I held out my hand for her to come to us. “Yes. I said yes, sweet girl.”
A loud sob ripped from her chest as she ran and jumped at both of us. Aiden and I wrapped her up as she cried happy tears. When I looked back at the door, Patty and Lance were hugging each other, then they quickly joined us on the floor.
“Welcome to the family, Emma,” Patty said as she kissed me on the cheek. “We’ve all waited a long time for you.” She wiped the tears from my face before she drew me in for a hug.
When we all stood, and the tears had stopped, I glanced around the room. I decided to forgo the chili for something more fun. “Who’s in the mood for making some pizza?”
“Me!” Hadley said as she jumped with excitement.
We spent the rest of Christmas Eve making pizzas and singing and dancing to Christmas music. Hours later, Aiden’s mom helped us clean up the kitchen.
“I have an idea for a new family tradition,” Patty said as put the last dish in the dishwasher.
“What’s that, Mom?” Aiden asked.
“I think Emma and Hadley should play a few Christmas carols on the piano,” Patty replied.
Hadley grabbed my hand and pulled me to the formal living room, where the piano was located. “Yes! Please can we play? I wanna play ‘Jingle Bells’ with you like we did the other day!”
Laughing, I allowed her to sit us both at the piano. “Remember the notes?”
Hadley nodded and concentrated as she started slowly in an overly exaggerated way. I knew she wanted to surprise her father.
Hadley spoke the notes as she played them. “EEE. EEE. EGC, DE.”
I glanced at Aiden and winked. Then, with a small nudge from me, Hadley started playing the version I’d taught her, while I accompanied by adding a bit of boogie-woogie. Patty squealed in delight as Lance took her hand and they started to dance.
Hadley wore a wide grin on her face as she focused on playing. She’d been working hard on the song the last few weeks, and it hadn’t been easy for her to focus while I was playing a different complementary tune.
As the song came to an end, Hadley dropped her hands and I took over, playing “Silent Night” as Aiden picked up Hadley and they danced next to Patty and Lance. When that song was over,I stood, and Hadley ran over to me and hugged me around my legs.
“Thank you for making this the bestest Christmas ever, Emma! I love you!”
Sinking down to her level, I smiled and kissed her on the forehead. “Thank you for making it so special. I’ll never forget it for the rest of my life.”
“Neither will I.”
When she hugged me, I looked over to Aiden, who smiled and mouthedI love you.
It was in that moment that I knew without any doubt, my life would forever be filled with love and happiness.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
AIDEN
THE NEXT CHAPTER
Hadley and I sat on the large deck that overlooked the mountain range of the Rocky Mountain National Park. She’d been unusually quiet since we’d arrived yesterday, and at first, I thought it was just because she’d been busy with Emma, getting ready for the wedding.
“Did you want to talk about anything, Hadley?” I asked her, as I leaned forward and rested my arms on my legs.
She smiled, but her eyes looked serious. My little girl seemed so much older in that moment. “I don’t know how to ask you something.”
My goodness, how was it my six-year-old daughter sounded sixteen? “Hadley, you can always ask me anything. Always.” Taking her hand in mine, I turned her to face me.
“I want to call Emma ‘mommy’. But I don’t want to hurt your feelings or make Mommy up in Heaven angry.”
Smiling, I gave her hand a light squeeze. “When Emma first came into our lives, I was so worried you would forget your mother. Make you think I was trying to replace her with Emma. Then one day, Emma told me she had no intentions of trying to replace your mom, and she would do everything in her power—along with me, your grandparents, and our friends—to help keep your mother’s memory alive for you.
