Page 5 of Habibi: Always and Forever

RILEY

Six years later

LUKE

H er name is Riley, just like her godfather and my best friend, and as far as her daddy and I are concerned, she’s the cutest thing to ever grace this earth.

Riley . I’ve loved her from the moment I first saw her, just like I’ve loved him, my Cody, from that first day in the locker room when he looked all shy and cute and so fucking mine.

He cried that day, my husband, when they called from the adoption agency and told us they had a little girl for us.

She was only six months old. As soon as the caseworker told me her name over the phone, I knew she was mine.

Riley . There was no other way around it.

Written in the stars and all that, just like her daddy is mine, too.

Her teenage parents sounded like good people.

They’d tried for a while there to make it work for their little girl, but they were just too young, and in the end, they decided to give us the best gift we’d ever received.

Everything else fades away whenever I hold my baby daughter in my arms and stare into her huge blue eyes—all the wins and the awards, all the money I’ve earned and that I’m still earning as a pro hockey player—none of it matters.

Not now, when I have the most precious thing in the world staring up at me like I hold her entire future in my hands.

In a way, I do, but I’m not alone. I have my man, my Cody, by my side, and like always, he has my back just like I have his.

Along with our families and friends, I have no doubt that we’re ready to begin this new chapter in our lives.

“Babe, don’t forget the diaper bag and her fluffy blanket.

Oh, and her zebra!” Cody calls to me while he bounces Riley up and down in the baby carrier strapped to his chest. He’s nervous, I can tell.

He’s got that telltale flicker in his eyes, and there’s an edge to his voice that tells me his head is working overtime.

He doesn’t need to be, but I understand why he is.

There’s a lot at stake for my husband, not just today when his dad and Lydia are meeting Riley for the first time, but most days.

My man wants to be perfect in everything he does.

The perfect player, the perfect husband, the perfect son.

And now, the perfect dad, too. It’s the way he’s built, a combination of his personality and what he experienced as a child.

I get it. But I know what to say and do, and these days he rarely spirals.

The last time he did was a year ago, when the doctors finally called it quits on his knee.

It took him a few weeks to recover from that, but then a new dream replaced the old one.

Now he’s in school part-time, studying to be a physiotherapist, specializing in sports medicine, and, instead of playing, he gets to watch every one of my games from the sideline, as my number one fan.

He’s even had a custom baby onesie made for our daughter with the number five and Carrington on the back. Yeah, we’re cute like that.

“I’ve got it. Relax, baby. Power Daddy to the rescue.” I wink at him, smiling, as I flex the arm holding the bag. He rolls his eyes before his face splits into a wide smile, too. Riley babbles something unintelligible, and we both get all goofy and googly-eyed as we stare at her.

“Ready to meet Grandpa and Grandma?” Cody coos at our daughter, who sends him a toothless grin, drool trailing down her chin.

Lydia’s been a long-distance Grandma with a capital G from day one.

She knits baby clothes like nobody’s business, just like she’s been knitting ridiculous matching Christmas sweaters for Cody and me every year.

She’s great like that, and I know it means the world to Cody that he has not only been reunited with his dad and Danny but that he’s also gained a stepmom and two stepbrothers.

Before we reach the porch of the small bungalow flanked by trees on each side, the front door swings open, and a middle-aged woman, followed by a middle-aged man, storms down the stairs, a flowery apron wrapped around her waist.

“Oh goodness me!” She clasps her hands in front of her, her face glowing with excitement. “Let me have a look at you!” She steers directly toward Cody, her arms held out, ready to pull him into a gigantic Mom hug.

“Easy now, Lydia,” Cody’s dad laughs behind her.

“They’ll be here all week. You’ll get your fill, honey.

” He looks equally excited, though. His eyes are wet from unshed tears as he heads towards me, holding out his hand.

We shake, and then he pulls me against him in a side hug, before he heads for the open trunk to help me with our bags.

“Thanks, Glenn.” I smile at him. If I thought I had a lot of gear to carry around as a pro hockey player, it’s nothing compared to being a baby daddy.

The amount of stuff Riley needs that we have to drag around with us is crazy.

Diapers, formula, bottles, blankets, cute outfits, toys; you name it, our precious little girl has it.

Last week alone, we had a special delivery from Finland with stuffed Moomins toys, baby clothes with Moomins prints on them, and a ton of other stuff such as Moomins cups and cutlery, all courtesy of Greta and Virtanen.

They have a little gang of kids themselves now, so I’m going to get them back, eventually.

“Matt and Chris here yet?” I ask as I close the trunk and place the last of our bags in the driveway.

Glenn smiles, then nods towards the back of the house. “They’re in the back just getting the grill started.”

Although Cody didn’t grow up with Lydia’s sons, Matt and Chris, over the years, they’ve become just as close as he and Danny.

“Danny sends his love,” Glenn smiles, then turns toward his son and granddaughter.

“He’ll be there at Thanksgiving instead, son.

Another big case he couldn’t get away from.

” Glenn looks as proud as can be. A son who’s a human rights attorney for the UNHCR and another who’s a retired NHL player.

“Cool,” Cody croaks, then disappears into his dad’s embrace, with a babbling baby Riley squished between them. “Hey Dad. You good?” he sniffles.

“Couldn’t be better, son,” Glenn rasps, and then he starts, too.

It’s the same every time we get together, father and son crying in each other’s arms, clinging to each other just as tightly as they did when they were reunited six years ago.

They no longer cry over the years that were stolen from them, but with gratitude for finding each other again.

Cody tried to explain it to me once. The best thing about having his dad back in his life.

‘It was the not-knowing that was the hardest, Luke. The not-knowing if he ever thought about me and missed me as much as I missed him. If he… if he still loved me.’ As it turns out, Glenn did little else.

He loves Cody as much as my dad loves me; there’s no doubt about it.

“Glenn, honey, be careful of Riley,” Lydia scolds him good-naturedly.

“C’mon, boys, you must be exhausted from the flight.

” She ain’t wrong. Almost eight hours from Toronto to Idaho Falls with a baby is enough to test even the coolest and calmest parent, aka me.

Riley was good, though, and spent a lot of the flight in her daddy’s arms or on my chest, sleeping.

Still, I’m glad to have both of my feet back on the ground and a small army of relatives to help out.

We all head to the backyard, where Chris and Matt are flipping burgers like it’s an Olympic discipline. They both returned to Idaho after college and started their own real estate agency in Idaho Falls.

“Hey man,” Chris waves at Cody from the grill, while Matt places a large bowl of salad on the table, then jogs towards us.

“Well, fucking finally,” he pretend-scowls at us. “We’ve been waiting for ages.” He looks serious for all but two seconds before his face cracks and he winks at Cody. “Almost ruined my prize-winning burgers.”

“Sorry.” Cody smiles, his voice muffled as he speaks against Riley’s downy curls. “We had a little projectile vomit incident on our way from the airport.”

“Oh, right.” Matt winces. “Say no more. Ew.”

I can’t resist my usual dig at my brother-in-law.

“We’re not that late, and from what I can tell, his doucheship still hasn’t graced us with his presence.

” Matt’s cheeks instantly catch fire at the mention of his live-in boyfriend, and my archnemesis for as long as I can remember.

“He’s out for a run,” Matt defends his man, and it would be kind of adorable if it wasn’t fucking Crane.

Okay, so maybe I’m exaggerating. I don’t exactly hate him -hate him anymore.

It helps that we’re no longer teammates, and that he’s one of us now, so to speak.

Yeah, who would’ve thought that wannabe macho man Crane was into guys, but after one look at Matt acting as DJ at mine and Cody’s wedding, Crane has had hearts in his eyes ever since.

It makes him tolerable, I guess, that he’s now with Matt.

I adore my brothers-in-law, and Matt is Crane’s one redeeming factor.

“Oh my god. Is that my baby niece?” Chris pops up out of nowhere like a jack-in-the-box, grinning broadly before he smacks a loud kiss on top of Riley’s forehead.

She frowns at him for exactly two seconds before she starts wailing like she’s been stung by a bee.

“Oh shit, Cody. I’m so sorry!” Chris rushes out.

He looks absolutely crestfallen as he shifts nervously on his feet.

“It’s okay, man,” Cody chuckles while bouncing up and down, shushing Riley. “She’s still cranky from the flight.” Chris still looks distressed, though, as Riley continues to tell the entire world her tale of woe.