Chapter 33 #2
“I take offense to that.” Winnie’s mouth fell open. “First of all, there is not one egg that only has a quarter or a sticker in it. They were filled with love. And most of the best things in life come with a little work.”
“They’ll love it, beautiful,” I said. “Thank you for doing that.”
“And what have you two been doing?”
“We put the ham in the oven,” Sam said as he snorted and reached for his coffee. “I mean, you had it out on the counter and set the timer, so it was hard to mess that job up.”
“Such a smartass,” she said with a smirk at her father before glancing at her phone. “We’ve only got twenty minutes until everyone gets here. I need to go get changed.”
She moved to her feet, and I followed.
Because following this girl was like following the sound of my own heartbeat.
I changed into a button-up and left my jeans on, while Winnie slipped into a little white dress and some heels, along with a silky white ribbon that she tied on the back of her head, her brown waves falling over her shoulders.
“Come on. I want my dad to take a picture of us before everyone gets here. I need to leave you with something when I’m gone,” she teased. I forced a smile, but the reality was, things were about to change.
We walked down to the edge of the yard beside the river, and I twirled her around before pulling her into my arms as her father snapped a few photos of us.
“Do you want me to whisper sweet nothings in your ear, Winnie?” I teased.
“You could give all my heroes a run for their money, Archie,” she said.
“Daddy? My Winnie! Sampy! I’m back home!” Melody came racing out to the backyard. She’d spent lots of time trying to decide what she wanted to call Sam. Since he was Winnie’s dad, she felt like “Grampy” should be incorporated, and with his name being Sam, she’d come up with “Sampy.”
“Hey there, sunshine,” Sam said as he bent down to greet her. “We’re glad you’re back.”
“Did the Easter Bunny come and hide the eggs?” she asked as we walked by to see her, just as Cutler waltzed over with all the swagger of a nine-year-old trapped in a grown man’s body. My cousin Emerson, her husband Nash, my aunt and uncle, and my parents were right behind him.
They’d all met Sam the night he arrived, when my parents had thrown a dinner to get everyone together to meet him. Of course he’d meshed well with everyone.
Just like his daughter did.
“He sure did. We tried to catch him, but he took off running down the edge of the river,” Winnie said, eyes wide and dancing with mischief.
Melody gasped just as my mom walked over and reached for my daughter’s hand. “Mimi, we’ve got to get our baskets ready to start looking.”
“Let’s go get them. They’re in the kitchen.” My mom led her inside.
“My Winnie is going to help me find them,” my daughter said as they hurried toward the house. “She saw the bunny take off!”
“Hey, Sam.” Cutler walked over and held up his fist, and Sam responded with a fist bump.
“Happy Easter, Beefcake.”
“So what’s the deal with the Easter egg hunt? I’ve heard there are a lot of eggs this year.” Cutler glanced over at Winnie. “You know you’re my girl, Winnie. You going to help a guy out?”
Winnie’s head fell back as she laughed. “I’ll be out here helping you and Melody. But I did hear that there are a few eggs with each of your names on them, because they have something special inside just for you two.”
Cutler whistled. “You’re a lucky man, Uncle Archie. Your girl’s got an in with the most popular bunny in town.”
Emerson laughed as she walked over to us. “Seems like the Easter Bunny has been busy this year.”
Melody ran over, cheeks flushed and brows cinched together, because she was all business now. “Here’s your basket, Beefcake. Let’s start looking, and we can help each other.”
“Always, Mel.” He took her hand and led her toward the large tree across the grassy yard.
“Daddy! Winnie!” Melody could barely speak as Cutler held up an Easter basket that was filled with pink treats and stuffing. And then he handed it to her and picked up the next one, which was filled with white and yellow stuffing and all sorts of treats. “He brought our baskets outside.”
I glanced over at Winnie, who was watching the two kids like they hung the moon. A wide grin took over her face as she jogged toward them, acting like she was completely surprised.
“What? He hid some baskets out here?” she said with a laugh. She dropped down in the grass while Melody and Cutler pulled out all their treats and held them up for everyone to see.
My daughter’s body shook the slightest bit with excitement.
Winnie stood and started taking a few photos of them with her Polaroid as Emerson took pictures with her phone alongside my mom and my aunt Ellie.
Music played through the outdoor speakers, and the sun was shining down on us.
It was a perfect day.
Lulu and Rafe walked over and stood beside me.
“You better hold on tight, Archie. I think we’re all in love with her,” Lulu said with a laugh, and Rafe wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulder and kissed her cheek.
I couldn’t agree more.
I just needed to be careful that I didn’t hold on too tight.