Chapter 47

Lug Nut

I watched Ailee being taken away and I felt a piece of my heart break. She was already weak and the doctors said she was just going to get worse. I stood at the door for a few minutes refusing to move. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I look over and see Cormac behind me. “ It's tough to watch her go. I know lad. But trust she is in good hands. Ailee will be in there a while. Why don't you take some time for yourself? Grab a shower and a bite. One of us will call you if anything changes.” he said. I know he is right and I should at least get a change of clothes and some coffee. There is something I need to do first. I reach into my pocket and pull out the item I hope to give Ailee soon. “ I will do that in a minute sir. There is something I need to ask you first.” I told him. “ Go ahead.” Cormac says. I take a deep breath and lay out my heart. “ Cormac, you know I love Ailee with everything in me. I would do anything for her. I will always protect her. And she will always come first in my life. Sir, I would like your permission to ask Ailee to marry me.”

Cormac stares at me for a lifetime but I won’t back down. “ Lad, it is an honorable thing you are asking. I'm worried you are doing this out of fear of Ailee dying.” Cormac says. I figured he might think that. I held out the ring I had. It is a rose gold band featuring a diamond and an emerald. “ Cormac, I bought this ring two weeks ago. And that was after weeks of looking for the perfect one. I had planned on asking Ailee next week after a special date I had organized. I’m still doing it. It is just postponed. I hate to do it without your blessing but I will.” I place the ring in Cormac’s hand to look at. He has to know how serious I am about this. And I know how much it would mean to Ailee if he gave his blessing.

Cormac moves the ring back and forth examining it before he gives it back to me. “ If you are truly sure about this then yes. I give you my blessing. I only ask one thing.” he said. I don’t hesitate. “ Anything.” I said. “ Give her a proper Irish wedding,” he said. I’m not sure what that entails but for Ailee I will do whatever she wants. “ If that is what Ailee wants. Consider it done.” I told him. Cormac pulls me into a brief hug and pats me on the back “ Welcome to the family, Travis.” I return his hug and say “ Thank you, sir. You won’t regret this. You have my word.” Finn and Callen welcome me as well. I thank them then leave for a while after making them promise to call me for any reason.

As much as I don’t want to, I leave the hospital and head to the clubhouse. I have to put my trust in Cormac, Callen and Finn. Since I’m having my time now I will make sure to return the favor to them. When I get in the club I seek out Anna first. I find her in the kitchen cleaning up from breakfast. I don’t get a chance to say a word before she hands me a cup of coffee. “ Sit and update me.” Anna said. I know there is no point in arguing Anna always wins when she gets in momma mode. I have a seat and sip my coffee filling her in on what we know so far. Pretty much nothing has changed since last night other than I have claimed Ailee and that she loves me. “ Anna, I want to ask a favor. Can you get some of the skanks together and cook a bunch of food and send it to the hospital for Ailee’s guards. And for Callen, Finn and Cormac. I know they have no intention of leaving the hospital anytime soon. They can go to the cafeteria but we know that food is garbage most of the time.” I said.

“ Lug relax. Yes, I will get with Merigold and we will arrange a food run. One of us will bring it up. I was going to bring something to Cormac anyway. But you are right. Most of those guys won’t leave Ailee’s side for long. I do know that Cormac is going to change the guards every twelve hours to give them a break. But I have seen their loyalty to Ailee and Cormac. I don’t see them going far.” Anna said. I shift and I feel the ring in my pocket. Just feeling it there makes me smile. “ What’s the smile for?” Anna asks. I reach down and pull the ring out of my pocket. I hand it to Anna and say “ I asked Cormac for permission to ask Ailee to marry me and he said yes.”

Anna looks at the ring “ Lug this is beautiful. And it suits Ailee perfectly. You did good. As for Cormac. It doesn’t surprise me he gave you his blessing. He can see how much you care for Ailee. You could have run for the hills when things got tough but you stayed beside Ailee and Cormac saw that.” Anna says handing the ring back to me. “ And congrats, Lug.” she said. I laugh “ Don’t congratulate me yet. I have asked Ailee yet.” Anna waves her hand in the air “ Psh. I know that girl. She is going to say yes. I have no doubt.” I like her confidence in our relationship. “ One more thing. I’m not going to do it but could maybe have someone go check on Ace.” “ Yea, I planned on that as well. We have it covered, Lug. You just focus on Ailee.” Anna said.

I finished my coffee, got up and hugged Anna. “ Have faith, Lug. All of this will be over before you know it and you both will come out the other side stronger than ever.” Anna said. I nodded because I couldn’t think of anything else to say. I know in my gut Ailee and I are going to get through this. And we will put it behind us like a bad dream. I head up to my room to grab a quick shower and pack a change of clothes for tomorrow. Yep, I don’t plan on leaving Ailee’s side often. I know I will have to go back to work soon but Viper gave me a few days off. I know my brothers have my back as I have thiers. That’s what we do.

When I got back to the hospital I called Finn to find out where they were. He told me the floor and room number they were on and said he would have the guard let me in. I ride the elevator up and as soon as the doors open I’m met with a guard. “ Mr. Lug, I’m Nix. I’m going to escort you to our princess.” Following in Ailee’s lead on how she treated the men she worked with I say “ Thank you, Nix. And it is just Lug.” We turn to walk down the hall. “ Lug it is going around through the men that you intend to ask for Ailees hand.” Nix said. “ I am.” I told him. There is no point in lying. Not that I want to. I am going to have to deal with these men a lot in the future since they are part of Ailee’s world. I need to start on good footing with them. And that means being up front and honest with them. They don’t deal with bullshit.
“ I have been with the family for ten years, Lug. I have never seen my Princess take an interest in a man before so you must really be something. I welcome you on behalf of the guards but it doesn’t come with a warning.” Nix says. That doesn’t surprise me. If I didn’t get a warning from any of these people I would be worried. And question their loyalty towards Ailee and Cormac. “ Lay it on me.” I told him as we stopped outside a set of double doors. “ Ailee is very important to all of us. She isn’t just our princess and future queen. Mara and Ailee are the lifeblood of this family. You will notice that very few of us look unhappy in our jobs. From the housekeeper, the groundskeeper, the cooks. Here and in Ireland. The list is endless of the people who are loyal to Ailee. And that is not counting the people who want to be in the family. That being said, if you ever hurt Ailee in any way there is a very long list of people that will come after you and torture you until death looks like a paradise.” Nix says.