“Just today?”
“And forever.” He set her on her feet and led her around the barn instead of through it and when he paused, Palmer looked around.
“I don’t see a surprise, Daddy. Are you sure some animal didn’t carry it away or something?”
Beau chuckled. “Pretty sure.” He smiled and pulled an envelope from his jacket pocket. “This came for you.”
“For me? Who even knows I’m here?” Palmer asked suspiciously.
“I promise you, it’s not common knowledge,” Beau assured her.
Palmer took the envelope and scanned the front, her frown gradually turning into a smile as she recognized a familiar name. “It’s from Ms. Hammond!”
Her Daddy smiled and nodded. “I told you it was safe.”
Palmer carefully slid her nail under the flap of the envelope and pulled out a card. The front was embossed with flowers surrounding the silhouette of a young woman standing on top of a hill. “It’s so pretty,” Palmer said, gently running her fingertips over the flowers.
“It is,” her Daddy agreed.
Opening the card, Palmer read the message and then looked up at him, her mouth forming a small ‘O’. “Daddy… how… I mean… when… why…”
“Breathe, pretty baby, just breathe,” her Daddy said, dropping his palms to cup her cheeks.
She mimicked him as he inhaled and then exhaled slowly a few times. Once she felt a bit less lightheaded, she tried again. “She says she was gifted not only the laundromat, but the entire strip center. She owns it all now and that she has the money to send her children to college so they can have better lives. She said that she’d heard I was happy and safe and that we both must have fairy godfathers looking after us.” She looked up at him, her eyes welling. “Oh, Daddy, you?—”
“Me? Why would you think that?” Beau asked, waving his hand in the air. “Maybe it’s just that magic exists beyond the Ranch’s fences. What do you think?”
Palmer wiped tears off her cheeks with one hand while hugging the note to her chest with the other. “I think I’ve got the bestest Daddy in the whole wide world.”
“Ahh, pretty baby, that means the world to me.” Beau bent to kiss her softly before straightening and reaching into his pocket again. This time he pulled out a scroll tied with a pink satin ribbon. “This is for you.”
“No, Daddy! I don’t ever need another gift!”
“Daddy gets to decide what you need. Of course, if you’d rather have a spanking?—”
“No! I mean, that’s okay,” Palmer said, snatching the scroll out of his hand “What is it?”
“Why don’t you open it and see, pretty baby.”
Palmer tugged the ribbon carefully and as the bow came free, she squealed softly when the end threatened to touch the ground. “Don’t let it get poopy!”
Beau chuckled and captured the ribbon as she freed it from the scroll, wrapping the satin around her wrist and tying it into another pretty bow. “How’s that?” he asked.
“It’s perfect, Daddy. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He smiled and motioned toward the paper as if reminding her she wasn’t yet done unwrapping her surprise.
“Oh, right,” she said, letting the scroll unroll, her lips moving as her eyes scanned the paper until she gasped and her eyes filled with tears. “Is this… is this for real?”
“It’s real,” Beau assured her, tapping at the bottom of the sheet. “See? It’s even got a seal to prove it’s an official adoption certificate.
“Oh, Daddy,” she said softly. “I-I don’t deserve you.”
“You deserve so much more,” Beau said, his voice a bit gruff as he used the pads of his thumbs to brush the tears from her cheeks. “But for now, I hope you’ll be able to forget about May 28thbeing a sad, scary day and know it’s?—”
“It’s the day we added another member to our family!” Palmer said, throwing her arms around him before leaning back. “Wait? Where is she?”
“Let’s go find her,” Beau said, scooping her off her feet and walking around the corner of the barn.
