Page 38 of Holiday Hitch

She rarely ever slept at Johnny’s place, but when she had, it was always in the downstairs guest room. Today, though, they were upstairs in the spare bedroom that rarely ever saw guests. Tyler had turned it into a small office for when he needed to be home with the girls.

Daryl and Johnny had gathered all of John’s things and brought him over on Christmas Eve so that he had time to settle in before heading to bed.

Leah wasn’t sure how long it had been since her father had slept somewhere other than his own house. She wondered if he had managed okay.

As Daryl got dressed, her dogs jumped off the bed and sat at the door, ready to spend the day with so many friendly faces.

As soon as Daryl's hand met the door knob, the dogs got excited, barely able to stand still. “Okay, then go ahead,” Daryl said. When she flung the door open, the the pups sprinted out of the room. She turned to look at Leah with confusion, she had no idea why they were so excited.

Leah slipped on a pair of pajama pants and followed behind Daryl who was eagerly waiting at the bedroom door.

“Who knew you would be up first on Christmas morning?“ Leah asked looping her arm and Daryl’s.

Daryl shrugged, “I never said I didn’t love Christmas morning, “

Once they were in the hallway, Leah snuck a peek toward Tyler and Johnny’s room, whose door was wide open, meaning that Daryl and Leah were the last to wake up. Except for the girls who must have still been asleep since the house was strangely quiet.

Daryl and Leah made their way downstairs moving slower than usual as their bodies woke up. When they made it downstairs, John was already in his chair. And much to Leah’s surprise, he was donning the discolored, old Santa suit that she hadn’t seen in nearly two decades.

“Where the hell did you find that?” Leah said, trying to hide her excitement. Seeing him the suit was strange, it felt like she was ten again… and she felt like she might be enjoying the surprise.

John made his way down the hallway toward his grandchildren’s bedrooms with Daryl’s dogs in tow, proudly plodding behind him, as he called back to Leah, “Your woman sifted through the attic to find it.”

In shock, Leah turned to Daryl and nudged her shoulder, “Did you really?”

Daryl offered a shrug, “I just thought it might be nice for you to see him in it again.”

“Plus I kind of love making John do stupid shit,” Daryl joked.

John knocked on Simone and Charlotte’s doors, “Merry Christmas! Santa has a delivery!”

Leah turned to Johnny, “And you’re okay with him ruining the illusion of Santa for your kids like he did to us?”

Johnny smiled, “At least you’ll have a good memory with their grandpa, right?” Leah couldn’t be sure but he looked like he might have a tear in his eye.

Leah nodded as she watched the girls run out of their room and jump onto John’s wheelchair. He started to wheel them down the hallway, finding more strength than he had in weeks in order to make their morning special. The dogs followed along with goofy grins as they all settled in the living room.

As the girls opened their stockings, Daryl and Leah headed to the kitchen to pour themselves some coffee and grab a pastry before the present unwrapping began.

Leah shook her head as she watched Daryl dig through the cabinets for two large mugs, “I can’t believe you did that. When did you have the time?”

She really couldn’t figure out when Daryl had made it all the way up to Sugarties, especially with the wedding just days away.

“I found some time after I finished the last of the planting,” Daryl shrugged off the obvious surprise. She alwayscouldfind time, she just had to really want to. And for Leah, it all felt worth it. “Did you like it?” Daryl asked, hiding her worry.

Leah smiled, “I really did. I never thought I’d see him in it again. Seeing him like that with Charlotte and Simone, just feels so…” She trailed off, unable to find the words to express watching her typically ungentle father be so soft for kids. Leah need it more than she ever could have know.

Leave it to Daryl to make her Christmas just the right amount of special.

“Can I give you your other gift now?” Daryl asked as she poured the karaffe of coffee into a mug for Leah.

Leah looked around and asked, “Is it an R rated present?” She winked.

Daryl laughed and shook her head. “No, that’s for later,” She teased as she wiggled her eyebrows.

Excited to get her gift, Leah hopped up on the counter and swung her legs, “Should I close my eyes?”

Daryl walked closer and put her hands on the counter. She looked up at Leah and began, “I decided to hire someone for the shop.”

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