Page 237 of Pucking Sweet

“Yeah, only they can’t come down to the ICU,” Lukas warns.

“Will you please do something, Lukas?” Poppy cries through her own tears.

He looks around wildly. “Okay, umm…here—” He takes my hand and curls my fingers around the phone. “You’re holding them, okay? Just hold them just like that.”

I hold the phone in both hands as he moves around the other side of my bed. Rattling the rail down, he climbs onto the bed, wrapping his arms around me as best he can. Clutching the phone, I press my face to his chest and let go of all the fear, grief, and anxiety weighing down my chest. Lukas holds me, whispering soothing words of love, telling the three of us about the beautiful life we’ll share together.

When Bennett fusses, Poppy sets the phone down where I can still see them both and offers him her breast. Lukas holds me as I watch her hold my son. She hums softly as she rocks him, letting him feed. My breathing finally calms as I realize she’s humming the Jonas Brothers song I sang to her at karaoke a few months ago. A smile tips the corner of my lips.

We stay like that, the four of us, locked in this quiet moment, until the only emotion left in my still-beating heart is peace.

THE END

EPILOGUE

Six Years Later

“Mommy! Mom, watch! Are you watching?”

“I’m watching, sweets,” I call out. Sitting in the shade of a large beach umbrella, I mime raising a hand over my eyes, and watch as Bennett floats on his colorful boogie board, waiting for the surf to swell and sweep him back in for the hundredth time.

At six years old, my sweet boy is already so tall and lanky. And he lives for the beach. Any minute not spent in the water is a minute wasted. All he wanted for his birthday were surfing lessons. I blame us still living in Florida, but I think my guys are slowly resigning themselves to a future of early morning surf meets instead of hockey practice.

The wave sweeps in, and Bennett is ready, rising up off his knees to try to stand. He’s wobbly, but he gets there, his arms windmilling to keep his balance as he rides the board right onto the sand and hops off.

“Good job, Benny!” I shout, clapping my hands.

He stands in the sand like a superhero, his chest puffed out in his blue life vest. Hands on his hips, he flashes me his daddy’s confident smile. My heart hums as I see a glimpse of a young Colton in his eyes. The board taps his ankles as the surf tugs it back out. He gets himself untangled from the cord and hurries back out to join the others.

Colton helps him back on his board, while Lukas keeps a close eye on Emma and Grace. At four years old, Grace isn’t as daring as her brother. She prefers playing in the sand under the shade of the umbrella. Even now, she won’t leave Lukas’s side. He holds her,dunking her in the water, and helping her chase the others around, splashing them with her feet.

Emma is five years old and has a more adventurous spirit; not surprising seeing as she’s Tess Langley’s clone. She’s riding her own board, cruising in on her tummy. She laughs as Lukas and Grace chase her, slipping off the side of the board like a little seal to paddle in her puffy life vest over to Colton.

This is our last full day of family vacation in Aruba. It’s become our end-of-summer tradition. We’ve been coming for a week every year since Bennett was an infant. It’s one perfect week to completely unplug and just enjoy the surf and sun.

Sometimes, guys from the team join us with their families. The O’Sullivans and the Gerards came last year. This year, we’ve got Tess and Ryan in the bungalow next to us. It works out well because we all take turns watching the kiddos, giving the adults a break. I think Tess and Ryan are over at the main resort right now getting a couple’s massage.

Or, you know, back at their bungalow…doing the other thing.

Actually, knowing them, it’sdefinitelythe other thing.

But I’m not gonna judge because they’re taking our kiddos tonight so my guys and I can enjoy a little candlelit dinner. I fully intend for the three of us toalsodo the other thing.

The sun is starting to dip lower, the blue of the sky slowly turning a hazy yellow-orange. I check the time. “Honeys, we should probably get going,” I call out.

Lukas nods that he heard me as Colton plops a squealing Emma back onto her boogie board for one last ride. Lukas strides out of the surf, setting Grace safely in the sand. She hurries over to me, her cheeks bright pink from the sun.

“Did you have fun?” I coo, helping her out of her life vest.

“Yeah!” She digs with sandy fingers in the beach bag for a snack. “Mommy, I’m hungry.”

I reach over her and take out a banana, peeling it for her.

If Emma is Tess’s clone, Christina Grace is mine. Her blonde hair is a tangled mess from the salt water. It’ll take me forever to detangle it. She’s got my pointed chin and my sassy attitude too. But then shelooks up, cheeks full of banana, flashing me those hazel eyes. I like to think they’re a mix of my baby blues and Lukas’s salted caramel.

“Benno, let’s go,” Lukas shouts, striding after him as Bennett’s wave drifts him a little too far to the left.

Colton walks out of the water with Emma in his arms, her board dragging in the surf behind him. “Water feels great,” he calls out to me. “Sure you don’t wanna do a quick swim?”