Page 59

FIFTY-NINE

HUDSON

“I think I’m more nervous to meet your parents than I am for game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight.” I rifle through my gear bag and try to find my mouthguard. “Sorry I’m only going to get a few minutes with them before I have to head to the arena.”

“Pretty sure playing in one of the biggest games of your career is a valid excuse for not having hours to spend with them.” Madeline rubs the counter with a paper towel for the tenth time in five minutes. “And they’re going to love you.”

“Yeah? Is that why you’re still cleaning the same spot?” I grin and zip up my bag before rounding the island and wrapping my arms around her. “Are you sure they’re not going to think I’m an idiot because I hit a puck for a living?”

“What? No.” She frowns and touches my chest. “They don’t care about that. You could be unemployed and it wouldn’t matter. You love me. You love Lucy. And that’s what is important to them.”

“Damn, Galloway.” I slide my hands in the back pocket of her jeans, squeezing her ass. “You’re going to make me get emotional over here.”

“Shut up.” Madeline kisses my jaw and pulls away. “And stop feeling me up. They’ll be here any minute.”

“Yes, chef,” I murmur, grinning when her cheeks turn pink.

Lucy runs into the kitchen and I lift her off the ground. She giggles and sticks her hands out to the side like a helicopter, and I spin us around until I start to feel dizzy.

Are you excited your grandparents are coming to visit , Luce ? I ask her, and she nods.

Grams and Gramps are the best . They let me eat cookies before lunch .

They do ? We’re going to get along .

There’s a knock on the door, and I set Lucy down. She takes off, and I reach for Madeline’s hand.

“I love you,” I tell her.

“I love you too.” She gives me a wide smile and pulls me into a hug. “And I’m serious when I say my parents will adore you.”

“Did they like Clark?” I ask, teasing her.

“No.” Madeline snorts. “My dad thought he was a pretentious bore.”

“I love your dad already.”

The front door opens, and I do one final check around the kitchen to make sure it’s neat and organized. I fix my shirt, smoothing my hands over the front and hoping there aren’t any wrinkles.

Two people who look just like Madeline walk into the kitchen with Lucy holding their hands, and I grin at them.

“Mr. and Mrs. Galloway. It’s an honor to meet you.” I step toward them and offer Madeline’s dad my palm. “So glad y’all could make the trip out here.”

“Doug.” Madeline’s dad shakes my hand, giving me a warm smile. “And this is Julie. Thanks for having us.”

“We’ve been wanting to visit for a while, and I’m glad it finally worked out.” Julie reaches for me, hugging me instead of going for a handshake. “Your place is beautiful, Hudson.”

After a round of hellos and hugs with Madeline and Lucy, everyone settles at the kitchen table. I hand out drinks and a cheese plate Madeline put together. When I take my seat, Lucy jumps into my lap and rests her head on my chest. Her eyes close, and I think she’s seconds away from falling asleep.

“How was the flight?” I ask.

“Long. The person behind me kept kicking my chair,” Doug says. “I almost turned around and gave him a piece of my mind.”

“Dad.” Madeline rolls her eyes. “It’s a confined space with the traveling public. Sometimes you just have to deal with it.”

“Your game is tonight, Hudson?” Julie asks, ignoring her husband’s complaining. “And which number is it?”

“It is. Game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals. This is for all the marbles. Whoever wins this, wins it all. It’s going to be tough, though. Los Angeles didn’t have their best player the first six games, but he’s back tonight. It’s going to make things interesting.”

“Hudson scored a goal in the last game,” Madeline says proudly. “A one-timer.”

“Wow.” I toss a grin her way. “Eight and a half months living here, and you finally learned the term? I’m proud of you, Maddie.”

“I’ve been studying up.” She sticks out her tongue and turns her attention to her parents. “We have the guest room set up for you all. Tomorrow is Lucy’s first grade graduation, which will be rough depending on how tonight goes. I thought I could show you around DC after the ceremony.”

“We’d love that,” Julie says. “I can’t believe how big Lucy’s gotten since September. She looks just like you, Madeline.”

Madeline smiles and glances at her daughter sleeping against my chest. She nods and reaches out, taking her small hand in hers. “Doesn’t she? She’s starting to act like me too with her mannerisms and the way she holds herself. Everything is moving too fast.”

“What did you do for Mother’s Day? You sent me a picture of some flowers.” Julie smiles at me. “Did you get those for her, Hudson?”

“I did. My mom loves—loved—flowers, and I wanted Madeline to know how celebrated she is. We’re going to start growing some flowers out on the balcony, and I can’t wait to be able to pick some and give them to her on a random Tuesday afternoon,” I say.

“You were raised right, son,” Doug says, and Madeline nods in agreement.

“He really was. I planned on a casserole for dinner tonight,” she says, switching gears, and I’m grateful I don’t have to share the story about my mom so soon into meeting Madeline’s parents. “I’m sure you all are tired after your travel day, so I can have it ready in an hour and a half, then we can get ready to head to the arena.”

“Sounds good to me.” Julie yawns, and I stand, moving Lucy to my hip. “Do you mind if I lie down for a few minutes? That plane ride wiped me out.”

“I’ll put Lucy in her room then show you to yours. Y’all are next to each other,” I say, and Julie follows me. “And leave the bags. I’ll grab them in a minute.”

“You’re sweet, aren’t you, Hudson?” Julie smiles as I lead her down the hall. “I can’t thank you enough for hiring Madeline and taking her and Lucy in. You changed her life, you know. Not just with cooking, but with other things too.”

“Ah.” I nod, a blush creeping up my cheeks. “They changed my life too. I always pretended I was happy, and then they came along. I finally learned what it really meant to be happy, and it wouldn’t have happened without them.”

“She’s been through a lot. I know you know that, but I can’t tell you how much it means to me to see you step up and help with parts of her life you don’t have to be a participant in.”

“I wouldn’t consider it stepping up because I’m happy to do it.” I nudge Lucy’s door open and carefully put her in bed. “I’m lucky I get to be involved. I want to be involved.”

“Madeline told me about your mom.” Julie gives me a sad smile. “I hope you know she’d be proud of you.”

“Yeah.” I nod. “I do.”

The arena is the loudest I’ve ever heard it.

Our hometown crowd is fueling us on, invigorated after we clawed our way back to win the Eastern Conference finals. They’ve been supportive in all the games we’ve had at home in this series, too, and now we’re minutes away from the season being over.

Piper grabs me for an interview before I can take the ice for the last time this year, and I smile when the camera turns on.

“Hudson. We’re heading into the final period of game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals. You’ve been here before. What are you feeling right now?” she asks, holding out her microphone.

“Nerves.” I laugh. “And not wanting to be complacent. We have pressure on us because we want to repeat last year’s result, but we can’t get cocky. We have twenty minutes left, and that’s it. We need to focus.”

“Speaking of focusing, what are some areas you all are going to work on as we head into the third period?”

“Teamwork and not being selfish. When we get excited, we all want to take a shot, even if it’s not the best available shot. We need to look for the open man.”

“Thanks, Hudson. Enjoy the rest of the game.”

“Great job, Little P,” I tell her, joining my teammates back on the ice.

We fight like hell for the first eighteen minutes. Los Angeles is brutalizing us, and how we’ve kept this game tied is beyond me. They’re more aggressive, winning each face off and shooting down the ice like a bullet.

We’ve had some shots on goal, but we can’t get anything in the net. On our end, Liam’s been unstoppable, sacrificing his body to dive after dive to keep us alive. If we pull this win off, I’m buying him a really nice fucking gift.

With sixty seconds to go, the Bulls work their way down the ice. My chest is heaving, and I motion for Riley to track the player on his left side. I extend my stick, reaching for the puck but coming up an inch short. I curse, taking off after my opponent as he charges for our goal.

The defender pulls back, but before he can get a shot off, I steal the puck from between his skates, passing it off to Maverick to the delight of the crowd.

I know I shouldn’t, but I turn my attention away from the ice for half a second. I look to the row of seats where Madeline and Lucy are. Her parents are next to her, with Duke on the other side.

She’s watching me, her hands on her chest and sitting on the edge of her seat. I see her whispering something to herself, and when she notices me watching her, she breaks out into a wide grin. She stands and turns around, showing off her sparkly jersey with my name across her shoulders.

That lights a fire in me. Gritting my teeth, I move down the ice. I accept a pass from Riley before dropping the puck back to Maverick and applying pressure to the defense. There’s twenty seconds left on the clock now, time ticking down when Maverick passes it back to me. Dumping it back to Ethan will give Los Angeles a chance at a breakaway with no one back to help protect Liam, and I can’t chance it.

I exhale, gripping my stick and guiding the puck to my right. I look up at the rafters, a beam of light guiding me, and I smile.

“For you, Mama,” I whisper.

I pull my stick back to my waist. I hit the puck as hard as I can, getting it off just before the defender can steal it from me. It hits the left side of the goal, a bounce off the post before crossing the goal line under the goalie’s knees as the buzzer sounds, ending the game.

“LET’S FUCKING GO,” Maverick screams, jumping on me.

I tumble to the ice, laughing as my body is nearly crushed under the rest of my teammates.

“BACK TO BACK, BABY,” Grant yells, and there’s a stick pressing into my ass.

“CHAMPIONS,” Ethan bellows, and confetti falls in my eyes.

It takes me five minutes to get back on my feet. The second I’m upright, I’m charging for Madeline. I’m banging on the glass and motioning for her to walk to me.

“You did it,” she yells when she makes it to the boards. She puts her hand on the barrier between us, and I see tears in her eyes. “Holy shit, Hudson. You are the Comeback Kid.”

“Get Lucy and walk to the tunnel. I want to bring y’all out here,” I yell back.

“What?” She laughs, head shaking. “No way.”

“Get your ass over here, Galloway, so I can celebrate with my girls.”

She buries her face in her hands for half a second before she sprints up the stairs, picking up Lucy and hustling through the masses of people celebrating our win. I met her at the tunnel, watching her flash her VIP badge, and grab a stick off the ice.

“ Hold onto this ,” I sign, and they grab it. I guide them to the center of the rink where my teammates are. Riley scoops up Lucy and puts her on his shoulders, and Madeline gives me a tight hug.

“I’m so proud of you,” she whispers. “And your mom is so proud of you.”

“That goal was for her. Felt like the perfect way to end the best year of my life.” I take off my helmet and throw it on the ice. I cup Madeline’s cheeks and kiss her forehead. “God. I love you, Maddie.”

“I love you too, Hudson, but you should be with your teammates. You all have worked so hard this season. I’m in the way.”

“No.” I grin at her, on top of the fucking world. “You’re exactly where you should be.”