans have been drawn up for years, waiting on the right time, and the right person to share it with. When she told me she wanted to get married in October instead of next spring, I instructed my contractor to hire a second crew to get it done in time, not only because I refuse to move my wife into my father’s house, but I want her to have a place to call her own. She deserves that.”

“A double crew?” Matt asked, looking up at the bare boards on the roof. “That sounds expensive.”

“It is,” Clay snapped, holding Mason’s intense stare.

“I thought you said your business was just getting off the ground,” Mason argued, pinning him with a skeptical eye. “You have to borrow that money?”

Clay’s incredulous snort escaped his efforts to keep his tone civil. Mason was going to be one tough nut to crack. “No, sir. I didn’t borrow a damn dime,” he said with a cynical chuckle, which, judging by the look he gave him, Mason didn’t appreciate. “I sold my plane,” he finally confessed.

Mason blinked, his eyes narrowing to slits. “You what?”

“He sold his plane,” Matt repeated. “If you’re gonna be a hard-ass about this, you need to keep up.”

“I thought that plane was your mom’s,” Grey said, ignoring Mason’s nonverbal but very clear response to Matt’s comment.

Clay rubbed the pang in his chest he felt every time he thought about giving over the flight logs and the keys. “It was my mom’s, yes, but it’s worth it to do this for Dani.”

Matt thumped Mason on the shoulder. “Tuck it back in, man. You just lost this pissin’ match.”

When Mason next met his gaze, the smug look in his eyes had softened, replaced by a wary sort of shock. Shit, he hadn’t meant to turn this into the pissing match Matt had suggested, but he couldn’t stand by and let them believe he’d do something as underhanded as manipulating Dani’s decisions.

“Mason, I understand your concern.”

“I’m sure you don’t,” Mason interjected with a sneer.

Clay tipped his head back and sighed. “Fine, but my point in this weekend was to find some way to bridge this divide between us. I’d hoped to show you.” He glanced from Mason to Matt, then Grey. “To show all of you how serious I am about Dani. I’m crazy about her, and that will never change. I may spend the rest of my life trying to prove it to you, and that’s fine. I’ll do whatever it takes, but the truth is,” he said with a helpless shrug, “I could build her a dozen houses and it wouldn’t matter. She’ll never be truly happy here if doing so costs her your respect and support.”

Mason held his gaze for several tense seconds before he finally looked away. He stuffed his hands into his front pockets, his rigid stance less threatening as he stared at his boots. When he finally lifted his head, the cold anger in his eyes was gone, but a thousand doubts remained. “Ask,” he said, his lips pressing into a thin, hard line.

Clay’s cheeks burned with confusion. “What?”

“You said you were going to ask for our blessing,” Mason clarified. “So, ask.”

“Oh.” He snatched his hat from his head, his fingertips suddenly numb with adrenaline as he curled the brim into his fists. “I…” Shit. Everything he’d rehearsed flew straight out the hole in the wall where the window should be. “Sorry.” He chuckled nervously, his mind a sudden blank.. “I had what I wanted to say all planned out, but…” Looking at Mason, his heartbeat pounded in his ears. “I’ve already told you how much I love your daughter,” he began, glancing down at his hat. Dani’s smile came to mind, and his own lips curved up into a grin. It hadn’t been two weeks since he’d last seen her, but damn he missed her.

He closed his eyes and drew courage from the memory of her warm brown eyes staring back at him. She could say a million silent words with a single look, but the three words he lived for were always there, in the golden flecks that sparkled in the sun, nearly sending him to his knees every time she looked at him.

“I never thought I’d meet someone like Dani,” he continued, “and to know that she loves me, too... It’s a miracle I’ll never take for granted.” He raised his head and met each of their gazes, locking eyes with Mason. “Dani’s the most important person in my life. I want to spend the rest of my life with her by my side, and it would mean a lot to me—to both of us—to have your blessing to marry her.”

Mason’s eyes never left his, what seemed like a million silent seconds passing between them before his lips parted and he drew in a long, deep breath. “No,” he said, the single word stopping Clay’s heart, “but you will have it before the wedding.”

Numb, and more than a little confused, Clay clasped the hand Mason shoved at him, surprised when he pulled him into a stiff hug before stepping back to look him in the eyes again. “I appreciate everything you’ve said and done here,” Mason continued, looking around the house, “but I need some time to get my head on straight before I can agree to give away the most important person in my life.”

Clay’s grip tightened around Mason’s hand and he gave it an erratic shake. “I understand, sir,” he breathed out, unsure if the smile on his face was appropriate but unable to contain it. “Thank you, sir.” For the first time since he’d arrived, Mason smiled at him. Well, it was more of a forced, nauseous sort of grin, but it was progress.

“Please, stop calling me sir,” Mason insisted.

“Sorry.” Clay giggled like a freaking schoolgirl. “I slipped back into my military days there for a minute.”

“You can also stop shaking my hand now.” Mason glanced down at their clasped hands.

“Shit.” Clay jerked his hand free. “Sorry. Again.”

“Thank Christ that’s over.” Matt pulled him into a choking hug. “Welcome to the family.”

Grey loomed behind Matt, a satisfied smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. “You did well, son,” he said, glancing up and around the empty shell of a house. “I’m assuming, since she hasn’t mentioned it, that you haven’t told Dani about this yet?”

“Hell no,” Clay exhaled. “I wanted to make sure it would be done in time, then I was hoping to surprise her with it as a wedding present.”

“Well.” Grey slung his arm around Clay’s shoulders. “If you don’t mind me giving you a little fatherly advice, I feel obligated to let you know how badly you’re screwing up if you don’t tell her before you go picking out all the finishing touches.”

“Oh, no shit!” Matt chuckled. “Women get funny about that stuff.” He poked Mason’s shoulder as they walked out the front door. “Remember Gabby and the kitchen cabinets?”

“Ugh,” Mason groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

“She practically slept with the wood samples, trying to decide which one she liked, until we finally restored the old ones ourselves, which she loved, thanks to yours truly,” Matt bragged.

Grey snorted. “You mean, thanks to Papa Jake.”

Clay thought about the blonde maple cabinets he was one click away from ordering. A thousand doubts flew in like a plague of locusts, dissolving his confidence. He liked them. He thought she’d like them, too. Would she? Shit.