Page 48 of Wake Me Up (New England Bay Sharks #5)
Five Months Later
I walk to the car to get the kids’ swimsuits.
It’s the end of June, and it has got to be the hottest day in New England today.
I have sweat accumulating in places that nobody wants sweat to accumulate in.
Even on the coast in Portland, it’s sweltering.
But this past week, the Sharks won the Stanley Cup, and so this is a celebration of not only that, but also for us moving to Massachusetts next week so that Tripp can start his coaching career alongside Cade Huff.
I know he’s excited, but it’s been very clear that he’s also sad.
For nearly a decade, this place has been his home, and these men who are all gathered today for a cookout in Logan’s backyard are his family.
The family part won’t change, but it’ll certainly be a different dynamic now that he won’t be sharing the ice with them.
But what a beautiful moment it was when they won the Stanley Cup together, especially since he had talked to his teammates and coaches a few months prior and told them that it was time for him to hang up his skates, even though it killed him.
I think I’ve gotten a different version of Tripp than he’s given his fans and his team for so long.
Hell, even his youth coaches, childhood friends, mom, and sister I think knew a different version of him.
One who carried so much responsibility and always felt the need to do his best and be the greatest. I know without a doubt that Tripp enjoyed his time in the NHL and wouldn’t take it back for anything, but I also know him retiring and taking a coaching position and being home more with me and the kids?
Well, that’s the most selfish thing he’s done, which is crazy because it isn’t selfish at all.
He’s doing this for him, even though it’s going to be so good for our family.
Once I’ve grabbed the bag of suits and towels, I head back to the backyard, and that’s when Maci, Logan’s girlfriend, along with Paige, Kolt’s wife, walk toward me.
In the months passed, I’ve gotten to know them, along with some of the other wives and girlfriends—Gemma, Saylor, and Poppy.
And I don’t think anyone could have prepared me for how hard it would be to leave this amazing group of women now that I’ve finally found them.
“I’m getting buzzed so that I have an excuse for acting like a blubbering idiot today,” Paige says, holding up her fruity drink that’s in some bamboo-looking cup. “Because, yes, Freya, I’m going to cry like a little bitch.”
“Same.” Maci drops her head. “This sucks. We finally found a friend who completes our little group, and you’re leaving us.”
“Are you bitches crying again?” Poppy calls out, walking out onto the front lawn with Gemma on one side of her and Saylor on the other.
“Because I have to tell you, my heart is black, and even I’m having a hard time keeping it together.
” She sniffles, pointing her finger at all of us.
“So, do not get me started, I’m warning you. ”
Gemma’s eyes catch mine, and she looks nervous. “Hear me out. I am actually really fucking sad that you’re leaving, but I, like … don’t cry. So, please don’t take my cool composure as a reflection on how I feel. I’m just … weird.”
“Yeah, she’s basically an ice queen,” Saylor mutters. “Stone-cold biotch, really.” Skipping forward, she throws her arms around me. “We’re sad you’re leaving, especially when I just got back to Maine not that long ago.”
“Am not,” Gemma hisses at her lifelong best friend, but it’s all in good humor.
“All right, enough emotions. I need another drink,” Paige says, slinging her arm around my shoulders.
As we all start toward the backyard, my heart aches because I know I won’t be able to see them nearly as much after next week.
These women are some of the kindest, most supportive, and most badass ones I’ve ever known. Each and every one of them has had their own struggles, and yet they build each other up constantly.
Paige is going to be starting fertility treatments again, and even though I’m sure it’s painful for her to be around so many of her friends’ kids and babies, she does it, and she is the coolest aunt to all of them.
Maci is a best-selling author, who is famous in my eyes, and yet she is the humblest human being that I know. She cheers for everyone around her, genuinely wanting them to all find the success that she has .
Poppy is a firecracker. She’s spicy, sassy, and tough as nails, but that’s only because she’s had to be strong to survive since life hasn’t always been that kind to her. And when she trusts you? There is no one more loyal than her.
Gemma is a tough nut to crack, but it’s only because she has been through so much darkness that she doesn’t show her light to just anyone—you have to earn it. She is a true girl’s girl, which, in my opinion, is the best kind.
Then there’s Saylor, who I see as the baby of our group because she’s so cute and bubbly. She loves being a nurse and puts everyone else’s needs before her own. If I could describe her in one word … I’d use the word sunshine because that’s what she is.
Each of us has had our hardships, but somehow, the universe gifted us all something to make those hardships a little more bearable.
It gave us a Bay Shark, and that’s something I’ll never take for granted.
Logan is hammered and starting to get a little too emotional for me. That’s not my thing, and I don’t know how the fuck to handle it.
Maci took his daughter, Amelia, inside hours ago, and all the wives and kids left, too, leaving us to our own devices. Which means … we all are pretty hammered.
“It’s just … not going to be the same.” Logan pouts, taking a long pull off a beer that he definitely does not need at this point in time. “I fucking hate this, man.”
Walker doesn’t speak, but instead, he is stoic, like he usually is.
He jokes around when the time’s right, but when shit is serious, so is Walker James.
The kid came from absolutely nothing, with one of the worst upbringings I’ve ever heard of, and he clawed his fucking way out and made it to the pros.
“Maybe he’ll hate it and come back,” Kolt utters, poking a stick into the firepit. “Maybe he’ll come back right around the same time my heart stops being a pussy and I get cleared to play again.”
I chuckle, shaking my head at him because I know I’m not coming back.
But the hardest part of me being done with hockey is that when we stepped into the arena to play for the Stanley Cup, everyone knew my decision was made and that it was the last game I’d be playing.
But having Kolt back on the ice with me made my final game mean that much more.
After all, he’s one of the best defensemen I’ve ever known.
The same could be said for Smith Sawyer, who is a total animal, but that fucker loves playing pranks on his teammates. I’ve always found them annoying because I never thought the arena had a place for jokes. Now? I know I’ll probably miss that shit too.
Ryder holds his beer to mine, smacking the glasses together. “I’m pretty fucking devastated to lose you, Talmage. But it’s been an honor, skating with you the past few years.” He brings the bottle to his lips, chugging it down. “And I’m happy for you. You deserve it.”
“Thanks, man,” I say, tossing my now-empty beer bottle into the recycling bin. “I’ll be back to visit. And you know I’ll be watching all you assholes on TV every game.”
“Probably criticizing us through the TV,” Walker says with a chuckle. “You can take Daddy Talmage out of the arena, but you can’t take the arena out of Daddy Talmage.”
“Every time I make a half-assed shot in practice, I’ll probably still hear you screeching at me to not be a lazy ass,” Logan adds before he stands up, attempting to mimic me.
“ When no one is watching you, Sterns … that’s when you should be playing your hardest !
” He breaks into laughter at the end. “You’re a little nicer now, but, fuck, you’re a bit of a testy ol’ bastard, you know?
” He nods toward Kolt. “You and this guy.”
Kolt simply stares at him, cocking his head to the side. “Someone’s got to keep you fucking morons in line. And it looks like I’m all on my own now, thanks to Talmage and his old-ass hips.”
We all laugh because this is what we do—we rib each other, but we have the utmost respect for one another at the end of the day. I love these guys like my brothers, and even though I’m not going to say it, I hope for nothing but happiness for each and every one of them .
“Here’s to Tripp. The OG Shark and one of the greatest NHL goalies of all time.” Kolt’s voice is impassive, but he holds up his drink earnestly, prompting the others to do the same. “We’ll miss you, brother.”
“To Tripp,” the guys all say in unison before taking a swig from their beer.
I know I’m making the right choice, and I’m happy about it too. But, fuck … this goodbye is much harder than I thought it would be.
Once a Bay Shark though … always a Bay Shark.