Ainsley

"How did practice go?" I ask as Billy, Willow and Cooper come through the door. Billy gives me an exhausted expression and I have to bite back a laugh.

"It was great. Until Ellie and Willow tried to beat up another kid." He says, giving Willow a disapproving look, but she just shrugs.

"Tommy said girls shouldn't play t-ball. He was asking for it." She says and I do laugh this time, but Billy sighs.

"Yeah, we talked to him about that. Jax was pretty pissed too." He says with a small smile. Cooper sits quietly, one of the team hats on his head looking adorable as always.

"Go change, baby. The car's all packed I want to get on the road soon." I say, urging Willow up the stairs. She flounces away and I turn to Billy.

"Really? She and Ellie teamed up against a boy?" I ask and he nods, grinning.

"Poor kid looked terrified. Those girls are going to be a handful as they get older." He says and I giggle, wrapping my arms around his waist and kissing him firmly.

"You wanna change clothes before we go?" I ask and he nods.

"Yeah. Gonna take a quick shower. Thanks for packing everything, angel. I appreciate it." He says warmly and I smile up at him.

"I appreciate you and Jax coaching t-ball." I say and Billy chuckles.

"It's the dream, Ains. The fucking dream." He says happily before heading up the stairs.

I take Cooper into the kitchen to feed him and give him some water before letting him outside. Billy and Willow did a great job of training him and he is a wonderful addition to our family. Once he finishes he runs back to me, tail wagging and tongue flapping making me smile. I grab his seatbelt harness and his favorite ducky toy as I wait.

Half an hour later we're all in the car, Cooper and Willow snuggling in the back while Billy drives to our cabin. A few days after Christmas, we found out that Arthur had passed away. I had an obnoxiously large deposit into my bank account a few weeks later that made me nearly pass out.

So many zeros...

I was worried about Arthur's family being angry and trying to sue me or something, but the lawyer told me that Arthur had told them he donated the money to numerous charities that would remain annonymous.

So in the spring, Billy and I bought a cabin just like he had always wanted. Well, a little larger than he had wanted but we have a lot of friends to fill it with. We hope someday we can pass it on to Willow and she will have her own family she can enjoy it with.

My eyes glance to the backseat, both Willow and Cooper fast asleep. Billy's hand lands on my thigh and he squeezes it gently making me look at him. He smiles wide as he sees the two in the back before looking over at me.

"I'm so excited." He says and I laugh a little.

"I know. You've been talking about it all week." I tease and he shrugs.

"It's our first weekend in our very own cabin and all of our friends are coming. Sounds pretty epic to me." He says and I nod, twirling my fingers with his.

"Yeah it does." I say.

We arrive at the cabin first, followed by Ramon, Chad, Rory, Jax, Emily and their three kids. It's a full house, full of laughing and talking. Chad and I cook dinner, everyone gathered around the large table and a sense of content envelopes me. I look to Billy, who was already watching me with a soft expression. I lean over to kiss him making him chuckle.

"I love you." I murmur in his ear. He kisses my cheek and tugs me closer.

"I love you, angel. So much." He says and my heart warms as I watch our friends enjoy the cabin.

Later, after dinner is cleaned up and the kids have settled down, Billy comes up to me and grabs my hand.

"The sun is about to go down. Willow wants to watch it. Come with us." He says, grabbing my hand. I put my book down and stand up, following him towards the door where Willow is waiting.

"Is anyone else coming?" I ask and he shakes his head.

"Jax and Emily are putting the kids down, Chad and Rory are playing an intense game of chess and Ramon passed out after he ate his weight in tacos." He says with a laugh that I return.

I follow him down the path, Willow holding my other hand until we get to the little strip of sand just by the waters edge. The sun is casting beautiful oranges, blues and purples across the sky. I watch in awe as the sun goes down, looking over at Billy, but he's already looking at me.

"Did you start the fire?" I ask, pointing to the fire pit that always has a blaze going. He nods and pulls me towards it.

"Yeah I wanted you to be able to see it after it got dark." He says and my brow furrows in confusion.

"See what?" I ask and Willow giggles, boucing from foot to foot.

"The ring." Billy says, pulling a box from his back pocket and lowering himself to one knee. I gasp as I watch him flip the lid open, a stunning diamond glinting back at me.

"I love you, Ains. You and Willow, you're everything. Everything I've ever dreamed of having. More actually, if I'm honest. I want to do life with you. To be your partner, your best friend, the one you come to when things get hard, the one you share the joy with. I promise to love you, to make you happy. Forever. I already asked Willow for permission so I just need to ask you. Will you marry me, angel?" His voice cracks at the end and the emotions welling up in me spill over as tears stream down my face. I nod, barely able to form words.

"Yes!" I croak out and Billy's smile is blinding as he launches himself at me, swinging me in his arms and kissing me. Willow lets out a little cheer from next to us and Billy sets me down, slipping the ring on my finger.

"I didn't forget about you, Pippy." He says fondly, sitting on the bench and pulling Willow into his lap. He pulls another box from his pocket and opens it, showing her a beautfiul bracelet.

"I love you, Willow. You are smart, sweet, funny. My best little buddy and I was wondering if you would do me the honor of being my daughter?" He asks and Willow nods excitedly, squealing when she grabs the bracelet from him. He fastens it around her tiny wrist and she inspects it.

"It's a little big, but I wanted you to be able to wear it when you're older. Because even as you grow and become an adult, I will always love you and I want you to remember that." He says, squeezing her in a tight hug and kissing her head. I watch as I try to sniffle back my tears.

"Does this mean I can call you 'Dad'?" She asks and Billy's face blanks in shock before tears glisten his eyes and he nods.

"Yeah, Pippy. You can call me 'Dad' if you want." He says with a warm smile. Willow nods and wraps her arms around his neck, hugging him tight.

We hear cheering and clappping and I turn to see all of our friends standing on the porch of the cabin celebrating with us.

"They weren't busy were they?" I ask and Billy shakes his head with a chuckle.

"Nope. Just wanted my favorite girls to myself." He says, kissing Willow's cheek until she laughs and pushes him away.

"I'm gonna show Ellie my bracelet!" She says, running back up to the house. I go to follow her, but Billy grabs my arm to stop me.

"There's something else I wanted to ask you, without Willow." He says and I turn to face him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"What is it?" I ask and he takes a deep breath.

"I was wondering how you felt about me adopting her?" He asks and my mouth drops in shock.

I didn't know I could love this man more, but I was wrong apparently.

"Really?" I ask and he nods, pecking my lips and pulling me tighter.

"I want her to be mine in every way that I can make it legal and official. And I don't want her to feel left out, when she doesn't have the same last name as us. But I know she has Sarah's last name. I didn't know how you'd feel about changing it." He says and my heart clenches at the idea of severing that last connection that Willow has to Sarah.

"But Sarah isn't here anymore. Willow really doesn't have a connection to Sarah's family. But she is our daughter. Yours and mine. She should have the same last name as us. To know she is accepted and loved just the same as if I gave birth to her." I say firmly and Billy smiles wide.

"So that's a yes?" He asks and I nod.

"Absolutely."