Page 14 of Tizzy's Little Thanksgiving

Eddie sat up straight himself. “I’ve given all that a great deal of thought. Hell, it’s practically all I’ve thought about since she ran into me at the store. I can promise you that if Teresa does me the honor of choosing me, I’ll make it my life’s goal to be the best damn Daddy on the planet.”

“Second best,” Lucas corrected, his posture relaxing as he grinned.

“Whatever.” Eddie rolled his eyes. “Just saying that those things we just discussed with Erika and Derek won’t be happening until I sit Teresa down to make sure we are on the same page for the long run and not only while we’re here.”

“And then?” Lucas prompted.

“Then the rain will stop and she’ll learn that her Daddy isn’t as much of a pushover as she might believe,” Eddie said with determination. “Thanks for the advice and for moving your ass to the Ranch in the first place. It seems that what they say about location, location, location is true. Rawhide is the perfect place to, as you say, start as I intend to continue,” Eddie stated, reaching a hand across the table.

“I couldn’t agree more, and I’m happy as shit you’re here.” Lucas slapped Eddie’s palm and they exchanged a flurry of twists and slaps in the secret handshake they’d invented when standing at the bus stop on their first day of kindergarten.

Chapter 5

Teresa

It appearedthat all of Georgie’s enthusiastic descriptions about her new home didn’t do the place credit. Granted, she’d only seen a very small part of the Ranch, but the moment Teresa was pulled through the door, all she could think was that she was like Alice but instead of falling down a rabbit hole, she’d landed in a place better than she would ever have been able to imagine. With one of her hands in Georgie’s and the other captured by Wren, Teresa was soon running toward the most incredible playground she had ever seen.

She’d sat in swings at the neighborhood park and even tried the slide a time or two, but she’d always felt like a giant in a kid’s world. With Sadie pointing out the presence of what Teresa could only assume was the monitor Sadie had mentioned, the girls were free to play. The moment they all claimed swings and began pumping their legs to go higher and higher, Teresa felt the tension that had held her in its clutches since she’d awakened that morning disappear.

“This is amazing! It’s like some magical pixie dusted the equipment to fit adults perfectly!”

“I’ve heard my Daddy called a lot of things, but a pixie isn’t one of them,” Sadie said with a giggle. “Though I will admit he is quite magical when weplaytogether.”

Hayleigh laughed as she swung. “This is just a small part of the Ranch. Wait until you see the inside. Oh, and eat in the cafeteria.”

“Her Daddy is Chef Connor,” Georgie explained. “His mac and cheese will have you swooning!”

“And if you think this is great, wait until you see the stables,” Wren offered. “Get your Daddy to sign up for a trail ride. There’s not a better way to explore the Ranch than doing so from the back of a horse.”

Teresa smiled at the thought. She loved horses and still had an entire stable full of plastic ponies from her childhood. But, she didn’t have a Daddy of her own. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t stop fantasizing about the only man she’d ever wanted for her Daddy. Then again, if Eddie followed through with his threat, it might be a little uncomfortable to bounce up and down in a saddle. Her bottom tingled at the thought of it being spanked by Eddie and her tummy flipped at the thought of him possibly baring her butt before that spanking started. Realizing her panties were a bit moist, she blushed and turned her attention back to Wren.

“That sounds like fun,” she said, kicking her legs to go even higher. “However, we’re not really here for fun, we’re here for Georgie’s wedding.”

“Hey!” Georgie exclaimed, her indignation evident as she immediately jumped from her swing and turned to face the others, her hands on her hips. “Are you saying my wedding won’t be fun?”

“Jiminy Cricket, no! I’m sorry!” Teresa said instantly. “I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant that this is supposed to be your special time, not mine.” Thinking that didn’t sound much better, she shook her head, her curls flying in her face. Removing one hand from the chain to swipe her hair out of her eyes, she began to drag the toes of her shoes in the dirt to slow her swing. “You’re going to be the most beautiful bride anyone’s ever seen walk down the aisle at the best wedding in the history of the world. And I didn’t mean being your maid of honor won’t be fun or isn’t special, it is. I’m very excited and will do my best to make you proud of me.”

“I’m always proud of you, silly,” Georgie said, stepping forward to wrap her arms around her best friend the moment she came to a full stop. “We’ve been dreaming and practicing getting married like a gazillion different ways with a bazillion different grooms since we were little girls. You’ll be the bestest maid of honor I could ever have.”

“Thank you,” Teresa said.

“You’re welcome.” Georgie gave Teresa another quick squeeze before releasing her. “You can make it up to me by giving me the best wedding gift ever.”

Georgie and Lucas had set up a wedding site that listed the gifts they would appreciate. Instead of boring things like toasters, dishes, or towels, their list included vouchers one could contribute to such as lodging, admission tickets, a dinner at a themed restaurant or a breakfast with Cinderella to be enjoyed during their honeymoon at Disneyland. Teresa and Eddie had discussed what to give and they’d both contributed to upgrading the honeymooner’s room to a night in the Magic Kingdom’s castle, adding an additional day to their park pass, and even pitched in to purchase matching Mickey and Minnie ears that were presently packed in Tizzy’s luggage. However, she had a feeling that none of those were the gifts her best friend was talking about.

“Do you have something in mind?” she asked, not wanting to spoil the surprise of the gifts waiting for the newlyweds.

“Most definitely,” Georgie assured her. “All you have to give me is your solemn oath that you are going to take this opportunity to let the Little inside you come out to play. I want you to play on the playground, swim in the pool, stuff yourself with mac and cheese, dino nuggets, hot chocolate and ice cream sundaes. You have to promise to ride horses with Wren and join in the turkey trot and pie-eating contest.”

Teresa thought that was an awful lot to expect in the week she’d be at the Ranch, but she nodded. “I’ll do my best to do all that… well, except for the swimming. It’s too cold to swim.”

“Not here it isn’t,” Sadie assured her. “There is a pool and another playground inside where it’s nice and warm.”

“Don’t forget the dungeon,” Hayleigh offered, still swinging but at a far less frenetic pace.

“Hayleigh!” Wren exclaimed, her eyes going wide. “Littles can’t go in there!”

“Some can,” Hayleigh countered with a shrug. “It depends on their Daddy and they can always try to sneak in. We all know breaking and entering is within Teresa’s job skills.”

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