Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Two weeks later on Valentines Day, Tessica sat in the passenger seat of Connor’s car and looked out at the houses they were driving by. It was a nice neighborhood with well-maintained yards, and some kids playing outside.
The past two weeks had been wonderful. Busy and eventful, but wonderful. They’d had a brunch with her two sons and his son and daughter-in-law to announce that they were dating. Her boys had taken it much better than she’d expected, and Connor’s son seemed happy about it, too. Right after the brunch, Tessica had called Erin while Connor called Hanna to give both of his sisters the news at the same time, and they had both been over the moon excited.
Tessica had renovated the upstairs of Connor’s mother’s house. The living room was now a storage area. The bedroom was now an office for Tessica. And the kitchen was a breakroom for the Fur-Ever Friend’s employees. Kelly was fully trained and doing a fantastic job working for the shelter.
Connor had officially put in for a transfer to make the Portland airport his home base. He’d also moved Butch to Tessica’s apartment temporarily while he looked for a house to buy in Beaverton.
This morning, he told her he had a surprise, and took her out to breakfast. After breakfast he’d taken her to this little residential neighborhood. When she asked him where they were going, he simply told her it was a surprise.
At the end of a cul-de-sac, Connor pulled into one of the driveways. There was a ‘For Sale’ sign in the lawn. The house was a pretty pale yellow with white trim, and some daffodils were sprouting up in a flower bed next to the porch.
“What’s this?” She asked.
“This is the house that I plan to make an offer on. Of course, that’s only if you approve.”
“It’s beautiful.”
He got out of the car, walked around and opened the door for her.
“Can we go inside?” she asked.
“There’s a lock box on the front door, and I have the code so we can do a self-guided tour.”
She grinned “Awesome.”
He got out the key and opened the door for her.
There was a decent sized living room with a big window overlooking the porch. A bright kitchen with white cupboards was to the right along with a dining area. A hallway leading to more rooms was against the back wall of the living room, and a there was a staircase to the left of the front door.
“I love the wood floors,” she said.
“And look.” He pointed to the sliding glass door in the dining room that led to the back yard. “There’s a fenced-in patio for Butch.”
“Aw, that’s perfect. He’ll love it.”
After exploring the kitchen and admiring the stainless-steel appliances, they walked down the hall. There was a powder room on the right, a small utility and laundry room on the left, and a large master bedroom and bathroom at the end of the hall.
She admired the walk-in closet. “This is really nice.”
“Let’s see the upstairs.”
“Okay.”
He led the way to the top of the stairs. There was a small landing with three doorways. Two smaller bedrooms, with a bathroom between them.
He took her into the smaller of the two bedrooms. “This is going to be my Little girl’s room.”
Her stomach flip-flopped. “It is?”
He stood behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and pointed to various areas of the room as he described them. “Right here we’ll have a bookshelf for your books and toys. Your bed will go there. And along this wall an arts and crafts desk.”
She could envision it all as he spoke, and her heart sped up with joy and desire. “That sounds amazing.”
He turned her around to face him. “Do you approve of the house?”
“I love it. The house, the neighborhood, my room. It’s all perfect.”
“Buy it with me.”
“What?”
He fished a small box out of his pocket, got down on one knee in front of her and opened the box.
Tessica’s eyes opened wide. She put a hand over her mouth and stared at the beautiful diamond engagement ring he was holding.
“Will you marry me?”
She was too shocked to answer at first.
“I know we haven’t been dating very long, but we’re both old enough to know how short life is. I don’t want to spend another minute of my life without you by my side.”
Her eyes filled with tears as she nodded. “Yes.”
Grinning, he stood up, and put the ring on her finger before pulling her into a kiss.
It was everything she could have ever hoped for and more. A dominant fiancé who knew and accepted all the different sides of her, a couple of thriving businesses, and now a house to call their own.
Tessica woke up next to Connor, and found him grinning at her.
“What?” she asked yawning and stretching.
“It’s the twenty-ninth.”
“Leap Year,” she said. Her stomach lurched as if she were on a roller coaster. “Last day of the month.”
They’d made plans for today, and she was excited about it, but also nervous. The realtor had handed them the keys to their house two days ago. Yesterday they’d had a moving company move most of Tessica’s furniture in, and last night they’d brought Butch over and slept there for the first night. Connor had brought up the idea of Tessy’s room being off limits to Tessica unless she was in her Little headspace, and adult Tessica had agreed, thinking it would make it seem more special on the days she was in there. And today was the first day she was going to see the room.
Over the past week, before they’d even gotten the keys to the house, Connor had been buying items for Tessy’s room. He kept asking her opinion on different beds, desks, and shelves, but he told her that Daddy would have final say, and that he would be buying everything and decorating the room for his Little girl.
“Okay, Tessy, Daddy wants you to go take a shower. I’m going to go upstairs to get some clothes that I bought for you. I’ll put them on the bathroom counter while you’re showering. Then while you’re getting dressed, Daddy will feed Butch and make breakfast for us. Do you understand?”
She wasn’t fully Little yet, but she was getting there. “Yes, Daddy.”
“Good girl.”
She rushed through her shower, excited to see her room, and to be Tessy all morning. She got out of the shower and went to see what he’d brought for her to wear. It was a short-sleeved white dress with pink flowers that came down to her knees. Along with that were white cotton panties, a sports bra, white knee-high socks, and a pink sweater that matched the flowers on the dress. Grinning, she put the clothes on and admired herself in the mirror while she dried her hair. The outfit definitely made her appear young.
When she arrived in the kitchen it smelled sweet. “What’s for breakfast, Daddy?”
“Pancakes.” He turned to look at her and grinned. “Aw, you’re adorable in that dress, Tessy.”
She did a little twirl for him.
“Sit down, I’ll bring you a plate.”
Once they’d both eaten breakfast, and the dishes had been rinsed, Connor said, “Ready to see your room, sweetheart?”
She jumped up and down a couple of times and clapped. “Yes, Daddy. So ready!”
He took her hand, led her up the stairs, and unlocked the bedroom door.
A gasp came out of her as she took in the room. The walls had been painted a light lavender, the furniture was all white, and the comforter on the bed was white with lavender flowers and a lavender canopy.
“Ooh, it’s beautiful, Daddy.”
She rushed over to sit on the bed and ran her hands over the comforter. Butch jumped up and made himself at home on her bed.
“I’m glad you both approve,” Connor said.
Tessy jumped up and went to see the bookshelf. To her shock there were over fifty picture books on the shelves, three unopened Lego sets, and several brand-new board games.
“You got all this for me?” she asked.
“I did.”
She gave him a tight hug around the middle. “I love it!”
“Before you get too enthusiastic, let’s go take a look at the chair.”
“The chair?”
He pointed to the white chair sitting alone in the far corner of the room with a pink stuffed elephant on it. He took her over to the chair and turned it around so it was facing the corner. The back of the chair had the words ‘Tessy’s Naughty Chair’ painted in dark purple with a little unhappy face under it.
Tessy’s stomach took a dive and her face heated up. “Daddyyy,” she whined.
“As long as you’re being a good girl, no one has to know it’s your naughty chair.” He turned the chair back around so the words were hidden, and made sure the stuffed animal was sitting upright. “But you’ll know why it’s really there.”
“That’s not very nice, Daddy.” She pouted.
He rubbed her back. “It’s a constant reminder that Daddy loves you enough to make sure you’re behaving yourself.” He added, “I saved the best for last. Come see your desk.”
Still a bit disgruntled, she followed him to the big white desk with a white and grey swivel chair. He opened the top drawer, and she saw crayons, marker, and watercolors. He opened the top side drawer which held drawing paper, construction paper, and several new coloring books.
“Cool! Can we color today?”
“Of course we can, but I’ve got one more thing to show you first.” He opened the bottom side drawer, and pulled out a picture frame. He held it up for her to see.
Her eyes teared up as she read the certificate that stated Connor Doyle was now Tessy’s Forever Daddy.
The tears fell down her cheeks as she looked into his eyes.
“I thought we could hang it on the wall above the desk.” He reached out to wipe a tear away with his thumb. “What do you think?”
“Yes, Daddy. I’d love that.” She threw herself into his arms, and squeezed him. Overwhelming joy flowed through her heart as her forever Daddy held her tight.
The End