Page 230 of Allegiance

The girl popped her head into the room and looked around.

“Am I bothering you guys?” she asked.

“Nope. Hungry?” Dakota asked. “Want to have something to eat?”

She hesitated.

“Can I? The sugar rush passed, and I do like food, but I don’t want to be in the way.”

Eve was watching him carefully. She needed to make sure he understood.

They were a package deal.

He moved over on the blanket, making space for her. Then, he moved the fruit closer.

“First, Violet, you’re never in the way. Second, I came bearing berries just for you. Come join us. I was just going to have a talk with your mom, and there’s nothing you can’t hear.”

“Mom?” she asked.

“You heard the man. Berries are a girl’s best friend,” she said, patting the blanket.

When she came in, she sat beside Dakota—not her. Eve didn’t miss it. That told her all she needed to know.

Her other child felt safe with him.

The best judge of characters were kids and animals, and she knew Odin, The Hunter dog, liked Dakota too.

The bottom line was that Violet didn’t take to every man. Many times, she kept her distance, but it was clear that she had an attachment to this one.

And honestly, so did she.

“What about?” Violet asked as he handed her a plate so she could get some snacks.

Dakota had never done this in his life. He was thinking back to what his brothers told him to do.

So, he was putting his faith in them, and not complicating it.

“I was just about to ask your mother to marry me.”

Eve actually dropped the glass in her hand, and thankfully, it had been empty.

“What?” she asked.

He didn’t hesitate.

“I was going to ask you to marry me. I’m an old-fashioned kind of guy, and I want to marry you so we can do this right.”

Violet started giggling.

“Oh, this should be fun,” she said. “She’s not an old-fashioned kind of woman.”

He was aware, but he didn’t care.

They could make it work.

Besides, he liked seeing that Eve was caught off guard. His brothers told him to do it, and he was.

“What?” she asked again, still stunned.