Page 21

Clay

The hot sun poured down on us as we sat in Knox and Lorelai’s backyard.

“Want to help me get the shade screens up?” Knox asked.

Levi, Colton, Lucas, Dylan, and I jumped up and went straight to work. Within minutes, the backyard was shaded, providing more comfort for not only us, but the girls and little Jackson.

“That is so much better,” Peyton said, picking up her lemonade and taking a sip.

“It is. We’re lucky it didn’t end up raining or we’d be stuck inside,” Lorelai said, bringing out a tray of appetizers.

It was late in the summer for us to have our end-of-season get-together, but at least we’d found a date for all of us to get together. We started up practice in another week, and soon we’d be on the road once again; this year we were determined to win the cup.

“Figures one of the only weekends we were all able to get together it would want to rain. Guess luck was on our side,” Ella said, grabbing one of the appetizers from the tray and popping it into her mouth.

“Sure was. Just like this year. We are going to crush it, aren’t we, fellas,” Colton said, grabbing another beer.

“With all this support, how could we not,” Lucas said, wrapping his arms around Ella.

“Support? You mean strict rules,” Lorelai added. “That’s the only type of support we give, right, ladies.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “I don’t know about all you guys, but I’m not living with another coach.”

“Nope, definitely not,” Knox added at the same time Dylan and Lucas said the same thing.

Colton and Levi both laughed at the four of us. Both were still very single and living the bachelor lifestyle we all once had.

“Keep laughing, you two. We can easily send any one of these girls over your way. I mean, three of them already work for the team, so it’s not like they can’t torture you as well,” I said, pointing at them both.

“They wouldn’t dare do that,” Colton added.

“Don’t bet on it. We love torturing large, grown men, don’t we, Aurora?” Lorelai giggled.

Aurora nodded. “I can’t wait to get back to work. Listening to men scream is one of my favorite things.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. I’d been under her torturous hands plenty of times, and I’d always thought she enjoyed every single second of it.

“So, any wedding plans yet?” Aurora asked, looking over at Peyton and me.

“We’ve decided to wait until after the baby comes,” Peyton said, placing her hands on the little baby bump that had appeared in the last couple of weeks.

“Plus, we didn’t want to have a third wedding going on in the group at the same time. So, we thought we’d wait until they were over. It will be busy enough what with the guys’ schedules, and two weddings this coming year.”

“That it will,” Knox added. “Not to mention, interviews, promotional opportunities, and all the travel with the upcoming season.”

“Exactly. Speaking of interviews, did any of you get contacted by…God what was the name of the magazine?” I asked, pulling my phone from my pocket and opening the email. “Ice Insiders…”

“I did. I sent it over to Pamela to look at it. Any word on that, Ella?” Lucas questioned.

Ella shook her head. “Last I heard, she was still looking into it. She was having a hard time finding information on them. I think they may be new.”

Colton cleared his throat. “They aren’t new. They may be new to the area, but they aren’t new. Ice Insiders was one of the largest publications in hockey when I played for Boston. Their following is quite large, and last I heard, they were trying to expand into the Canadian territory.”

“Then why could Pamela not find any information on it?” I questioned.

“Beats the hell out of me. I’m surprised none of you have heard of them. You’ve heard of them, haven’t you, Levi?”

“Oh yeah. I’ve never been interviewed by them, but I’ve heard of them.”

“Well, they have interviewed me, and I’d suggest, if they reached out, that you take the interview. Who was the reporter? Did it say?”

“A Scarlett Green,” Lucas said, looking down at his email.

Levi’s head shot up faster than I’d ever seen at the mention of this woman’s name. I glanced over at Peyton who had also noticed. She gently took hold of my hand and smiled.

“Do you know her?” Lorelai questioned.

Apparently, Peyton and I hadn’t been the only ones who had noticed Levi’s knee-jerk reaction.

He shook his head and took a drink of water, then got up from his chair and grabbed a plate of appetizers.

“Nope, never heard of her.”

“Anyways, I guess I’ll just wait then for Pamela to get back to me, and once I’m given the green light, I’ll reach out.”

“Sounds good. What do you say we get the steaks on?” Knox questioned.

We all headed over to the barbeque to talk while the girls got busy bringing out the rest of the food. Occasionally, I’d glance over and see Peyton watching me.

Life was good. I was excited about what our future held together, and I couldn’t wait to meet our little one. Knox had recently come to me without Peyton knowing, and he thanked me for helping her. We both knew he hadn’t been overly happy when we’d gotten together, but he’d seen such a difference in her since he said he had no choice but to put credit where credit was due. Knowing that he truly felt that way had made a difference to me.

Peyton walked over to me, handed me a cold bottle of water, and wrapped her arms around me, placing a kiss on my neck. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” I whispered, kissing her lips, then tapping her on the bottom as she took off back into the house to help the girls.

After knowing how much I’d hurt and how lost I’d felt since losing my family, I realized that I belonged somewhere. My teammates were and always had been my family, and I’d added to it with Peyton and our unborn child. I had finally found my place.