Page 30 of The Winning Hat Trick (The Steel City Knights #1)

Maclan

T he past few days have been a whirlwind, leading up to the press conference to formally announce our relationship.

After enjoying a relaxing bath with my woman, we went and got the kids from her parents and had a rather rambunctious bedtime that night.

I happily spent my day off hanging with Layla while Celeste caught up on some work, then we went hiking one of the many trails surrounding Sparrow Falls.

The next few days were a chaotic juggle of work, practice, and kid activities, but it was absolute heaven.

I'm lying awake, a naked Celeste pressed to my chest, when I hear Layla's babbles coming through the monitor. I gently kiss Celeste's head, slide from underneath her, then pull on some clothes so I can get my little Layla Bug.

I peek into Talon's room on my way and smile when I find Calla curled up beside him. He's such a good big brother to his little sisters.

"Ma! Ma!" Layla is standing in her crib, bouncing and smiling her little toothy grin at me as soon as I step in her room.

"Hey, bug. Did you sleep well?" I scoop her up and nuzzle her neck.

Her chubby arms wrap around me as she assaults me with slobbery, open-mouthed kisses, making me love her even more than I knew was possible.

"Come on. Let's get your diaper changed and then we can go make some breakfast. Mama and I have a big day today."

"Mama! Mama!" she cries excitedly.

"Ssh, Layla. We don't want to wake her up. Mama works so hard. She deserves to sleep in."

I get Layla's diaper changed, then head downstairs to the kitchen to scrounge up some breakfast. I had my chef come deliver some groceries and pre-made meals for me the other day, much to Cel's dismay.

In my defense, I eat a lot and have a pretty strict diet during the season.

I don't expect her to foot the bill for my groceries when it's my choice to spend most of my free time here when I'm home.

She understood that much but wasn't too happy when she saw I also stocked the kitchen with all of the kids' favorites as well.

"Alright, Layla. What do we want to eat for breakfast today? I have a game, so I'm thinking a vegie omelet and oatmeal with fruit. Does that sound good to you?"

"Foo!" she cries as I put her in her highchair.

"I'm glad you love fruit. It's very good for you and a healthy snack."

I grab everything I need from the fridge and start cutting up some fruit to give to Layla while I work on the rest of the food.

She makes a mess of the bananas and peanut butter but has me cracking up as she happy dances in her seat with each bite.

I can't say I blame her. Bananas and peanut butter together are delicious.

"How about a little music since you seem to be in a dancing mood?" I tease Layla.

Snagging my phone off the counter, I put on my Spotify and get back to cooking. I'm just pouring the first omelet in the pan when two sleepy kiddos stumble into the kitchen, make their way to me, and each wrap their arms around one of my legs.

"Morning." I ruffle Talon's hair as I smooth Calla's from her eyes.

"Hi, Mac," Talon mumbles as he leans his body weight into me.

"Uppy!" Calla demands in her whiny, grumpy voice.

"One second, sweet Calla. Let me pour these eggs in the pan, and then I'll pick you up, okay?"

"K," she grumbles.

Neither kid lets go, making cooking a little more difficult, but I'll never complain about that. Once the omelet is doing its thing, I squeeze Talon then scoop up Calla, who clings to me like a koala.

"You two seem like you're still pretty tired. Why are you up?"

"Calla had to pee and needed help," Talon mumbles into my leg.

"Gotcha. You're a good big brother, Talon.

" Heat flushes Talon's cheeks as he tries to hide his smile.

"I mean it. I bet being the oldest isn't easy, and having little sisters can be frustrating, but you take care of them and are very kind to them.

I'm proud of how well you treat them, and you should be proud of yourself too. "

"Thank you, Mac." His cheeks are flaming now, but the smile on his face is worth the embarrassment I caused him.

"Mac?"

"Yes, Cal?"

"Can I have my eggies with no vegables?" Calla looks up at me with those puppy-dog eyes.

"Sure, you can have regular eggs, no vegetables."

"Yay!" she cheers as I put her down to flip the omelet and scramble more eggs.

"Talon, do you want eggs? I'm also making oatmeal."

"Eww, oatmeal." He scrunches up his nose.

"Hey, don't knock it until you try my oatmeal. It's delicious."

"I don't know. My mom has made it for me before, and it's so mushy." He makes an "ick" face that has me chuckling.

"Well, my chef makes this one special for me. It's cold instead of hot. It's still mushy, but she sweetens it with honey, and it has chunks of fruit in it. It's really good, and it gives me a ton of energy. That's why I like to eat it on game days."

"Hmm, I guess I'll give it a try."

"Good choice. Are you eating eggs?"

"Yes, please. Can I have cheese in mine?"

"Of course." I make an exaggeratedly appalled face. "What kind of monster doesn't put cheese in their eggs?"

"Me." Celeste startles me. "And it was one time. One. Time!" She glares at her son, arms crossed, as she leans against the door jam. "I forgot I ran out but already had the eggs cooking, so I couldn't run to the store to get more. They weren't that bad once we added some ketchup."

"Fine, they weren't that bad." Talon huffs as he helps Calla into her chair.

"Hey, gorgeous." I tug Celeste into my arms the moment she gets close to me and seal my lips to hers.

"Hey, yourself." She leans back but keeps her arms wrapped around my waist. "You know you don't have to get up with the kids every time you stay here, right?"

"I know. I was lying awake in bed when Layla woke up. It didn't make sense to wake you when I was already up. Besides, Bug and I love our early mornings together. Don't we, Layla?"

"Ma!" Layla yells with her sticky, peanut-butter face and fingers waving in the air.

"What are you making? Do you need any help?"

"Omelets and overnight oats. I didn't start coffee since I don't drink it on game days, and I didn't want it to be cold for you, so you can make that if you want."

"Okay. Kids, do you want something to drink?"

"Yes, please," they call out.

Celeste gets them their drinks while I finish up making our breakfasts. We get everyone situated around the table and dive into our food. A wave of contentment crashes through me as I listen to the kids' happy chatter.

"Gabriella texted and said we need to be at the facility by noon for the press conference. Do you have to be there earlier, or are we able to ride together?"

"I have to leave for my morning skate in about half an hour. I'll probably just stay there until the press conference. The game is at one, so I'll be in my gear. You're bringing the kids, right?"

"That was the plan." She worries her lip. "Are you sure Thor is up for watching them? Layla might be a little grouchy since it's going to be so close to her nap time. I can see if my parents or Ezra can come early."

"He'll be fine. He was excited to see them again, and he said Talia is planning on coming to the game today and sitting in the box with you all. She might come early to help wrangle the littles."

"Oh, that's good. I'm glad she's going to be able to make it to the game. She's been booking a lot more gigs, which is awesome for her, but I know she's been dying to get to more of Thor's games."

"That's awesome that she's booking more gigs. She must have an amazing agent in her corner." I wink at Celeste as she blushes.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Mom, aren't you Talia's agent?" Talon turns towards her.

"I am. How'd you know that?"

"I don't know. I paid attention when you were talking to Mac about work, I guess." Talon shrugs as if it's not a big deal, but I can see the tears pooling in Celeste's eyes. "If she has lots of gigs, that means you do a good job. Right, Mac?" He turns to me for reassurance.

"Correct." I ruffle his hair. "Your mom kicks ass at her job, buddy."

"Mac!" Celeste admonishes me for cursing.

She's been so concerned with how going back to work would affect the kids. Everyone who loves her has been trying to reassure her that it's good for them to see her working towards her goals and achieving them, but having Talon show an interest in her work is huge.

"Well, then good job, Mama. I'm proud of you."

"Ah, hell," Celeste mumbles under her breath as she tilts her head to the ceiling and blinks rapidly in an attempt to stop the tears from falling from her eyes.

"What did I do wrong?" Talon turns to me, concern furrowing his brows.

I lean close to him and lower my voice. "Absolutely nothing, bud.

You've just got your mama all up in her feelings, is all.

I'm proud of you for recognizing your mom's hard work and telling her she's doing a good job.

I let her know all the time, but it's extra special coming from you, which is why she's acting like that.

" I nod in Celeste's direction. "Why don't you go give your mom a hug? I think it would help."

"Okay." He nods, stands, then straightens his shoulders as he walks with determination over to his mom, then wraps his little arms around her in a fierce hug.

Celeste, who just got her emotions under control, loses the battle with her tears as they fall silently down her cheeks. ' Thank you, ' she mouths over her son's head in my direction.

My own throat feels tight as I fight back the tears welling in my eyes. Needing a reprieve, I clap my hands and plaster on my media smile. "Alright, troops. Let's finish up our breakfast, get this kitchen cleaned, and then I need to head out."