He tries to hold her hand, but she bats him away and takes off.
“Holy crap.If Jax didn’t already love that little girl, he definitely would now!”Addi chuckles as Jax skates after Bree.She giggles when he reaches for her and misses.
“C’mon, Danny.We got you some skates too.”Cody helps him lace up and takes him on the ice.
He can skate, but not nearly as well as Bree can.Him and Cody just have fun skating around.After a while, Cody grabs two hockey sticks and a puck.He starts showing Danny how to pass and how to slap the puck towards the net.
“Does she skate a lot?”Wes turns towards us and I shrug.I have no idea and that doesn’t sit well with me.I should know this.
“She used to.She took skating lessons when she was younger.I thought she’d want to do figure skating, but she leaned towards ballet… Now I'm rethinking that though.”Sydney watches in amazement as Bree keeps up with Jax.
He scoops her off her feet and into his arms as he continues skating around the rink.After a few minutes, he puts her back on her feet and takes her hand, showing her how to skate backwards.It takes her a few tries, but she quickly figures out how to do it.
By the time they get off the ice, the kids are exhausted and looking forward to bed.As soon as Bree has her skates off, she stumbles over to me and puts her arms up.
“Daddy, I'm tired.Will you hold me?”
“Always.”I lift her into my arms and she snuggles her face into the crook of my neck.Within a few minutes, she’s sound asleep.
“That’s the best thing about being a dad.”Wes pats me on the back.“No matter who captures their attention, they always return to daddy.”
“Yeah, but I'm not really her dad,” I say softly.
“It doesn’t matter.I'm not really Charlie’s dad, yet my little girl still comes to me every time she needs a hug.Man, just last week when they were over, she curled up on the couch with me and fell asleep with her head on my shoulder.It was the best.”
Chapter 32
Sydney
“Iknowyoudidn’thave a wedding, but what do you want to do to celebrate your wedding?”Charlie asks as soon as we have a free day.
We have one more week on Mulberry Lane and I'm already sad knowing we’ll be leaving soon.I love it here.I can understand why Peck was willing to move here.Everyone is amazing and it really is like a fairytale being here.
“I don’t know.We talked about doing something to celebrate, but I don’t think either one of us had anything particular in mind.”I shrug my shoulders.
“I was thinking…” Sophia trails off, nibbling on her bottom lip.
Peck, Wyatt, and Maverick are in the backyard playing with the kids.Carter is smiling from her place in the carrier strapped to Wyatt’s chest.She’s always so happy when she’s with her daddy.
“Spit it out, Soph.”Wes lifts his coffee mug to his lips and watches his youngest daughter.
“Well, I don’t want to be engaged forever,” she huffs out, making Addi and Wes grin.
“Ok…” I glance around, wondering if I'm missing something.
“So, when should I plan for the wedding?Saturday?”Wes asks like it would be normal to plan a wedding in three days.
“Does that work?”Sophia scrunches up her nose.
“You already have your dress, sweetheart.”Addi smiles as she brushes her daughter’s hair behind her ear.
“None of the boys have games this weekend.”Wes checks the little calendars they keep on the fridge with the baseball and hockey schedules.
“We could do it!”Charlie claps her hands in excitement.
“I just want to make sure Sydney, Maverick, and the kids can be here and I don’t know the next time they’ll be able to get away.”Sophia glances in my direction.
She’s going to be the best sister-in-law I could ask for.She’s always inviting us to be a part of things with her family and to really be included in her life with Peck.I think she’s really upset to move away from Maple Springs, especially because she’s taking Peck with her and she knows we’ll miss him.
