Page 39 of Hearing Little Hadley

“No,” the Little girl cried.

“Oh, Eloise, honey, come here,” Miss Samantha smoothed.

“The first day back is always the hardest,” one of the men said, stroking the Little girl’s black hair. He had blonde hair and was a bit smaller than the other man with them.

“We love you, baby. We’ll be back this afternoon,” the other man said, bending to press a kiss for her forehead. He had brown hair and dark skin.

The men with Eloise looked very different, but it was clear they shared the same love for her.

“Don’t go, please. Please, take me with you. I’ll be so good, Daddy,” she cried.

“No, Little one. We have a lot to catch up on and it’s not safe for you to be with us while we’re working. We love you, baby,” the blonde-haired man said.

“We’ll see you tonight,” the man with brown hair said, before handing the Little girl off to Miss Samantha.

“That’s Eloise. She has two Daddies who work security for the Ranch. They were on vacation and today is her first day back. She always has a hard time when she hasta come back the first day after her trips,” Nate explained the moment he was given permission to leave the corner.

Hadley watched as Miss Samantha hugged her and then helped her snuggle up on a cozy beanbag chair. Her heart hurt for the other girl. Transitions were so hard. Hadley decided to color her a super special Christmas picture. Maybe that would make her heart feel all better.

She went to work using the best crayons on a picture of Santa and his sleigh. It made her wonder about working on the Reindeer team. The Christmas Party started at 5:00. She was working on the Reindeer Team at 7:30 so her Daddy was going to take her to meet Santa at 5:00. He’d already helped her make a card telling Santa what she wanted for Christmas. Hadley reflected on how thankful she was for Finn.

“Did you ask your Master Finn what time you were signed up for the Reindeer Team at?” Mindy asked, skipping up to the table.

Hadley nodded and flipped her cards around. Finn had added 7:30 beside herThe Reindeer Teamand 5:30 beside herCarriage Ride.

“Aw bummer, I was hoping we’d be scheduled for the same time, but I’m going to see Santa before so maybe you can come and we can decorate cookies together?”

Hadley nodded, not bothering to explain she’d be there already and hoped for the same. She hesitated a second before flipping to another new card Finn had made her.

Daddy.She tapped the card with a picture of Finn on it.

Mindy gasped. “He’s your Daddy now?”

Hadley nodded in excitement.

“That’s such a good Christmas gift!” Mindy squealed.

Hadley nodded. It was the best gift ever.

“Why are we so excited?” Lori asked, sitting at the table. Hadley leaned across and hugged her. Her heart grew four sizes when Lori hugged her back.

“Hadley has a Daddy now.” Mindy said.

“Oh! It’s the Christmas magic!” Lori squealed. “It worked to bring me a new Mommy and I justknewit would work to bring you a Daddy!”

“Totally the Christmas magic,” Nate agreed. “What’s the Christmas magic?” he asked, making everyone giggle because he hadn’t been paying attention.

“Master Finn is Hadley’s Daddy now,” Mindy said, filling him in.

“Oh! Congratulations,” Nate said.

Thank you.Hadley tapped her card.

The group worked in silence for a while, well, everyone except Nate. He kept the chatter going.

Hadley finished her picture and pushed back her chair.

“Where ya going?” Nate asked.

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