My knees go weak with emotion. Hearing this definitely brings us some closure while we move forward and build this life together.
“I didn’t doubt it,” he keeps going, words tumbling over each other. “I never doubted it. But Weston wanted everything cleanwith no loose ends. He crossed every t, dotted every i. I swear, he doesn’t miss a damn thing.”
I laugh and cry at the same time, covering my mouth with one hand. “No, he doesn’t. This is great news!”
Ollie lets out a shaky breath and nods. “He called a little bit ago. Confirmed it all. Madison signed everything. She officially gave up her parental rights to us, so we don’t need anything else. He’s handling my dad.”
I feel it then, the shift. The weight lifted off my chest that I didn’t even realize I’d been carrying.“She’s yours,” I whisper.
“She’s ours,” he repeats, softer now, like he’s afraid saying it too loud might break something between us.
His smile wobbles. He scrubs a hand over his face, blinking hard. “I’m relieved that this is confirmed and everything is going to be done.”
I wrap my arms around his waist and press my face into his chest. God, he feels good.
“I knew it,” I say into his shirt. “Somehow she was meant to be.”
He laughs. “Yeah. Me too. I didn’t doubt it.”
“Well, she’s kinda cute, for a baby, I guess. I’m glad we’re keeping her,” Owen says as he scratches Bandit’s ears. “Although she does poop a lot, which is gross, but she can work on that.”
We laugh, and I take Ellie from Ollie and kiss her head, holding her to me, breathing her sweet baby scent of baby lotion.
Ollie hugs Owen. “You okay with all this?”
Owen nods immediately. “Yeah. That makes us an even weirder, cooler family.”
Ollie looks at both of us and says, “He did update us on Sully. He’s been trying to find him to get him to sign some papers, but no luck yet.”
“What about the club? Do you think theycould find him?” I ask with a shrug. “They must know where he is if they’re getting money from him.”
Ollie sighs. “I don’t want to ask them for anything. But speaking of, somehow another envelope appeared on your desk today.”
Ohhh, interesting. I don’t even know how they got in here and I probably don’t want to know. I make a mental note to rekey the locks.
“But they did give us this super cool dog.” Owen grins as Bandit wags his tail, happily watching all of us.
That they did, and Sully hasn’t been around. I’ll take those wins.
A few days later, Ollie refuses to tell us where we’re going. He just told us to dress very warmly and bring warm blankets. Which didn’t give me a lot to go on, but I did what he asked.
Which automatically means Owen is vibrating with excitement in the backseat, next to Ellie in her car seat, with a million questions.
“Is it snow stuff?” Owen asks for the fourth time, nose practically pressed to the window. “Because I brought my gloves. And my backup gloves. And my extra socks just in case it does involve snow.”
Ollie grins over at him, one hand on the wheel. “Probably a good idea. You’ll see.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You’re being very secretive. Are you sure it’s going to be warm enough for Ellie?”
He just smiles wider and shrugs. “I guess you’ll see.”
When the gates to Wilder Ranch come into view, Owen practically loses his mind when he looks over and sees a sleigh with horses attached to it.
“No way,” he says, excitedly. “NO WAY.”
Jack and Cami are out front waiting for us, bundled up. Maggie’s there too, bundled up and waving. She’s wearing a massive puffer coat that looks comically oversized on her small frame. Walker’s truck pulls in and parks next to us.
We get out, and the air smells like pine and cold and something clean and quiet that makes my shoulders drop the second I step out of the truck. It’s been snowing for a few days straight, and the snow is beautiful and perfect for a sleigh ride, which sounds amazing.
