Page 60 of Fear of Love (Falling #3)

LYDIA

T he rest of the event flew by. The mini tournaments and skill drills were a hit among the kids.

Even a few parents got on the ice to try.

It was by far the most successful event at Hockey Haven, and by the amount of people that came up to Landon to ask when the next one would be, he was definitely going to have to do one again.

When it neared four o’clock, people started to trickle out of the building.

Half of the kids had to be carried out by their parents from how exhausted they were, and the other half were dragging their feet, not wanting to leave.

I heard a few parents promise their kids they’d be back in a few days to skate.

It took well over forty minutes before the rink was cleared out. Everyone from the Knights, except for Wyatt, Trevor, and Bryton, had left a bit ago. The team looked more tired now after wrangling kids all day than they did after a hockey game.

“Well, that was fun,” Tasha said as we all met up by the ice rink.

“The best part was definitely Mateo being tackled by the kids.” Trevor smirked over at Mateo, who was sitting on a bench holding an ice pack to his head.

“Yeah, it was so fucking fun,” Mateo muttered.

There had only been an hour left of the event when Mateo put skates on and stepped onto the ice with the kids.

Almost immediately, the kids flocked to him.

While he was trying to get away, calling out Josie’s name to help him, they somehow knocked him off his feet.

He landed on the ice with a thud and hit his head.

He didn’t hit it hard enough to be concerned, but it did leave a good bump. He was hit harder playing football, but he stopped any of us from fussing over him. I was sure he played it up a bit just so Josie would feel him up.

“Poor baby,” Josie cooed, moving to sit down beside Mateo. He pouted dramatically, resting his head on her shoulder, then shot Wyatt a smug grin.

“Little shit.” Wyatt cursed at his brother as the rest of us snickered.

I leaned back against Landon’s chest as everyone talked. My feet hurt from walking in my heels all day, and my hand ached a little. As if sensing I was tired, Landon kissed the top of my chest and wrapped his arms around me.

Everyone was mid-conversation when I caught sight of Evelyn heading toward us, but she wasn’t alone. Oh, shit.

Across from me, Tasha saw my expression and mouthed, what’s wrong? I made a little motion to turn around as the pair got closer to us. Tasha peeked over her shoulder before whipping back around.

I tensed in Landon’s arms as Evelyn and Coach approached the group. This could get awkward.

“Hi, everyone,” Evelyn greeted. I watched as Trevor and Bryton stiffened when they caught sight of their coach.

“Oh, hey, Coach,” Bryton said, but his eyes darted to Wyatt.

“Boys,” Coach greeted. “Ladies.” His voice softened slightly when he looked at us four.

“I thought you left.” Josie smiled in Coach’s direction. Steven. His name was Steven , I mentally told myself. I hadn’t even known his first name until a few weeks ago and was still trying to break the habit of calling him by his title.

“We have something we wanted to tell you,” Evelyn said, glancing at her sons nervously. Those of us who knew stood there awkwardly. Trevor and Bryton looked like they’d rather be anywhere else.

“Is something wrong?” Landon asked from behind me. I could sense the tension in his voice, and I didn’t need to turn around to know he was already running through every possible worst-case scenario.

“No, no, nothing's wrong.” The nerves were clear in her voice as she shifted on her feet. I just knew this was a conversation she didn’t want to have with her sons.

“Mom?” Mateo asked, sitting up with a concerned look on his face.

Evelyn glanced over at Coach—Steven—and the two exchanged a silent conversation. He reached down, took her hand in his, then looked around at us. “Evelyn and I are seeing each other.”

You could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed. Wyatt, Mateo, and Josie stared at Evelyn and Steven with open mouths. I couldn’t see Landon, but I could feel how still he was, his body a statue behind me.

Trevor and Bryton shifting on their feet. Trevor went to open his mouth, but Tasha jammed her elbow in his side, shutting him up. Bryton looked at Mila for help, but she did a quick shake of her head.

Well, this was awkward.

“How did this…” Wyatt spoke first, pointing a finger between the two of them. He was staring at them like he wasn’t sure what he was seeing.

“We ran into each other a few months ago and started talking,” Evelyn explained, glancing up at Steven with a gentle smile.

I watched her lean into him, their hands intertwined, and though the moment was brief, I caught the three gentle squeezes Steven gave. They looked so sweet together. Steven loomed over Evelyn, his build easily twice her size. Though he was probably a decade older, neither looked their age.

I liked the way he gazed at Evelyn. If I thought Landon was gruff and grumpy, Coach Steven Barnum had him beat, but when he looked at Evelyn, I could see the way his eyes softened. The corner of his lip quirked up.

Landon, Wyatt, and Mateo stayed silent, staring at the couple. Part of me wanted to break the silence, but I knew better. Evelyn was their mom, and this was between the four of them.

“So, you and Coach are together?” Wyatt asked.

“We are,” Steven answered, meeting Wyatt’s gaze head-on. There was a tension in Coach’s shoulders I hadn’t noticed before. It was hard to tell, but I think he was nervous announcing himself as Evelyn’s boyfriend to her three sons. Her sons who would go to hell and back for their mom.

“Are you happy?” Mateo asked, his eyes fixed directly on Evelyn.

“I am,” Evelyn replied after a pause. “After your father left, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be with anyone again. And as the years went by and I got older, I didn’t think I ever could. But Steven…” Trevor and Bryton choked at hearing their coach’s first name. “He makes me happy.”

When she looked up at him with a tender smile, it took everything I had not to awww .

“I’m not trying to replace your father,” Steven started to say.

“The asshole bailed years ago. He’s not our father,” Mateo said before he could finish.

“You’re mother is a grown woman and can see whoever she wants, but I…” Steven cleared his throat. “I would like to get your approval to date your mother.”

When he said the last part, he looked directly at me. No, wait, not at me. At Landon, who was still standing at my back. No one said it but we all knew Landon was the ‘father figure’ and ‘man of the house.’ He was the one who stepped up when their father left.

All the boys were close with their mom, but there was nothing like a bond with your firstborn.

Landon was the oldest and remembered everything that happened with Evelyn and their father.

He was the one who was there through it all and saw the aftermath.

So if anyone needed to grant permission, it was Landon.

Landon’s arms disappeared as he stepped around me.

My hand shot out to grab him, but I pulled it back at the last second.

He wasn’t going to hurt Steven… I hoped.

This was between them, not me. So, I stepped back, crossing my arms, and watched.

Steven and Landon were about the same height and build, both with wide shoulders and big arms.

“Do you love my mother?” Landon asked. It was the first thing he said since they approached us.

“I think I could with time,” came Steven’s honest response. I moved a little to the side, pressing against Mila’s side so I could see Landon and Steven’s faces.

Evelyn stayed quiet as she watched, looking between the two nervously.

“If you so much as make her cry, all three of us will see to ruining your life.” Landon stared right into Steven’s eyes as he spoke. He didn’t balk or look away.

Steven gave a firm nod. “Understood.”

“Good,” Landon said with a slight tilt of his head. Without another word, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms tightly around his mother’s small frame.

Hesitantly, Mateo stood and approached Steven. Clearly, Mateo was intimidated by Coach like the others, but he squared his shoulders and met Steven’s gaze head-on.

“You treat her right and we won’t have a problem.” The hard look he gave Steven made me smile. Mateo was goofy and always smiling, but when it came down to his mom, he didn’t mess around. When he went over to hug her, whispering something we couldn’t hear, Wyatt came up to his coach.

Out of everyone, this had to be the weirdest for Wyatt. His hockey coach was dating his mom. Trevor and Bryton’s eyes bounced back and forth between the two.

“Make sure you look after her and keep that smile on her face, understood?” I’d never heard Wyatt use tone with his coach before. Even Trevor and Bryton’s eyes widened in surprise. “She’s my mom, and you’re going to treat her like your number one priority.”

“Always.” There was no mistaking the promise in Coach Barnum’s voice. Wyatt stared at him for another minute before giving a small nod. When he went to hug Evelyn, she was already crying. Seeing that they all needed a moment together, I stepped back.

“How about we,” I gestured over my shoulder at a spot behind us. The others quickly nodded and moved away from the Boone family. Steven, sensing he might not belong, walked with us but kept glancing back at Evelyn. Once we were farther away, Josie stopped beside him.

“Well, I, for one, am happy for you, Coach.” Going up on her toes, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He stood there for a second, stiff as a board, before patting her back in return. “Welcome to the family.” She beamed up at him, stepping back.

A month ago, when I saw the two of them cozy at the Knights’ playoffs celebration, I hadn’t thought much about it, but I guess there was something going on that none of us noticed.

“Since he’s part of the family now, do we get out of doing suicide drills?” Trevor interjected.

“No,” Steven instantly answered with a hard voice.

“Damn it,” Trevor muttered.

“Are we—” Bryton didn’t get the words out before Steven was saying no. I stifled my laugh at the way their faces fell. If they thought Coach was going to go easy on them because he was dating Wyatt’s mom, they had another thing coming.

I kept one eye on Landon as he talked with his mom and brothers. Evelyn was saying something that had them all nodding. None of them looked deeply upset, so it couldn’t be that bad. Then again, I didn’t expect any of them to show their anger or pain in front of their mom, especially Landon.

They talked for another moment before Evelyn pulled them all into a hug. When she stepped back, she wiped her face but was smiling. As if he couldn’t be away from her, Steven slowly made his way over.

I watched with bated breath as the guys and him spoke for a moment before Steven extended his hand to Landon.

“Wow,” Josie whispered next to me, taking the words right out of my mouth as Landon shook Steven’s hand. Followed by Mateo and Wyatt.

Evelyn and Steven intertwined their fingers once more and stepped back. The rest of us watched as they said their goodbyes, or at least, I assumed they did, before Evelyn waved at us. The two turned and walked away then, heads close as they talked.

Wanting to be there for Landon, I walked over to him. Josie did the same thing. I placed my hand on Landon’s arm as I came up to his side. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah.” Landon’s response didn’t sound all that confident. Across from us, I could hear Josie asking Wyatt and Mateo the same question.

“Are you okay?” I moved close so I could peer up into his face. It took him a moment to answer, as if filtering through everything that just happened.

“It’s… It’s weird thinking about my mom dating. Not that she can’t, but I guess it never really occurred to me that she can.”

“She’s never dated before,” Mateo added, sounding a bit dazed.

“It’s strange, but I’d never be mad at her for it.” Landon looked at me with furrowed brows. “She thought we’d hate her for it.” I understood why she felt that way. Maybe she worried the boys would be upset, feeling like she was somehow replacing their father.

“Coach of all people.” Wyatt shook his head with a frown.

“So, you guys don’t mind?” Josie looked between the two, confused. I was, too. I couldn’t decide if they were upset or okay with it.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not thrilled my mom is going out on dates and kissing.” All three brothers shuddered at Mateo’s words. “But she deserves to be happy. She’s given up a lot for us.”

“Even if it makes things awkward between Coach and me,” Wyatt said in agreement. I looked up at Landon, waiting for his response.

“She could do worse. Coach Barnum isn’t a bad guy.” I could tell Landon was still floored by the news and that it would take time for him to come to terms with it.

“Well, I’m proud of you guys for being so accepting.” Josie gave them all a smile. “Your mom is an amazing woman and deserves someone who will celebrate that.” She paused for a second. “And this means we can all go on double dates with them!”

“God, Jo, no. Don’t even say that.” Mateo pretended to gag.

“Come on, Matty. Me and you together, and your mom and Steven.” Josie was purposely teasing him as Mateo covered his ears and started backing away.

“Jo, stop! No!”

When Josie started saying something else, Mateo shook his head and started walking away, only for Josie to follow after him. In a split second, the two were running around the outside of the rink, Josie yelling about double dates and Mateo yelling back at her to stop.

Wyatt stood silently, watching the two of them. He looked like he was still trying to process it all.

I gently touched Landon’s arm, drawing his attention to me. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m not sure. It’s just a lot to wrap my head around.”

“I know.” I slipped my arm around his waist, resting my chin on his chest as I gazed up at him. “I’m right here if you need anything, okay?”

“Thank you.” Landon bent and kissed my forehead. “I love you,” he murmured against my skin.

“I love you, too.”