Page 144 of Ruled Out

Everyone circles around us as Mia shows the girls her mom’s ring, the inside engraved with her parents’ wedding date. Something I plan to add to when we set a date ourselves.

Jensen holds out his hand for me as Zach and Jon join us. “So fucking proud of you, man. Congratulations.”

“Literally couldn’t have asked for anything more perfect. The best setting,” I say, looking over my shoulder at the ocean.

Jon smiles. “This is just the beginning too, Jessie. You think it doesn’t get any better, but when she’s that damn special”—he pauses and looks over at his wife—“you could go anywhere, be anything, and still feel like the luckiest guy alive.”

Narrowing his eyes at his best friend, Zach swipes a hand across his mouth. “Getting a little philosophical on us for an early morning, aren’t you, Cap?”

In response, Jon drops his eyes to the sand beneath his feet and shrugs his shoulders. “I guess I’m just saying that not everything stays the same.”

“Okay …” Jensen drawls.

From over my shoulder, I watch as Mia shows June, Will, and Aster her ring, but as I’m about to turn back around, I catch sight of Felicity, who looks at Jon, nodding just once at him.

Zach looks at his best friend. “What’s this all about, Jon?”

Running his tongue across his bottom lip, Jon puffs out a slow breath. “Seattle has been really good to me. I found my family here, and over the past few years, I’ve looked on as my friends have built a life for themselves.” He looks to Zach. “You with Luna and Aster, another baby on the way.”

He tips his chin at Jensen and then over his shoulder at Kate and the twins. “You finally got the girl you wanted to love you, JJ.”

And then his eyes finally land on me. “And you’ve got everything ahead of you, Jessie. It’s been an amazing journey. Seattle has changed my life, but now … now, I need to help make my stepson’s dreams a reality. In New York.”

Zach’s eyes practically leave his head. “Wait, what?”

“He got signed by the Blades, didn’t he?” Jensen asks.

Rolling his lips together, Jon nods. “I haven’t been able to tell you until now, but he signed his contract last week. He’ll spend ayear in the AHL, and if he impresses management, they’ll likely offer him pro terms in the NHL.”

“Wow,” I say. “Jack Thompson, taking on the NHL. He’ll kill it; I know he will.”

“Well, that’s the other thing.” Jon smirks, running a hand through his hair. “We’re about to enter a new Morgan era. He’s taking my name.”

“And you absolutely love that, right?” Jensen laughs.

“Yep.” He pops theP. “When he told me he wanted to take my name and play as a Morgan, I gotta admit, my heart exploded. Can’t say I was too excited about him wearing his dad’s family name either.”

“I’ll say. So, other than the return of a Morgan to the league, where do you fit into this?” Zach asks.

A smile breaks out across my face as the pieces all fall into place.

Since the season when the Blades’ assistant captain, Alex Schneider, took out Zach on the ice, they’ve been cycling through coaches, trying to find the right fit to rebuild their struggling team and culture without success. I’d take a guess that they think Jon is the guy they’ve been searching for, and they’d be a hundred percent right.

“They offered you the coaching job, didn’t they?”

“They might be our rivals, but it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down,” Jon replies. “And when Felicity got her transfer to the New York office, I knew it was time.”

Blowing out a long breath, Zach plants a hand on Jon’s shoulder. “Fuck me, man. I guess all I can say is congratulations. This is huge.”

When the rest of the girls join us with the kids, his wife wraps her arms around Jon’s neck.

With emotion in her eyes, it’s obvious Felicity just broke the same news to the girls. “I guess all chapters come to an end atsome point,” she says, leaning across and planting a soft kiss in Kate’s hair. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner, babe. We just had to wait for confirmation on everything.”

Swiping under her eye, Kate smiles at Jon and Felicity sweetly. “It’s fine. Now we have the best excuse for retail therapy in Manhattan.”

“Ah, blissful. Maybe we could even take in a Broadway show when we visit,” Mia coos.

I reach my hand out to the side, wrapping my little finger around hers. “Exactly. Amazing things ahead for us all.”