He knows that her parents are dead, and that Joshua is half across the world at CERN in Switzerland.
He knows that it's tradition to ask a girl's father before proposing, but in that situation Artie would have to do.
So Douglas Fargo leaves Allison in charge at GD for a few days, takes a plane over to South Dakota, and gets a rental car to drive the two hours to Leena's Bed and Breakfast in Univille. He pulls the car into the small parking lot and runs up to knock on the door.
Leena's opens the door, a warm smile on her face and a warm basket of muffins in one hand. "Douglas!" She steps aside and gestures with the basket for him to come inside. "Muffin?"
"No thanks," he politely declines and she sets it down on the counter next to her.
"But of course you'll want to talk to Claudia," she smiles again. "CL-"
"No!" His voice is loud and forceful and it caught both of them off guard. He blushes and shoves his hands into his pockets. "I'm here to talk to Artie."
Leena's looks at him for a moment before her face softens. "Of course. You're in luck- he's in the sitting room with Trailer. It's right past the living room, on the right."
He thanks her, and starts to walk down the hall. The sitting room is empty, but he sees the large dog laying on the patio down near the glass door and he walks toward it. Douglas opens the door, and the grumpy old man looks up from his book.
When Artie recognizes the man standing in front of him, his eyes squint angrily. "Come to turn the B + B against us too?"
"That wasn't on purpose!" he snaps, about to elaborate before realizing he should be as nice as possible to the man who'd be deciding his future with Claudia. "But you're right," he chokes out the words. "It was a foolish thing for me to do, and I'm sorry for it."
The older man doesn't know how to respond, so he raised an eyebrow and speaks. "And why are you here?"
"I needed to talk to you about something." Doug awkwardly sits down on the empty chair on the patio.
"Oh?"
Doug takes a deep breath. He had rehearsed what he was going to say for the past week and he was going to get it perfect (ish). "I..." Doug tailed off and gulps. "IreallyreallywanttomarryClau diaandIknowitwouldmeansomuch toherifwehadyourok...ImeanblessingandIpromisetolo veherandtakecareofherandneve rhurtherandeverythingplease?
There's a long pause after he speaks. He's pretty sure that Artie understood him, and that became clear in his next words. "You decided to ask me and not Joshua?" Artie asks.
"He's not her father."
"Neither am I."
"No," Doug says. "But she thinks of you as one."
Artie's face softens for a moment. "You really think you're the right person for her?"
The few moments of softness relax Doug. "Yes." He breathed. "I know so."
The man looks at his and his eyes narrow. "If you hurt her I swear on my WAREHOUSE that I will kill you. If you yell at her, hit her, break her heart, cheat on her, I will NOT rest until I destroy you and everything that you love. I will-"
"Okay," Doug holds his hands up in surrender. "I get it. And I won't. Hurt her. I promise."