Page 27 of Claiming Bennett (Montgomery Dreams #3)

BENNETT

I stand, shell-shocked and swimming in a sea of terror, as the door slams shut behind Maggie.

She can’t leave, not like this, not again . I thought she’d understand, or at least give me a second to explain myself before flat out refusing. This was just supposed to make everything easier to accept for our parents, I never meant for it to be a real proposal.

The proposal I want to give her is extravagant: flowers and a gorgeous ring and a perfect date night before dropping down onto one knee.

I wanted to tell her I love her, that I want to give her everything, and this is the only way I know how to.

But all she heard was what I said to our parents, and she didn’t want anything to do with it.

All I can do now is stand in utter terror, frozen at the thought of a life without her.

David and Hailey push out of their seats only moments after Maggie storms out, both of them rushing after their daughter without a word of goodbye.

Is that how this is going to be? They all just… leave?

I can’t lose my chance to make this right, to give Maggie what she deserves, to?—

“Good fucking riddance,” Pa spits, his voice pulling me out of my spiraling thoughts.

His temper has been bubbling beneath the surface this whole time, only showing itself for a moment when he and David were screaming at each other.

He lets go of the leash now, pacing back and forth with furious, booming steps that echo off the cabinets and make the room feel so much smaller than it is.

Or maybe it’s my skin that feels like it’s shrinking down on me.

Whatever it is, I feel like I can’t fucking breathe.

“Really, with friends like that, who the hell needs enemies?” he rants, anger mounting with every step he takes. “I’ve done nothing but good for that man, tried to help him since the day I met him, and this is the thanks I get? I can’t believe that conniving son of a bitch!”

I flinch, not because I’m scared of him, but just because I’m scared in general. Everything feels like too much right now, the lights too bright, every noise too loud, my lungs aching with every breath I draw in.

“Joseph, take a second,” Ma says, firm but adoring, as she reaches out and places a hand on his shoulder. “You need to cool off.”

He stops his pacing, not pulling away from her touch, but it doesn’t seem to do much to quell his rage.

“I’m plenty cool,” he grits out. “If David wants to act like this, fine! We’ll find a new supplier, there’s plenty out there.

I’ll cancel our contract with Branson, too, find another transport company.

If he wants to treat me like this, treat our boy like this, I’m not giving him or his family another fucking penny! ”

He continues spewing vitriol, but my heartbeat drowns out the sound of his words. I feel like I’m drowning, guilt and fear clogging my lungs and making my vision blur as I collapse into a seat at the table. I can hardly feel my lungs, and my fingers tingle with every heavy pulse of my heart.

I don’t know how long it goes on like that, Pa’s voice muffled in my ears as I try desperately to keep myself from breaking down entirely. It feels like days. It feels like seconds.

“Joseph!” Ma’s voice rings out in the kitchen, bringing me back to the present. “You need to go blow off some steam, don’t you think?”

It’s a rather loving way of telling him to fuck off for now, but it gets the job done.

His tirade comes to a screeching halt, and he looks between the two of us in frustration, nostrils flaring wide. It’s obvious he has more he wants to say, but he snaps his mouth shut at the look Ma gives him.

“We’ll sort through this and look back on this and laugh one day,” she says, which is a rather loving way of saying that we’re both being ridiculous. “Go tire yourself out, sweetheart.”

Pa snorts, but there’s no ire in it. “I doubt that, Soph. But fine, I’ll go. I’ve got plenty of work to do.”

He stomps out of the back of the house, grumbling under his breath, leaving the two of us alone. Ma doesn’t break the silence until I start fidgeting, the anxiety ramping up inside me needing somewhere to go.

“Spill.”

The single word is enough to shatter the tension in the room, somehow both fond and demanding, and I let out a broken laugh.

“I thought it was supposed to be easy,” I say, not looking up at her.

She’s quiet for long enough that I have to glance at her face. When we lock eyes, she just raises a brow at me, a silent cue to carry on.

“Not… not everything. I just—you and Pa have always made loving each other look so natural, like you couldn’t do anything else if you tried.

I always wanted someone to love me like that, always wanted to love someone else like that.

” I sound just as miserable as I feel, and I frown down at my hands where they rest on the table, still shaking with unease.

“It feels like that with her, like she already knows everything before I even tell her, like she’s already accepted me.

She’s everything I ever wanted, and I fucked it up so badly, Ma. ”

Tears blur my vision again, and I clench my fingers down on the edge of the table until the wood creaks to ground myself. Ma walks over to rub a hand down my back, soothing me just like she used to when I was a kid.

“Love isn’t always easy. Your Pa and I have had a lot of practice. We were hotheaded kids once, too, mijo .”

It feels impossible for them to have ever been anything but perfect for each other, but a small part of me takes solace knowing that they had their own difficulties. If they managed to work through everything, maybe that leaves a little hope for me and Maggie.

“I cared about her so much, even before I left Montana. When she showed up here and said she was pregnant, everything with Chelsea came rushing back, and I just panicked.” I don’t think I’ll ever stop feeling guilty for the way she looked at me that day.

“But I never felt like this about Chelsea. Even when we called off the wedding, it didn’t hurt like this.

Every time Maggie walks away, it feels like I’m getting torn in half. ”

Ma hums behind me, quiet and thoughtful in a way that I know means what she has to say next is going to hurt, but that I need to hear it.

“Stop giving her reasons to walk away,” she says bluntly, her voice not losing an ounce of affection. “You screwed up, badly, right from the start. You have to talk to her. Stop making assumptions and stop making decisions without her. Did you talk to her about Chelsea?”

My shoulders stiffen under her hand, but she just keeps rubbing gently over my shirt.

“I… no,” I admit softly. “She told me you filled her in on the basics, but it was too much to talk about last night. We were both so worked up already, and it just… it was too much. I don’t know how to talk about it without feeling like I’m making excuses for how I treated her.”

Ma pats me on the back, a little more firmly this time, and I look up to see a frown flit over her face for just a moment. She sighs and takes a seat next to me before taking my hands in hers.

“Giving context isn’t the same as making excuses, mijo .

You can’t expect her to forgive you just because you’ve had it rough, but you can ask her to give you a little grace,” she says, her voice gentle.

“If you’re willing to buck up and take responsibility for your actions, I’m willing to help you.

Maggie deserves better than what you’ve given her so far, don’t you agree? ”

It’s a rather loving way of saying—no, actually, that one was pretty pointed.

And she’s right.

“Of course she does. She deserves the world,” I say, misery and affection winding together in my voice. “But I don’t know how to give it to her. I don’t even know how to beg her for a second chance.”

The smile on Ma’s face turns a touch proud, and she squeezes my hands reassuringly. “Better figure it out, then,” she says, her words blunt even if her tone is fond. “You need to go talk to her properly. Show her she can lean on you, that you’re reliable and mature.”

I huff out a shaky laugh. “I don’t feel like I’m any of that right now. I want to be, but I’m scared, Ma.”

“Take a little time. She needs to process things, and you need to think of a proper apology.” Her lips twist into a wry grin. “ And a better proposal.”

“Thank you, Ma.” The words don’t really encompass everything I wish I could say right now, but they’re as close as I can get. It’s nice to know she trusts me to handle this on myself, that she thinks I’m capable of it even if I don’t. “Really. Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me for believing in you, mijo ,” she says.

I kiss Ma on the cheek before trudging back up to my room, needing the space to get my head on straight. My bed still smells like Maggie, vanilla clinging to my sheets, and I bury my face in the pillow she slept on last night.

My phone pings in my pocket before I can really relax, and I scramble to pull it out, hoping it’s from Maggie.

A brilliant smile spreads across my face when I see her contact lighting up my screen.

Sweet Magnolia: Taking the parents back to the motel, need to talk to them for a while and let everyone cool down. Still pissed at you. Can you wait for a bit until we can come back? Might be tomorrow, maybe the day after.

The text is terse, but I can read between the lines. She’s just as anxious and off kilter as I am about all of this. The fact that she even texted me is enough to bolster my hopes that she won’t just call it quits here.

As for the question, I almost want to laugh. Can I wait?

I’d wait years , if that’s what it took to have my sweet Magnolia back by my side.

That’s the easiest promise I’ve ever made.

She can take as much time as she needs to sort through things with her parents, I’ll still be here when she’s ready.

No matter what it takes to get her back, I’m willing to do it.

Bennett: I’m sorry for fucking things up so much. I’ll wait as long as you need.

I don’t want to say the rest of it over text—she deserves a proper apology in person—but I don’t want to leave her hanging.

This feels like a good start.