Epilogue
Finn
I got the call from Dispatch at the same time I stepped out of my cruiser, my eyes not on the donkey but the little girl beside him.
Her dark-blond pigtails were held in place with the biggest pink bows in the history of pink bows, her pink tutu over her jean overalls glittering in the afternoon sun.
Dirt was smeared across her cheeks, her toothless smile showing me that she’d lost yet another one of her baby teeth since I’d kissed her goodbye at the breakfast table that morning.
“Daddy, Waffles wanted to go on an adventure!”
“Did that adventure include picking your mom a rose from Miss Hester’s Garden?” I mused, approaching my daughter and her sidekick.
“That’s one of the side quests. We’re gonna take it to her and then get our nails painted at the rec center.” She wiggled her fingers at me, the rose in her other hand almost dragging on the ground. “I need more sparkles.”
“There’s no such thing as too much sparkle,” I agreed solemnly. “And did you happen to tell anyone about this adventure?”
Winnie’s nose scrunched up. “I told lots of people, Daddy.”
That, I didn’t doubt. She talked to every person she met. There wasn’t a person in Creswell Springs who didn’t love Winnie. She had her mother’s heart and zero understanding that not everyone was as kind as she was. Every member of the community made sure that was a lesson she never had to learn.
And if that ever changed, it would be a problem that would be solved by more than one bullet, that was for damn sure.
After Hilary was gone, Grier had begun to relax a little about letting Waffles go on his adventures again.
Eventually, she didn’t even question it, and I was back to getting calls from Dispatch, more to amuse the citizens, and they could watch me chase after a donkey once again.
Winnie started joining him on those wild adventures around the same time she started walking.
I tried to intercede as much as possible, but that was about as effective as holding a stop sign in front of a hurricane.
“How about I give you and Waffles a ride to the rec center,” I offered. “And you can tell me about your many side quests.”
“But we still have two more side quests, Daddy,” Winnie said with a shake of her head.
“First, we haves to stop and ask Mr. Oakley if his leg feels better. He broked it and has a cast. I promised him yesterday I’d draw on it.
And then we’re gonna goes to Miss Penny’s house.
She needs help carrying heavy things into her house, and she always has something heavy to carry.
I’m really, really strong, and Waffles helps too. ”
“Mr. Oakley and then Miss Penny before nail-painting, which is the end of today’s adventures?”
“Don’t forget giving Mommy a rose,” she reminded me.
“Right, sorry, my mistake. Okay, let’s go check on Mr. Oakley.”
Mr. Oakley was a retired veteran who never smiled at anyone except my wife and daughter.
He was gruff and cranky until either of them looked at him, and then his brain seemed to rewire.
His whole face lit up when he saw Winnie walking up his front steps to join him on his porch, where he had his leg elevated.
Winnie drew a flower on his cast and then promised to come back soon.
Miss Penny didn’t have anything that actually needed to be carried, heavy or otherwise.
She just liked having Winnie’s company. Her family lived in a different state, and she kept saying she was going to move to be closer to them, but she’d been saying that for over a decade.
Creswell Springs was her home, and that wasn’t going to change.
It was more than an hour later when I walked into the rec center with Winnie holding my hand, Waffles slowly trotting behind us. The teenager sitting at the reception desk, monitoring members coming and going, stood when she saw us.
“Hey, Sheriff,” she greeted.
“Kim.” I nodded without stopping.
“Mommy is gonna be so happy when she sees the flower I chose for her. I picked the bestest one just for her.” Winnie released my hand and skipped ahead.
There was an upcoming fundraiser, and Grier was in the middle of helping plan that in the conference room.
Otherwise, she would have been home, no doubt down at the barn helping with the newest additions, Pygmy goats from a farm in Montana who needed a little more TLC than their previous home could afford.
“Mommy!” Winnie squealed as she pushed open the conference room door. “Waffles and I had so many adventures today. I got this for you.”
When I stepped into the room, my eyes went straight to my wife seated at the table surrounded by the rec director and the head of the PTO. She was dressed in a pair of pink yoga pants and a matching workout top, her hair twisted into a messy knot on her head. Christ, she was beautiful.
Standing, she scooped our daughter into her arms, smacking a kiss to Winnie’s dirty cheek. “This is the prettiest rose you have ever given me, Winnie-boo. I love it.”
“I’m gonna go get my nails painted. Do you wanna come with me and Waffles?”
Regret clouded Grier’s face. “Sorry, my sweetest heart. I have Mommy things to do.”
“Next time?” our girl asked hopefully.
“Absolutely. How about Daddy goes this time?” She smirked at me. “Daddy definitely needs pretty nails.”
“Yes!” Winnie exclaimed, wiggling free from her mother and jumping up and down. “Daddy, let’s match. Waffles decided that Pixel Dust is the color he wants.”
“Pixel Dust was the color I was hoping for, Winnie.” I stole a kiss from my beautiful wife and let my daughter pull me away.
It wouldn’t be the first time my nails had been painted. I was a girl dad to the most girlie girl who ever girled, when she wasn’t chasing around farm animals and going on adventures. She was a princess, but never one in distress. This town made sure of that—bikers, grumpy citizens, and all.