His Fiancée and Her Mother Pt. 02

Please, don't let anything weird happen when my parents are here, please, god, please...

Dale wasn't particularly religious, though he was happy to send up a prayer to any god that, at that time, was listening. If they might be able to make sure everything went smoothly there, the weight of the ring in his pocket weighing him down with the impending proposal more than even Dale had thought it would, he was willing to pray to anyone.

Getting into the steam of the spring, easing himself down the shallow steps, helped a little, easing the ache from his bruises as he sighed softly. There was a little seat within the side of the spring, built too out of natural rock, and he laid his head back against the side, relaxing into it. It soothed more than even Dale had expected, at least hiding the lower half of his body from view, though with his parents and his especially loved ones there, there was still only so much that he could do to keep his mind on the straight and narrow. That track held a train of thought that was forever rattling and threatening to go off the rails.

He panted softly, taking a deep breath, inhaling the steam. That helped, a little, relaxing, some tension easing from his shoulders, all while Pepper slipped an arm around his waist, drawing him in against her softly. It was okay for them to be close in the hot tub, but the fact of the matter there was that the curves of her body pressed up against him were difficult to ignore.

"Are you too warm, Dale?" Pepper asked, brushing her hand across his forehead, where he was perspiring already. "We can move somewhere cooler if it's a bit too much for you right now."

Dale shook his head. Truth be told, he wasn't too warm in there, but it was the weight of the ring in his pocket that made him overheat.

They chatted back and forth softly, keeping their voices low as if they were afraid to disturb the peace of the place, though there was no one else there to hear them and they had all the privacy in the hot spring that they could have wanted. It was just a time, a quiet space, where they could all get to know each other, even if Dale thought that he knew Pepper and Mona inside out by that time. There was always more to learn, more to uncover, and he smiled as their chatter washed over him.

Only Mona knew what he had planned that night, though she did more than well enough in smoothing things out. A little drink or two would have helped a bit, but that wasn't permitted in the hot springs -- not without arranging to have a tray brought in from the hotel staff. And Mona didn't want anyone to interrupt, no, not that night.

Dale's mother, however, had something in mind to ask, leaning back, her face flushed from the steam.

"Dale, you didn't tell us how you two met before," she started. "Why don't you tell us now?"

Mona hid her smirk, though kept as innocent a look on her face as possible. She more than knew how her daughter and Dale had met, though that story involved copious amounts of alcohol, a little partying and, to be honest, irresponsible sex. But who didn't want to cut loose when they were young, after all? Nothing bad had happened and that was all that mattered, in hindsight.

"Yes, Dale," she said sweetly, her eyes wide and innocent. "Tell your mom the story, oh, it's so sweet!"

He shot her a look, coughing into his hand and jerking the side of his hand sharply from left to right, repeatedly. It was meant to tell Mona to "cut it out", but things like that did not all that often go down well with the wolf. She, as always, had a mind of her own, and if she was going to stir up a little trouble, it was coming one way or the other.

"What's wrong, Dale?" Diana said, leaning forward, concerned for her son. "Are you okay? Is there something in your throat? Oh, I'll get you some water, there must be somewhere we can get a drink..."

His father, thankfully, even though Mona was perfectly happy to drop him in it (when she didn't see anything wrong with the strong, or why anyone would have disapproved there), was quicker on the uptake. As smoothly as David could, he cut in, smiling as he laid eyes on Mona. She was, after all, rather easy on the eyes...

"Mona, you didn't say where you work either," he said, an eyebrow raised as he saved the day without knowing the extent which he had. "You seem a busy woman! What do you do?"

Of course, he was referring to how impressive it was that she had a holding in the resort: shares like that did not come cheaply. Mona smiled, happy to take the line of conversation in a different route. It would, in the end, only help relax Dale. The poor dear did look rather worried still, she had only been playing with him. And he did have the ring in his pocket, didn't he? She had even refrained from making a "is that a ring in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" joke!

"Well, my parents were reasonably wealthy," she said, putting it as delicately as possible. "And they were so good to me, always looking out for me. But it was them setting up a trust fund for me that helped. It was small, to start with, but a friend of mine that I met in school went on to put her family wealth into an investment."

On that one, Mona didn't elaborate: they didn't need all the details, to be fair. She didn't want to come off as if she was bragging, though she did appreciate the rather attentive audience. It was good, even then, to be listened to.

"Anyway," she continued. "I helped with it, providing additional finances from the fund -- which I could access by that time. The company did wonderfully and took off, so, now, I can take good care of my daughter."

She paused to hug Pepper, dragging the wolf to her, though Pepper let out a squeak.

"Mom!"

"And I can look out for her lovely boyfriend too!"

With Pepper on one side of her mother, squirming into place, Dale was dragged in against Mona's other side, though it was a little awkward for Mona to embrace both of them at once. So, she released Pepper, allowing the wolfess to find herself comfortably back at the side of the spring, close to Diana, while she drew Dale in for an even tighter hug.

"Or..." She breathed, whispering in his ear, so quietly that only Dale would be able to hear her. "Maybe my lovely son-in-law, soon, very soon...hmmm?"

He swallowed hard and took the hint, blushing heavily. The steam from the spring helped cover up the heat in his face, passing it off as something already present, just a side-effect of being in the spring, of course. No one would know, at least not until he got the words out, why he was so hot and bothered, why he was so flustered. Why, Dale never usually seemed bothered by anything: it had been Pepper who had brought that out in him, her slight touches, the attraction he held to her.

And that had been all for the best, for he had never been meant to keep everything locked up inside, never, not when he could have shared it with someone like her, blossoming and coming well and truly into himself.

It was now or never, he thought, taking a breath and shimmying through the water, ripples brushing aside from his shifting body, so that he could get to Pepper. His mouth opened and closed, yet the words that he had memorised from his pre-prepared speech no longer seemed to be there. Damn it! He would just have to wing it.

"Pepper," he began, his voice shaky at the start but quickly growing in confidence, enunciating his words with all the care that he could. "Being with you has completely changed my life and I don't know what I would do without you. I want to be with you forever, always and forever, Pepper. I want to make you happy and I'm willing to do everything that it takes, anything that it takes, from being there with you, to buying you all the things you could possibly dream of, the home and the life that you deserve. I want to be there for you, to support you as you've supported me and to take care of you for the rest of my life, our lives, together."

Pepper gasped, hands flying to her mouth in a splash of water, though the wolf did not bounce up onto the balls of her feet until, awkwardly, Dale got down on one knee in the water. Producing the ring box from his damp pocket, he drew it out with a smile, the glittering diamond and gold band shiny where it was clasped between his fingers. The water lapped at his chin, forcing him to hold the ring up, the box in his other hand. The diamonds, even though they were not as fancy as a ring with a multi-diamond band and design, the three sparkling gemstones, had cost as much as his car. He didn't care though, as they were for Pepper, always for his sweet Pepper.

"Pepper, I want to be with you for the rest of this life, and the next -- whatever is to come," he said, speaking from the heart. "Please... Will you do me the exceptionally great honour of marrying me?"

The wolfess pressed her fingers to her lips, head awash in emotion, trembling as tears of happiness filled her eyes. She didn't mean to be speechless, only that she had not honestly expected it, not as her mother gently brushed up against her, a hand on her shoulder as she interjected.

"You better say yes to him, darling," Mona said with a soft wink and a smile. "Because, if you won't, I most certainly will. That boy is going to stick with us, one way or another..."

Dale's parents exchanged a glance, though it was light enough that they could brush it off with a joke, especially with everything going on. Of course, that was all forgotten when Pepper threw herself with a splash into her lover's arms, falling half beneath the surface of the water for a moment and bobbing up again to stand hastily, fumbling for the ring.

"Pepper!" He laughed, though he still hadn't heard those words that would make his heartbeat ease off from the adrenaline high, just a bit. "So... Um... Pepper? Will you..."

"Oh -- of course! Yes, yes, yes -- a thousand times, yes!"

She kissed him all over his face, her muzzle damp from the water, and he laughed, kissing her back just as fiercely. His head spun, light-headed at the worst of times, but he couldn't do anything other than to slide the ring onto her finger, finding it a perfect fit, just as he had hoped after measuring her other one that it would be.

The family allowed them a moment to embrace, to hold one another close, though Pepper had to tell Dale something first, even though she adored the ring he had chosen for her. it had all just been so unexpected! She hadn't even considered that Dale had had something like that in store, that he had sneakily been working on something in the background even after coming home to her. Of course, that her mother had been involved was not something at all that surprised Pepper, though she didn't mind that. Her mother should always have been involved.

Looking at the rick, the beautiful rocks that spoke so aptly to her style and personality, she drew Dale in tight against her, breathing as slowly and as evenly as she could, catching her breath.

"Dale..." She drew back a little, her lips stretched in a smile so wide that it hurt. "I love it, I love you, I adore everything... But, you have to know this, it's important. I don't need expensive things, not from you, not in my life. I only need you, I don't need you to buy me expensive things or to move mountains for me... Nor slay the dragons."

Smiling, she blinked away tears, cupping his face gently as Dale rested his forehead against hers.

"I only need you, just you. When I'm with you, I'm happy. And that's more than enough for me."

She paused, tongue brushing her lip.

"Ask me again, Dale..."

He smiled, bringing her hand to his lips for a kiss, for he already knew the answer.

"Pepper," he said once more. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes! Yes, of course, always and forever, I will marry you, Dale."

Mona sighed as they kissed once again, though David and Diana did not hear her soft, breathy comment. It was not for them, after all.

"Ah... How wonderful. This is, of course, perfectly acceptable too."

As much as she might have liked to marry Dale, he was meant for her daughter and that was something that she would have to take forward with her. The wolfess was only grateful to still have Dale in her life and, of course, to have such a good man for her daughter, someone that was sure would look after her for the rest of their lives.

Together, everyone embraced, one family, a happy family, everything coming together exactly as it was meant to.

Dale's heart soared.