Chapter 10

TEN

Ryder

Five Years Later…

"Ready to go?" Maple asks me as she comes downstairs.

"Yep."

I smile as I see her costume. We decided to do a family costume this year, and so Maple, our twins Rachel and Rowan, and I are all dressed up as jack-o-lanterns. All of our pumpkins are smiling and loose enough that it fits over our winter clothes. Maple bends down and fixes Rachel's hat before she lifts her into our arms. I take Rowan's hand as Maple gets Rachel buckled into their stroller.

The twins just turned three a few weeks ago, and they seem to have their mother's love for Halloween. We've already been to a kid's Halloween party and two Trunk or Treats this week, but now that it's Halloween, we're taking them out to go trick or treating.

"Who is ready for some candy!" Maple says, and both kids cheer.

Rowan takes off, and I tighten my grip on his hand as we head out. We head down to Main Street, and I smile when I see Rachel's eyes start to grow heavy. She's been growing through a growth spurt lately, and I'm not surprised that she's already falling asleep.

Maple turns and smiles back at me, and I grin. We've been married for close to four years now. We got married at the town hall here in Wolf Valley with our friends and families in attendance just one week after I proposed to her. Maple wanted a fall wedding, and I just wanted her to be my wife as soon as possible.

She moved in with me then, too, and I quit my bartending job and started spending more time hanging out with her at Wet and Wild. I ended up redoing her website along with Olive's and Saffron's, and now I manage all three.

Speaking of Wet and Wild, I've been helping out there, too. We've started selling products online, and it's always fun to help with stocking and setting aside any of the new toys or lingerie that we want to try.

We found out that we were expecting right after the wedding, but it was a shock to go to the appointment and learn that it was twins. I know that Maple was worried about taking care of two kids at once, but she's a natural. She's such a good mom, and she makes everything look so easy.

Her pregnancy was rough, so after the kids were born, we talked about it and decided that two was perfect for us. Besides, Rachel and Rowan can both be handfuls sometimes, and it can be exhausting just keeping up with them.

"Daddy!" Rowan says as we spot some kids up ahead.

We're meeting the rest of the Baker sisters and their families to go trick-or-treating, and I scan the crowds until I spot Xavier up ahead. He stands head and shoulders above the rest of the people, so it's easy to spot him.

"Over there," I call to Maple and she follows my finger until she spots him too.

We cross the street, and I jog ahead with Rowan, and he rushes to greet his cousins and friends.

"Hey, there you guys are," Olive greets us.

"Are we the first ones here?" Maple asks her, and Olive nods.

"Saffron just texted that she's running a little behind, and Ginger said that she forgot the kid's buckets and had to run back home. They should be here any minute."

I clap Xavier on the back, and he grins at me. He's wearing a piece of bread with peanut butter on it as his costume and I see that Olive has the matching jelly one.

"Nice costume," I tell him, and he smiles.

"Thanks. Olive picked it out."

Of course, she did. I don't know how a group of such bubbly, upbeat sisters all ended up married to such grumpy introverts, but they did.

"Hey, guys!" Townes says as he comes to join our group.

His wife, Mira, is by his side, holding the hand of their son, Noah.

"Noah!" Rachel says, wide awake now, and I smile as I move to unbuckle her from the stroller.

Rachel and Noah have been best friends since she was born, and Mira and Maple like to joke that maybe they'll end up together one day.

Ginger and Saffron both head our way a minute later, their husbands and kids in tow, and Maple heads to greet them. Cora and Huxley come downstairs, too, and Cora grins as she passes out candy to all of the kids.

"I wanted to be the first one to give you candy tonight," she tells them, and the kids are all excited.

"Ready to go?" Ginger asks the group, and the kids all scream yes. I grab Rachel and Rowan's hands as we start to make our way down the street.

Maple falls into step beside us, and I grin at her. I never thought that I would have this—a family, a big group of friends, people that I can count on. I never even knew that I wanted it—not until I met Maple.

She's given me a family and a community. She makes me so happy every day, and she makes me want to be a better man for her and our kids.

"What are you thinking about?" Maple asks me as we approach the first house.

"Just how lucky I am and how much I love you."

"Aww, I love you too," she tells me, reaching over and squeezing my hand. "And I'm the lucky one."

"Nu-uh," I argue, and she laughs.

"Alright, well, how about tonight we see if maybe we can both get lucky," she whispers and I laugh.

"It's a deal."

We share a smile, and I keep grinning for the rest of the night.

It's a very happy Halloween indeed.

* * *

Want more of Ryder and Saffron? Then be sure to check out this bonus scene of them at next year's Halloween party!

Looking for more Wolf Valley holiday books? Check out Xavier and Olive's story or read the rest of the Wolf Valley: A Very Grumpy Holiday series!

Don't miss the other Grumpy books! Check out A Very Grumpy Best Friend and the other Wolf Valley Grumps here !