by Beth Ehemann
Lucy nodded, content with the answer I’d just given her.
“Connor also said you’re our dad.” Piper added nonchalantly, looking down at her pancakes.
My eyes shot over to Kacie who sat straight up, her eyes as big as dinner plates.
“Uh…” was all she squeaked out.
Lucy and Piper both looked up at their mom, innocently waiting for the answer to a question that had unknowingly just rocked her whole world.
“Brody… is… uh…” she stammered, looking back and forth from them to me, not sure where to go next.
“It’s kind of hard to explain, guys, and we’ll be able to tell you a lot more when you’re older. The main thing to remember is I love your mom and I love you two a whole lot. If you want to tell people I’m your dad, that’s fine by me. Hopefully one day, I will be.” I reached over and squeezed Kacie’s hand as her face relaxed just a little.
“Okay. Can we go play with those ugly Barbies you brought in from the garage?” Lucy asked.
“Uh, sure,” Kacie answered, still reeling.
Lucy and Piper hopped off the stools and disappeared down the hall. Kacie watched to make sure they were out of earshot and spun around to me with tears in her eyes. “Holy shit.”
“You okay?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know. I always knew that question was coming, but I thought they’d ask where their dad was, not if you were their dad. Oh my God, I froze.” She covered her face with her hands and shook it back and forth.
“You did great.” I got up and stood behind her, massaging her tense shoulders.
“Brody, I didn’t even answer them. You did. If you hadn’t been here—”
“But I was here, and even if I hadn’t been, you would have said something perfect.” I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and squeezed tight. “You’re a fantastic mom, Kacie. Cut yourself some slack.”
She let out a huge sigh and relaxed in my arms. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
Spinning on her stool to face me, she looked me straight in the eye. “Thank you for being here today. Thank you for always saying the perfect thing. Thank you for teaching me to relax and not take life too seriously. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for being you.”
I studied her face for a second, taking in how insanely in love with that woman I really was. I loved everything about her.
Her captivating green eyes.
Her kissable lips and the way she chewed on them when she was nervous.
The freckles that sprinkled across her adorable nose.
Even the scar on the corner of her left eye that she got from a bike-riding accident as a kid.
What overwhelmed me about her was that this outside superficial stuff was just that. It was an added bonus. What made Kacie truly special to me was what was inside of her. I loved her for the way she loved me. I loved her for the way she loved her girls. I loved her for the mother she would one day be to my kids, which were somewhere deep inside of her, waiting to be created.
“It’s raining out.”
She pulled back and narrowed her eyes at me, confused by my response.
I cocked my head toward the front door. “Puddles. Ya wanna?”
A huge grin formed on her face as she realized what I was asking. She hopped off the stool and looked down the hall. “Lucy! Piper! Let’s go outside!”
“Kacie!” my mom called from the kitchen.
I threw the last of my overnight things in my duffel bag and went to see what she needed.
“What’s up?”
“Here.” She set a cardboard box on the island. “This just came for you.”
“For me?” I furrowed my brows, confused. “I didn’t order anything.”
“Look who it’s from.” She winked at me.
I looked at the upper left corner of the shipping tag. There was no address; it simply said #30.
A grin broke out across my face as I looked up at my mom. “What did he do now?”
“When it comes to him, anything is possible.” She laughed.
God, I missed him. It had only been three days since we’d last seen each other, but it was killing me. I ripped the tape off the box and slowly opened it, revealing a card and three shirt boxes. I opened the envelope, set the tickets on the table, and unfolded the piece of paper inside.
“What is it?” Piper poked her head up over the other side of the island.
“It’s from Brody. One for each of us.” I smiled at her.
“Open it! Open it!” Lucy appeared next to Piper.
“Here. One for you and one for you.” I handed each of them a box. They ripped the hunter green ribbon off of them and tossed it to the ground. Their little hands pried the white cardboard boxes open and they pulled out matching kid-sized Minnesota Wild jerseys.
“They look just like Brody’s!” Lucy squealed.
“Wow. Very cool! Those will be fun to wear to the game tonight, huh?” I watched their little faces study their jerseys.
“Oh my goodness.” Mom covered her mouth with her hand. “Kacie, look at the backs.”
I walked over and took the jerseys from the girls as they looked up at me, confused. Both jerseys had the name Murphy stitched across the top and the number fifteen sewn onto them.
“Fifteen?” I frowned and looked at Mom.
She shook her head back and forth, beaming at the overload of cuteness. “Kacie, fifteen plus fifteen…”
My heart swelled at yet another gesture from Brody. He had this way of constantly letting me know he was thinking about me, about us, even when we weren’t together. The best part about him was that he was accidentally romantic. He did these things, gave these simple little gifts, just to put a smile on my face. They meant so much more than he would ever know.
“What’s fifteen plus fifteen, Mommy?” Piper asked.
“Thirty, baby. Fifteen plus fifteen equals thirty.”
“Like Brody!” Lucy jumped up and down, hugging her present.
STILL MEETING US THERE?
I waited for Darla to respond to my text.
D: HELL YES. TRYING TO PICK OUT A SHIRT THAT SHOWS THE GIRLS OFF REAL GOOD.
I laughed and dropped my phone in my purse. Alexa was supposed to go to the game with me, but she got a last-minute funeral order at the flower shop, too large for her assistant to handle. Since Brody gave me four tickets and I didn’t want the extra one to go to waste, I asked Darla to go with me. After she handled a quick shift switch at the hospital, we were all set. I told her she’d have to drive herself there and back since the girls and I were spending the night at Brody’s, but she didn’t seem to mind.
“How much longer?” Lucy whined.
“Just a little bit. Hold your horses.” I grinned at them in the rearview mirror, looking all adorable in their matching jerseys. All three of us, actually. That’s what was in my box too—my very own Murphy #30 jersey. I had two others in my closet at home, but those were technically Brody’s. I’d confiscated them because they smelled like him and I liked to sleep in them.
A little while later, we pulled into the special parking section of the stadium. I rolled my window down and handed the attendant the special parking pass Brody had included with the tickets.
“Right this way, Miss Jensen. Mr. Murphy requested that we give you his spot.”
Of course he did.
He stepped back and waved his arm toward an empty space right up against the building.
The girls and I hopped out of the Jeep and excitedly walked around front of the car where we met up with Darla.
“Girls!” she called out when she saw us, running over and scooping them up in one big armful. They both groaned as she squeezed the living daylights out of them. “How exciting is this?” She gave me a quick embrace too.
“It’s very exciting,” I said. “I’ve never been to a professional hockey game before.”
“Me either.” She grinned as we walked inside.
I showed the usher our ticke
ts and he looked up at me with wide eyes.
“Follow me, ma’am.” He walked us to our seats, which were up against the glass, right behind the Minnesota Wild’s goal.
“Holy shit! Oh, sorry.” Darla looked down at Lucy and Piper who were staring up at her with wide eyes. “I meant shoot. These seats are amazing!”
“Yeah they are,” I said incredulously, looking around the huge arena. “I’m shocked that they give the players seats this good.”
Darla shrugged. “I guess they wanna keep their boys happy. I’m not complaining, though. Look at the view we get the whole game.” She tilted her head toward the goalie box and wiggled her eyebrows up and down.
I shook my head and chuckled. “You know, I should probably be offended when you say stuff like that, but for some odd reason, I’m not. Come on, girls, let’s sit.”
Lucy and Piper sat down to the right of me, and Darla sat on my left.
“Mom, can we get popcorn?” Lucy asked.
“Or some ice cream?” Piper followed.
I chuckled. “Guys, we just sat down. Relax.”
“Actually, I’m kinda hungry too,” Darla added.
I’m not surprised.
“Okay, well as soon as they start sending the vendors out, we’ll grab something.”
The words were barely out of my mouth when the stadium, though not completely full yet, erupted in cheers. The Minnesota Wild had emerged from the tunnel and were taking the ice for pre-game practice. A sea of hunter green uniforms scattered all over the ice. I narrowed my eyes and scanned a group of players off to the right, looking for my #30. A loud bang on the glass right in front of me made me jump backward in my seat. I followed a Wild jersey all the way up to Brody’s grinning face. He was smiling so big I thought his face might split in half, and his dimples were as deep as I’d ever seen them. His eyes twinkled as he looked at me. He was completely elated to be back on the ice in his stadium and have us there watching him. I was bursting at the seams with pride for him.
I grinned back and gave him the thumbs up sign. Lucy and Piper jumped up and banged on the glass to get his attention. He blew them kisses and winked at me before he pulled his helmet over his face and took his position in the goalie box.
“Why is Brody so fat?” Piper giggled with Lucy following suit.
“It’s all the padding he has to wear to protect himself. He’s just regular Brody when he takes it all off.”
Darla leaned over and whispered in my ear, “I wouldn’t mind seeing him take it all off. By the way, people are staring.”
“At what?” I looked around and she was right. People were looking at us and pointing.
“Probably the girl that the hottest hockey player in the NHL just winked at.” She laughed. “Oh, girl. You’re so clueless.”
I sank down in my seat a little bit, praying that the stadium would fill in quickly. My self-consciousness left as quickly as it came as I watched Brody do what he does best.
Well, one of the things he does best.
His teammates skated by, challenging their goalie with shot after shot, none of which got past Brody. He was amazing, moving quickly and effortlessly. It was like the puck was a magnet to his glove.
He. Never. Missed.
After a few minutes, they all went back into the tunnel so the actual game could start. On their way back, Viper skated by and stopped in front of us. He held his hands up at his ears like horns and stuck his tongue out at the girls. They moved in close to each other and stared back at him, a little frightened. He laughed at their reaction and started to skate away when he noticed Darla sitting with me. He stopped and skated back a few feet, staring directly at her chest. Standing up straight with a cheesy grin on his face, he waved at her and then made a phone with his hand and held it up to his ear, signaling that he wanted her to call him.
“Oh my God,” Darla squealed in my ear once he’d skated away. “Who the hell is that?”
“That is Viper.” I laughed.
“Viper? His name is Viper? Holy crap, that’s hot.” She fanned herself.
“Actually, his name is Lawrence Finkle.”
She frowned at me. “I’m just gonna pretend I never heard that. Is Brody friends with him?”
“Good friends. They hang out together a lot.”
“I think I just had a hockeygasm. Can he introduce me? I have to meet him. Tonight.” She was practically drooling all over the both of us.
“Sure.” I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. “But I have to warn you, he’s a pig.”
Darla wiggled her eyebrows up and down. “Oink, oink.”
I had never really watched hockey before and I certainly hadn’t ever been to a game, so I didn’t know what to expect. Let me say this—hockey fans are crazy! The guy that sat behind us yelled so loud that Lucy and Piper had to cover their ears. I was just waiting for him to spill one drop of beer on us and I was going to kill him myself.
Wonder if Brody has the connections to get us one of those cute little private rooms up there so we can watch the game in peace and quiet next time.
I also had no idea that hockey was so violent!
The girls had just suckered me out of thirty dollars for popcorn and Sno-Kones, which they set on the ledge of the boards in front of them. All was well for about three minutes until Viper checked one of the Pheonix Coyotes into the glass right in front of us—hard. Their cups went flying toward them, landing in their laps. Red and blue juice splashed everywhere.
“Oh, crap!” I jumped up and glared at Viper who just grinned and shrugged at me. Darla flagged down a stadium attendant who brought over paper towels and spray to clean up the floor so their feet wouldn’t stick to it.
“Sorry about that,” I said to the young man.
“No problem.” He smiled. “Your first time here?”
“Yes.”
“I can tell. Rookie mistake.” He laughed. “Never put anything up on the ledge of the boards unless you want to wear it eventually.” He dropped to his knees and sopped up some of the juice while I tried to dry the girls’ jerseys.
“Brody Murphy is my dad,” Lucy said proudly.
The man’s head snapped up to her. “He is?”
“Mmhmm.” She nodded.
He looked at me and stood quickly. “I’m so sorry about the rookie mistake comment before. Let me get maintenance down here so they can clean this properly for you and I’ll replace your stuff.” He turned to Lucy and Piper. “What did you have again?”
While they repeated their order, I looked at Darla who was laughing hysterically in her seat. As the young man ran off to do… whatever, the girls sat back down.
I sat down too and turned to Darla who had tears in her eyes from laughing. “What the hell just happened?”
“Uh, your girls learned that their soon-to-be father is the king and they are, in fact, princesses.”
At intermission, we all decided a bathroom break was necessary. Lucy and Piper giggled and fooled around in the stall while I leaned against the tampon machine, begging them to please hurry.
“I’m not going to let you guys go in there together anymore if you’re going to fool around,” I warned.
“Liar,” Darla called from a stall at the end of the row.
I paid no attention as the door opened and more women filed in.
“Kacie?” My head snapped to the left at the sound of my name. Kendall was standing there with her mouth open. “Hi! It’s so good to see you here.” She walked over and pulled me into the fakest hug I’d ever had the displeasure of being a part of.
“Hi, Kendall,” I said as nice as I could through clenched teeth.
“We have to stop running into each other in bathrooms like this.” She laughed.
My gut reaction was to punch her right in her fake veneers, but I knew the girls would be out any second.
“What are you doing here anyway?” I asked, not caring how snotty I sounded.
She grinned and threw her hands up in the air inno
cently. “Season ticket holder, remember?”
I walked over and knocked on the stall door that Lucy and Piper were in. “Come on, you two. I want to get back to the game.”
“Awww, are your girls in there?” Kendall cooed.
Every hair on my mama-bear back rose. I wouldn’t fight her for Brody because I knew there was no competition between the two of us, but if she said one thing in front of my daughters, I would rip her damn head off.
“Yep,” I responded as the door opened. The girls came out and walked over to the sink to wash their hands. Darla came out of her stall at the same time and joined them.
She clapped her hands together as she watched Lucy and Piper at the sink. “Oh my, look at their cute little jerseys.”
“Brody got these for us,” Piper said proudly, whipping around to show Kendall the front of it.
“I have one just like it.” Kendall proudly pulled her hair to the side and turned around to reveal her Murphy #30 jersey.
Lucy frowned at her. “Did Brody give you that one?”
I struggled to contain my laugh.
“Uh, no, I bought it. But I am… friends with him,” she said, putting air quotes around the word friends.
“What are you, some hockey groupie?” Darla snarled as she dried her hands.
“Excuse me. I am not a hockey groupie.” Kendall cocked her hip to the side and crossed her arms over her chest, looking Darla up and down.
“Please, honey. Don’t get defensive with me. Your bony ass can’t handle it. It’s painfully obvious that you’re a Murphy reject. The bitterness is rotting on you like spoiled milk.” Darla tossed her paper towel in the trash. “I can smell it from miles away. There are plenty of other men on the team; go find one. Brody is spoken for.”
Kendall’s mouth fell open and her tarantula eyes, cloaked in too much mascara, grew wide.
“What’s the matter, princess? Cat got your tongue? That’s probably best for both of us.” She waved Kendall toward the doorway. “Go on now. Shoo, shoo.”