“She’s defending my honor,” I quipped.“I kind of like this.”
“You don’t need her help,” Archer stated.But then he addressed his daughter.“I could use your help though.”
“With what?”Lenni asked in excitement.
“We can’t talk about it in front of Wyn,” he explained.“It’s just between you and me.”
Lenni nodded eagerly and pulled her feet from the hot spring.She stood up and used the horse blanket to dry her toes before donning her socks and boots.“Let’s go.”
Lenni was already in the side-by-side by the time Archer and I had put on our boots.He lifted the horse blanket.
“I’m guessing you’re going to rope your daughter into helping with your proposal,” I said, taking the end of the blanket and stretching it out.
“Picked up on that, did ya?”He winked.
“I don’t need a big to-do, Archer,” I said, bringing the folded corners toward him.
He took them from me.“A big to-do?”
“Yeah, I mean, you don’t have to go crazy with the proposal.No horse and carriage.No grand gestures.Just something sweet and simple.”
“Horse and sleigh.”
“What?”
“It’s winter.It wouldn’t be a carriage, it would be a horse and sleigh ride,” he corrected.“And why the hell don’t you want a grand gesture?You deserve grand gestures.”
“Deserve?Maybe.Want?No.”I looked at him.“I mean it, Archer.This isn’t me saying I want one thing when I secretly want you to do the other and then I get mad at you.I’m already getting everything I want.And I know you’ll propose when the time is right.”
“You’re killing me,” he muttered.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I believe you, when you say you don’t want anything big.But God, Wyn, proposals are supposed to be big.”He put the horse blanket under one arm but didn’t make a move to head back to the side-by-side yet.
“For some people.”I shrugged.“But I don’t need a big proposal to be happy, you know.You want to drive us back?”
“Sure.”
We ambled toward the side-by-side, and I climbed into the passenger seat next to Lenni.Archer started the engine, and we drove in silence all the way back to the main house.He parked and we all spilled out.
“Oh, hey,” I said to Lenni before she got too far away.“We’re not telling people yet that we’re having a baby.”
She frowned.“You told me.”
I tugged on her braid.“You’re Lenni.You’re not people.”
Her brow unwrinkled.“Oh.”
“We don’t want to upstage Poet’s wedding,” I clarified.“So, we’ll tell everyone after.”
“Which means you gotta keep this a secret,” Archer added.
Lenni smirked.“I keep a better secret than you guys do.”
“What do you mean by that?”I demanded.
“Oh please,” she said with an eye roll.“Everyone knew you guys had the hots for each other.It’s not a shock that you guys got together.I’m gonna see if Muddy needs help with anything.”
