I hope you enjoy this chapter, we had a lot of fun writing it. We sure hope you love the new character we're adding, becasue we think he's great.
Chapter 55
Emmett and I are outside of Rose's grandfather's house, where we've been for almost twenty minutes.
"Emmett," I say as he slowly turns to me.
"What if he says no?"
I chuckle a little but stop when he glares at me. "You're only asking him out of respect for Rose, not to have him tell you yes or no. Just talk to him, if he loves Rose, he'll see that you do, too."
Emmett nods and closes his eyes and mutters to himself.
"Okay, let's get this done." He gets out of the car and walks confidently to the door knocking on it.
"Whatever you boys are selling, I don't want any of it," the man gripes as he opens the door.
"We're not selling anything, that's not why we're here," Emmett says sounding a little shocked. "Can we come in?"
"What? Are you taking me for a fool, boy? I may be in my seventies, but that doesn't mean I'm someone you can get over on easy, you hear me?"
"Again, no ... we ... I'm dating Rose?"
"I don't know any Rose; boy, are you slow or stupid?" the man says without missing a beat.
"Yes, sir, I mean no, sir, I'm—" Emmett stutters out and the old man cuts him off.
"Well, which is it boy, slow or stupid? Make up your mind. If you need a hint from me, I'll have to guess you're flat out stupid, because slow ones usually catch on."
"No, not slow and not stupid, but I am dating your granddaughter, Rose – Rosalie?" Emmett says with a hint of worry in his voice.
"Just cause you know I have a granddaughter named Rosalie, isn't gonna make me let you in. In fact, I think I'll call her and check on this farce of a story because I just don't see my sweet Rosie dating another stupid or slow fool. Let's face it, one was enough, eh?" he says as he narrows his eyes at Emmett.
"No, don't call her," Emmett yells at him.
"Why not? Who are you? Do you work for that rat bastard King?" Rose's grandfather says while pulling out a shotgun.
Emmett's mouth just drops open and I can't help but let out a snigger.
"Hello, Sir, I'm Edward Masen," I say holding out my hand.
Rose's grandfather's eyes flicker to mine, but he doesn't take my hand.
"My brother here is Emmett and he is dating Rose, your granddaughter. He's traveled more than three hours here to ask you an important question. Now, if you really want to call Rose, then please do so, but Emmett just wanted this to be a surprise," I say smoothly.
"Well, why didn't ya say so … oh, I forgot the slow or stupid part? Well, come on in."
Emmett just looks between me and Rose's grandfather in complete shock.
We follow him into the living room and my eyes flicker to a photo of Rose hugging Emmett on the table by the door. I bite back my guffaw knowing this guy is gonna give Emmett a hard time and it will be entertaining.
"Sir—" Emmett's able to say, but Rose's grandfather holds up his hand silencing Emmett, yet again.
"My mama didn't name me, Sir, nor did she name me Brian's dad or Rose's grandfather. My name is Anthony, Tony for short. Again, this makes me wonder about the slow or stupid thing, because if you knew my girl you'd know this."
Emmett gulps and pulls at his hair. "Tony, I would like to ask you for your blessing to ask Rose to be my wife," Emmett says quickly making Tony narrow his eyes.
"Isn't that something you should be asking my son, her father? Or have you already done that?"
Emmett's face turns to disgust for a few moments before, but he quickly controls it. "No, I haven't asked her father, and I will not be asking him either," he tells him.
"Why not?" Tony asks raising an eyebrow.
"Because ... he ... you ... it's better for Rose ... you mean a lot to her. I thought I should ask you, since your opinion matters to her the most," Emmett stutters and I can hear the apprehension in his voice.
"Really?" Tony snaps out and Emmett nods at him. "Liar," Tony calls and Emmett's mouth drops open. "Again, I'll remind you, I'm not a fool so do not lie to me."
"What would you like me say?" Emmett asks sounding like he's getting worked up.
"The truth, boy, always the truth. You know, say her father is a deadbeat, worthless, two-bit, scum ball who lost all rights to be called her father when he sided with the good-for-nothing, low-life, rapist King." The harshness cannot be missed and is not only clear in Tony's voice, but also on his face. "Now, what do you do for a living, boy?"
"I work at my brother's gym," Emmett says looking at me, and I give him a reassuring smile.
"Yes, you have to work for your brother; another sign of the slow or stupid thing there, son, you're batting a thousand right now. You even had to bring your brother with you. Did he have to drive you here, or just hold your hand?" Tony raises his brow at Emmett as he sighs.
"Don't you have any ambition in your life?"
Emmett just looks at Tony confused.
"Working in your brother's gym, is that your pipe dream?" Tony asks sounding frustrated.
"Tony, I may not be a doctor, lawyer or CEO of some snotty, uptight company, but I'm happy. I love working at the gym, with my brother and sister," Emmett sighs. "Most of all, I love your granddaughter—"
Tony sits forward cutting him off. "Really, then why did you bring your brother with you? You afraid of a little old man in his seventies?" Tony demands.
"Because ... I know Royce is up to no good, and there's no way I would leave my Rosie unguarded. My brother understood; he's also got a girl, who's with Rose right now. It's just him and me, so can we move this along because I want to get back to Rosie, soon!" Emmett yells out as he stands up.
Tony just smiles at him. "Now this is a start; you're actually showing your feelings."
Emmett falls back to his seat in shock.
"Shall we begin again?" Tony asks making me silently chuckle.
"Tony, Emmett, if I could just interrupt the two of you for a moment." They both look my way. "As Emmett said, we are waiting for Royce to make his move, so can we carry on with this in the car? After all, Emmett is also asking for you to move to Chicago to be closer to Rose and him."
Tony looks at me and jumps up. He opens a door, pulls out a jacket and puts it on quickly. Then grabs the photo of Rose, a suitcase, and puts his hat on his head. "Let's hit the road, Jack," he says grabbing his shotgun after handing the already packed suitcase to Emmett.
Emmett just turns and looks at me and I can't help but smirk. "I think your life just got more interesting," I bark out as we leave the house.
The ride back to Chicago is filled with Emmett and Tony talking. There are a few times I had to bite my tongue at Tony's sharp answers, and Emmett's stuttering around him. By the time we finally pull up outside of Emmett's apartment, I know Tony is now fully a Masen and is going to fit right in with us.
A/N: So you have to tell us what you think of Tony, he's a spitfire isn't he?
