Chapter 37: Chapter Thirty-Seven

The following two days were quite possibly the best days of Madison’s life. When she wasn’t helping Heather with wedding stuff, Madison was with Ryder, and they spent a ridiculous amount of time in bed. Now that she’d confessed her feelings for him, everything between them had shifted for the better, and he was not shy about reminding her that he loved her, too.

Every moment she was gone, he spent time with his brothers, and she was glad he did. After all, that was the entire reason he’d made this trip in the first place, and she didn’t want to be the reason he didn’t hang out with his brothers.

“So, I probably won’t be back until late tonight,” she said as she tied her shoes. “After I go see what my father wants, I’ll be heading to Heather’s for her bachelorette party.”

“You mean the one with strippers?” he teased.

She rolled her eyes. “No. She just wants to hit the strip. We’ll drink and gamble and maybe catch a live band. But no strippers.” She leaned over him where he sat on the couch and brushed her lips across his. “Can you say the same for you and your brothers?” She raised a brow. “What kind of trouble are you guys getting into tonight?”

Ryder shrugged. “No idea, but no strippers. Don’t worry.” He palmed the back of her head and brought her mouth back to his. “You’d better go before I try to convince you to stay.”

She smiled and pushed away from him. “I’ll call you later, okay?” She draped her messenger bag over her shoulder.

“Have fun, and good luck with your dad.”

“Yeah.” She frowned. “I’ll let you know how that goes.” With one final look at him, she left the room.

“Hey!” Ryder’s voice stopped her cold.

She turned back to find him standing in the doorway. He grinned and crooked his finger, inviting her to come closer. She walked back toward him. “Something wrong?” she asked.

“Yeah, you forgot something.” He took her face into his hands and kissed her languidly. “I love you,” he whispered.

She smiled against his lips and mumbled, “Love you, too.”

“Now you’re free to go,” he said, eyes twinkling.

“Thanks for the permission.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

Laughing, he playfully smacked her ass. Yelping with surprise and delight, she took off down the hallway before he could convince her not to leave—and honestly, it wouldn’t take much to get her to agree to stay.

Madison walked out of the casino to find her father’s personal driver parked near the curb. He nodded when he saw her, and she slid into the backseat of the sleek, black car. She rested her head against the back of the seat and closed her eyes. The impending meeting with her father had her stomach in knots, but knowing she had Ryder to go back to made the inconvenience bearable.

She still couldn’t believe he felt the same way about her, that he’d so easily said he loved her, too. The entire thing was surreal, and she fully expected to wake up and realize this was nothing but a dream. Even though neither of them had come right out and said it, she assumed they’d return to campus officially a couple. That thought brought a smile to her face. Wait until she told Lil—she’d totally freak.

Twenty minutes later, Karla greeted Madison and escorted her into the study where her father sat in his favorite chair. “Hey, Dad,” Madison said, removing her messenger bag and setting it in an empty chair before claiming the seat next to his.

“Maddie,” he said with a weak smile. “Thank you for coming.”

She nodded. “Well, it sounded important, so…” She shrugged, then blew out a breath. “What’s going on? Where’s Gina?”

“At the salon.”

“Oh.”

That made sense. With such a huge wedding happening tomorrow, Gina needed to make sure she looked the part. She was probably getting her hair and nails done, maybe a wax, too. She’d drilled the female “necessities” into Madison—hair, nails, wax—not a single thing could be forgotten.

She shifted in her chair and gripped the armrests, waiting for her father to speak. The seconds ticked by in silence. Madison cleared her throat. “Ryder told me he asked for your permission to marry me. You never answered him,” she said.

Dad sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Does my answer really matter? He’s already asked you, and you’ve already said yes.” He pinned her with a stern look, then his gaze dropped to the ring on her finger.

“It matters to me,” she said softly. “And to Ryder. He feels bad for how things happened, but that’s on me, I suppose.” She glanced around the study, remembering how this room used to terrify her when she was a child. This room had always been off-limits to her, unless her father called her in here to scold her. Nothing had changed in that regard.

“Ryder seems like a fine young man, if a little cocky at times.”

Madison smiled. That was an apt description. “Is that why you asked me here? So we could discuss Ryder?”

“No.” Her father stood, crossed the room, and poured himself a glass of bourbon. “There’s something you need to know, and there’s no easy way to say this, so…” He took a swallow of his liquor. “I’m dying, Madison.”

She sat in stunned silence, her brain racing to catch up with the words her father had just spoken. “Dying?”

He nodded. “Two months ago, I was at the grand opening of a new casino, and I collapsed. I was rushed to the hospital and subjected to every damn medical test known to man.” He huffed as if that had been the biggest inconvenience of his life.

“Okay,” she said slowly. “So, what did the doctors find?”

“A rare form of pancreatic cancer.” He rubbed his forehead. “Gina thinks it was severe exhaustion. I haven’t had the heart to tell her the truth yet.” He returned to his chair, and only then did Madison notice that his movements were slow, sluggish, almost painful. His face was pale, and there were deep, dark bags beneath his eyes.

She swallowed around the lump in her throat, and tears stung her eyes. “How long?”

“A few months at most.” He glanced away and took another drink.

His prognosis hung heavy in the air between them. Madison slouched back, unable to form a thought let alone any actual words. It felt like there were a dozen anvils on her chest, cutting off her ability to breathe.

“Why do you think Will and Heather are rushing to get married?” he asked, still not looking at her.

Madison narrowed her eyes with confusion. “What does their wedding have to do with any of this?”

“Everything.” He sighed. “When you left for college, whatever hopes I had about you taking over the family business shattered. I needed someone to step in and run things, someone I could trust.”

“And who is that? Heather or Will?”

Finally, her father turned his attention to her, his eyes cloudy and tired. “No matter how much I like Will, he’s not a Montgomery, and I didn’t spend my life creating this legacy to hand it off to someone outside of the family.”

Madison’s eyebrows shot up. “So, you’re giving it all to Heather?”

Was that the sole reason Heather and Will were getting married? Was this nothing more than a business venture?

“That was the original plan, yes.” He took another drink. “But the closer I get to…” He cleared his throat. “My legal team needs to ensure everything is in order before I’m in a position where I can’t make these decisions on my own, and I’m running out of time.”

Unease unfurled in Madison’s gut. “Why are you telling me this? If you already have things in place… I don’t understand what any of this has to do with me.”

“Everything.” That time, his sigh was heavier, sickly, and she cringed. “If I don’t give control to Heather and Will, my only other option is Gina. Is that what you want?”

“Since when does it matter what I want?” she snapped, and he glared at her with all the condemnation of a disappointed father. “Fine. If this were my choice, I’d much rather see Heather and Will end up with everything.”

“There’s just one problem with that.” Her father finished his bourbon, then set the glass on the antique wooden table next to his chair. “I’ve received reliable information that Will and Heather plan to sell all but one of the Montgomery casinos.”

Once again, Madison struggled to follow what her father was saying. None of it made any sense. Will thrived in this environment. He loved the casino life, the wealth and status that was attached to it. And Heather loved the perks of being pampered without a worry for money.

“They’re going to destroy my legacy,” he said, his tone sad.

“But… can’t you put some sort of safeguard in place? I know you have a will. Put it in writing that they can’t sell the casinos or something.”

“Will is a smart man. So is his father. They’d figure out a way around whatever conditions I try to put into place.” Shaking his head, he stood, using the chair to steady himself. “I’ve worked too hard to get where I am, and I refuse to let anyone destroy all of this.”

Madison’s stomach clenched, and nausea rolled through her. She really didn’t need her father to say another word—she knew where this conversation was now headed. It was written all over his face.

“I didn’t sacrifice my first marriage and my son…” His breath caught. “I haven’t worked my entire life to give it all away to someone who will sell to the highest bidder.”

Madison’s jaw dropped. She’d never heard him talk like that before. “I don’t…what do you mean you didn’t sacrifice your marriage and son? They died in a car accident, Dad. You didn’t have anything to do with that.”

“Not directly, no. But your mother was having an affair because I was never home. I neglected her for work, and if I hadn’t, if I’d been there for her, maybe they’d still be here.” He clutched the back of the chair and lowered his head.

She wanted to reach out and comfort him, but she didn’t know how, or if he’d welcome her touch. “It wasn’t your fault,” she repeated.

He lifted his head and set his gaze firmly on her. “I know why Gina married me, and if I hadn’t still been grieving your mother, I never would’ve gotten involved with Gina. But I was sad and lonely. I know if she inherits the casinos, she’ll sell them off and collect the money. And then what will my life had been for? I would’ve worked so hard, sacrificed so much, for what?”

“Dad,” Madison whispered, bottom lip trembling. She hated seeing him like this. Her entire life, her father had always been so strong and self-assured. Business rivals feared his very name, and now there he stood—sick, broken, and on the verge of losing everything that mattered to him.

“You’re my only true heir,” he said, slowly moving back around to sit in the chair.

Momentarily closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Every instinct she had was screaming at her to run from this room and never look back, but fear kept her rooted in place. Leaving three years ago had been hard enough, but if she left now, there would be no second chance. Her father would die, and this could quite possible be the last time she ever saw him.

“Like it or not, the Montgomery casinos are your legacy, Madison. You can’t keep running from who you are,” he said.

“I’m not running from who I am,” she said defensively. “But I’m not who you want me to be, Dad. These casinos are your dream, your life’s work. Not mine.”

He smiled sadly. “I realize whatever dreams I had of you marrying Will and combining the Montgomery and Wainwright fortunes is just that—a dream. But I cannot allow some stranger to marry into this family.”

Instant anger ignited inside of her, boiling the blood in her veins. She curled her hands into fists. “You don’t get to tell me who I can or can’t marry,” she said through clenched teeth.

“No, I suppose not.” He crossed his legs and let out a weary sigh. “But I’m asking you to grant a dying man his final wish.”

It felt like someone had sucked all the air from the room, and her mind spun. “Your dying wish is for me to not marry Ryder?”

“No. My dying wish is for you to be here with me during these final few months, to know when I take my final breath that you’ll be here, ready and willing to claim what’s always been yours.”

Madison blinked back the tears that wouldn’t seem to go away. They trickled down her face, and she wiped them away.

“I’ve lost too much time with you already, Maddie, and I can’t lose what little time I do have left.”

She sucked in a sharp breath. Staying here with him until he passed meant not going back to campus with Ryder. It meant dropping out of college, quitting her jobs, sticking Lil with a brand new apartment and no roommate. And if her father had his way, all of that would be permanent, because she’d be stuck here for the rest of her life running the family business.

Leaning forward, her father took her hands into his. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but one of my biggest is not being a better father to you.”

She eased her hand from his and wiped the tears from her face.

“I don’t have a lot of time left, but I want to make the most of it. I want to spend my final months with my daughter.”

“But only if I agree to everything else, too, right?” She laughed bitterly. “Because that’s what this is ultimately about, isn’t it? You need me to inherit your estate and take over the business.”

“Yes,” he said without hesitation, and suddenly, his voice didn’t sound so weak and strained. “I’ve worked my entire life to get where I am, and I want to give it to you. You can literally have everything. Why won’t you take this for what it is—a gift?”

That’s where he was wrong. He wasn’t giving her everything, because nowhere in his grand plans did he mention her wants. Her dreams and goals. Nor did he mention Ryder, and if the past week had shown her anything it was that she didn’t want a damn thing life had to offer if Ryder wasn’t with her. Because above all else, she wanted him. But how was that possible?

If she agreed to stay here with her father, to spend every precious moment with him until he took his final breath, she’d have to let Ryder go. She couldn’t ask him to stay here with her. Though, she knew he probably would, which was exactly why she would never ask him. She refused to put him in that position.

“I don’t know, Dad,” she whispered, shoulders slumping.

She knew if she walked out of here and went back to the life she’d built for herself, she’d never see her father again, and she’d regret that for as long as she lived. But staying meant ending things with Ryder, and the mere thought of that was like razor blades slicing through her heart.

“I’m meeting with my lawyers Monday to finalize things, so I need an answer by then.” He stood, and just like that, Madison was dismissed, exactly as she had been when she was a little girl and he’d had to be bothered to actually parent her.

Snatching her messenger bag, she draped it across her body and hurried from the house. Tears blurred her vision as she climbed into the backseat of the car. What the hell was she supposed to do now?