Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
“Hadley, your Daddy is here, love.”
Hadley looked up, surprised to see her Daddy standing in the doorway of the Caterpillars Room. He was really early today. Maybe he’d missed her as much as she missed him.
“Hey, baby, I’m sorry to pull you away early, but we have something to do.”
She nodded and collected her things. He grabbed her backpack and lunch bag from Miss Samantha. He seemed kinda in a rush. Hadley hoped everything was okay.
“Have a good day, Hadley,” Nanny J said from where she was changing Nate’s diaper.
“Bye, Hadley! See you in a few days,” Nate yelled from the table.
Hadley made sure to step where he could see her before waving bye.
She hugged Mindy, Lori, and Eloise before taking Finn’s hand and leaving.
Good?
Finn smiled. “I am good, baby. I had something I wanted to talk to you about,” he explained. “It’s nothing bad,” he rushed to assure her when she looked worried.
She was glad to know it wasn’t anything serious, but she still was uneasy.
He took her to the small cafe and ordered them two hot chocolates.
“When you picture our wedding, what do you see?” he asked, sliding into the booth beside her. He put his arm on the back of the seat, so he could block her from the outside noises.
“Um…” Hadley tapped her chin as she thought. “I don’t really know, I just see us.”
Finn nodded. “That’s what I see too, baby. Sadie and Master Derek met with me this morning and they wanted to know if we wanted to have a Ranch wedding.”
Hadley grinned so big she thought her face might split in two. “I love that idea, Daddy! We can be surrounded by people who love us.”
“I love the idea too, baby. There’s no place else I’d rather have our wedding at.”
“When would we do it? When could we come back?”
Finn chuckled and kissed her forehead. “That’s the thing. They think we can pull it off before we go.”
“Go where?”
“Go home.”
“Home as in Georgia?”
“Yes, home as in Georgia.”
“That’s in five days,” she said, leaning forward to look in his eye. Was he having a stroke? Maybe she should ask if he could smell popcorn. Isn’t that what you smelled when you had a stroke?
“I know. Five days.”
“You can’t plan a wedding in five days unless you have a genie I don’t know about.” Oh, she hoped he had a genie. Maybe one of their wishes could be that cookies were vegetables.
“Sadie and Derek think we can pull it off if we all work together.”
Were Sadie and Derek having strokes? Well, probably not if both of them thought that at the same time. Maybe carbon monoxide poisoning or something.
“They know how much having their support means to you.”
Well, it did mean a lot to her, but a wedding in five days seemed about as likely as Nate being on the nice list.
Hadley just stared at him, slowly blinking.
“Had they been drinking eggnog when they suggested this?”
“It’s possible.”
“We’re you drinking eggnog when you suggested this.”
“No. I was just really hopeful.”
She finally broke down and giggled. “It is crazy!”
“It is. It’s ridiculously crazy.”
Why didn’t Finn seem as shocked as she did?
Hadley sipped her hot chocolate for a second.
“Daddy?”
“Yes, Peeps?”
“Do you think it’s a crazy idea?”
“I do.”
Hadley nodded. She felt a little disappointed.
“But I’m still hopeful. I would love to be married before we return to Georgia.”
“You would?”
“I would. I love the idea of leaving Rawhide with you as my wife. I think it’s a beautiful idea where we have a simple ceremony surrounded by our friends. It’s nothing like I planned for us, but I also didn’t plan for us to be engaged and planning the rest of our lives together when I booked this trip,” he said, lifting her hand and kissing her knuckles.
“Rawhide magic,” she giggled.
“Definitely the Rawhide magic.”
“I want to do it, Daddy. If it’s okay with you.”
“It is very okay with me, but I won’t be upset if you want a custom fancy dress or just us in a courthouse. Whatever you want is what I want.”
“I want us to be together for the rest of our lives, so let’s start the rest of our lives here.”
“I think they’re going to be able to pull this off.”
“Even if they don’t get everything we need, we could always exchange vows here, and then officially get married at the courthouse back home.”
“That’s true and can be our backup plan. But Master Derek assures me he is a licensed officiate, so if they can really pull this off, the legal requirements will be met before we go home.” Finn said.
Hadley really hoped that was going to happen. “So we’re doing this?”
“We’re doing this, Peeps.”
“I can’t wait to spend forever with you, Daddy.”
“I love you, Hadley Bright.”
“I love you too, Finn Williams.”
Hadley sat on her Daddy’s chest before shaking him.
“Daddy! Daddy!”
“Yes, Peeps?” he groaned.
“Wake up!”
“I am awake, so awake,” he said, his eyes still very much closed.
“It’s Christmas!” she yelled before attacking his face with kisses.
“Merry Christmas, baby,” he said, rolling her so she was under him. He gave her a sweet kiss on her lips. “This is my most favorite Christmas so far.”
“Mine too, Daddy.”
He snuggled her for a minute before she started wiggling under him. “Can you open your present now?”
He laughed and rolled off of her. “Yes, baby.” He scooped her up from the bed and felt her diaper before carrying her to the nursery.
“Daddy,” she whined.
“Baby love, this diaper won’t hold one more pee-pee. I’ll be super-fast,” he promised.
“Super-fast?” she clarified.
“So super-fast,” he promised again.
He kept his word and had her sitting on his lap on the couch in record time.
“This one?” he asked, holding the package she brought home from school a few days ago.
“Yes, Daddy! That one!” she squealed.
“You want me to open it?”
“Yes, Daddy!”
“Right now?”
“Yes, Daddy!” she giggled.
He carefully unwrapped the pretty packaging to find a beautiful frame with Hadley’s handprint turned into a Christmas tree inside it. “Our First Christmas,” he read.
“I made it for you at school,” she preened. “I only gagged a little bit when Miss Phoebe painted my hand,” she said honestly.
“I love it, Peeps. It’s perfect.”
“I got you other things too, but I just wanted you to have something special from Little me.”
Finn cupped her face and kissed her. “You’ve given me your heart, Peeps. It doesn’t get much more special than that, but this is a close second,” he said, hugging the frame to his chest.
“I have a few things for you to open too, little one.” Finn said, standing and handing Hadley several packages from around the tree before settling the others with his name in his lap.
“Your turn, Peeps.”
Hadley picked a small present wrapped in red and green paper. She opened it to reveal a pacifier that said Daddy’s Little Girl.
“Oh, thank you, Daddy! I love it.”
“You’re welcome, baby,” he said, chuckling when she immediately popped it in her mouth. Thankfully, he’d washed it before wrapping it just in case she couldn’t wait.
“Open one of yours!” she demanded, bouncing on the couch.
He unwrapped a new leather wallet with his initials on it. “Oh, Peeps. Thank you.”
She beamed before unwrapping another one of her gifts.
In the end they both realized they’d spoiled each other silly.
Hadley was ecstatic about her new playroom furniture and Finn was the owner of a new pickup truck that was waiting for him at a dealership back home.
“Thank you, Peeps. I love it all, but I mostly love that you’re mine now,” he said, pulling her into his lap and kissing her.
“Merry Christmas, Daddy,” she whispered against his lips.
“Merry Christmas, Hadley,” he replied, laying her back on the couch.
“Daddy wants to unwrap one more present,” he said, pulling at the zipper on her Christmas tree sleeper.
She giggled as she helped him undress her.
“This is so beautiful,” Hadley said, looking out over the snow-covered Ranch as the sleigh slid across the ground.
“Are you disappointed that we didn’t get to ride in the carriage?” Finn asked, knowing she’d been looking forward to it.
“Are you kidding, Daddy? I’m riding in an old-fashioned sleigh pulled by a pair of actual Clydesdale horses across snow on Christmas Day,” she said. “I’m having so much fun and everything is so sparkly and pretty. This is way better than a buggy.”
The sleigh, the snow, and the jingle of the bells on Atlas and Hercules’ harnesses did give the Ranch an extra bit of ambiance that both Finn and Hadley appreciated.
“Just think, in less than forty-eight hours, we will be a married couple,” Finn said.
“It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“Having a wedding surrounded by friends?” Finn asked. He could understand that. She’d wanted a community for a long while.
“No, silly. Being your wife. You’re the most important person in my life. I’m so lucky you chose me.”
“I’m the lucky one, Peeps. I get to spend the rest of my life waking up to your gorgeous face and living inside of your beautiful heart.”
She flushed and looked down. “You always say the nicest things, Daddy.”
“I only tell the truth, baby.”