Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Finn peeked in the Caterpillars Room and smiled when he saw Hadley sitting with two other Littles. She was so beautiful. Nanny J saw him and waved him inside. He stepped into the classroom.
“He’s here,” one of the Little girls sang. Finn thought maybe she was Lori.
Hadley turned and shot from her seat when she saw him. Running, she hugged him tight. He ran his hands over her curls and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“I missed you so much today, Peeps.”
She tapped his thigh twice.
“She is such a delight, Master Finn. We hope she joins us more during your stay,” Nanny J said.
“Thank you. I’m glad she was good for you all.”
“She was such a good girl,” Miss Samantha added.
“I’m so proud of you for being such a good girl, Hadley. Did you have fun?”
She nodded.
“Do you want to come back?”
She nodded again.
“I am sure we will be back a few more times. Thank you for making her day so fun,” Finn said, taking her backpack, lunch bag and artwork from Miss Samantha.
“This is beautiful, Hadley. You colored this so pretty,” he praised.
Thank you.
“She is such a sweet girl,” Miss Phoebe added.
Finn thanked them again, waved at the Littles, and led her from the room.
“I’m so proud of you, Peeps,” Finn said as they walked down the hall in the Littles’ Wing and into the main part of the resort.
Suddenly Hadley turned and gave him another big hug. “Oh, thank you, sweet girl. I needed that. I missed you so much today,” he said, hugging her tight.
She nodded.
“You missed me today too?”
Yes.
He kissed her forehead and stood to full height. “I promised you we’d go to the Ranch Store if you were a good girl today, and it seems like you were a very good girl. Do you want to go now or after your nap?”
Yes.
Finn chuckled. “Sorry, Peeps. I didn’t do a very good job asking that, did I?”
“Do you want to go to the Ranch Store now?”
Yes.
“Okay,” he answered.
Hungry.
“You’re hungry?”
She nodded.
“Did I not pack enough lunch for you, Peeps?”
Scared.
“You were nervous and couldn’t eat your lunch?”
She nodded.
“Aw, I’m sorry, Hadley. We’ll let you eat it when we get back to our room. Did you have a good day even though you were scared?”
Yes. Book.
“You read a book you liked?”
She shook her head.
“Did Nanny J read a book you liked?”
She shook her head and pointed to an elf decoration by the lobby.
“An elf read a book you liked?”
She nodded and smiled so big Finn’s heart caught in his chest.
“An elf came to your classroom? Wow, that must have been so cool!”
She nodded again.
“Did anything else fun happen?”
Coloring.
“You did some coloring?” he asked, even though he already knew the answer, since she’d given him her coloring sheet.
She nodded.
“You’re such a good colorer,” he said, as he led her into the Ranch Store.
She grabbed his arm and pointed at some adorable Christmas trees. They were artificial and painted bright green. Each one had a ridiculously huge red bow on the top. They were only about two and a half feet tall. He hadn’t noticed them when he came in before. Of course he’d had other things on his mind.
Please.
“You want one of those trees, Peeps?”
Yes. she tapped her card.
“Okay. I think that will be a great addition to our suite.” Finn grabbed one of the trees.
Hadley saw something else and rushed toward it, her excitement evident.
Finn chuckled and quickly caught up with her, laughing again at the Christmas pajamas she held.
“You want those, Peeps?”
She nodded, handed them to him, and then bent to look on the lower shelves.
“What are you looking for?”
She grinned when she found them and then held them out to Finn. It was a matching pair in his size.
“Oh, that’s so fun. We can match!”
She nodded.
She held up three fingers. He laughed. “No, none of this counts as your three picks, silly goose. I think our room already needed a tree and we definitely needed matching Christmas jammies. You can pick three things just for yourself, baby.” He loved how damn thoughtful she was.
She wandered the aisles silently. She clapped when she found some items for Blu Marble. She grabbed a Rawhide Ranch shirt for the doll and then added a cute little dress. She browsed the aisles until she discovered the diaper aisle. Her skin pinkened, but she continued looking. Smiling big, she pulled a pack from the shelf and held them behind her back.
Holding up three fingers, she shot him a nervous smile.
“You’ve picked your three goodies?”
She nodded.
“Alright, Peeps. Did you remember to pack your swimsuit?”
She froze and shook her head.
“Let’s grab one here then. They’re adorable and I saw a pretty pink one.”
She nodded and waited on Finn to show her the suits he’d seen.
Holding the pink one up, she nodded in excitement.
“Yeah?”
Yes.
“I thought the ruffles might sell you on it.” He carried her items, minus the diapers, to checkout and smiled at Becky as she rang them up.
“Well, hello sweet girl, what’s your name?” Becky asked.
Hadley.
“Well hello, Hadley. My name is Becky and it’s so nice to meet you. Would you like a sticker?”
Please.
“Oh, what good manners. Would you like a princess or a kitty cat?” she asked, holding out the stickers.
Hadley picked the princess. Thank you.
“You’re welcome,” Becky answered as she began to ring them up. She used her scanner to discretely scan Hadley’s diapers.
“Are you having a fun time so far, little one?”
Yes.
“That’s what I like to hear.”
Their small talk continued until she handed them their purchases. “Have a good day.”
Hadley flipped through her cards. Thank you for your help.
Finn led Hadley from the store and back to their room.
Restroom.
“Okay, Peeps. I’m gonna get your lunch ready for you.”
Thank you.
While Hadley was changing her diaper, Finn reflected over the day and Derek’s words. He’d missed her so much and apparently she’d missed him too. Derek was right. He wouldn’t be able to move out if she found another Daddy. He couldn’t stand the idea of her being with anyone else anyway. They needed to have a serious talk. Pulling out his phone, he decided to place an order for room service in the morning. They would have their special talk over a special Christmas-themed breakfast.