by Beth Ehemann
Kendall glared at me like she was looking for me to defend her, but I just tipped my head to the side and grinned at her. “I’ll be sure to tell Brody you said hello. You can say what you want about being friends, but I know for a fact you haven’t spoken to him in months.”
Kendall narrowed her eyes at me and huffed toward the bathroom door. She opened it and turned to say something to me one more time, but I didn’t give her the chance.
“Be sure to give Blaire my best and tell her I’m really sorry how things have worked out for her,” I sneered.
The door closed behind her and that was that. I turned to Darla and clutched my chest. “Oh my God, I thought I was going to die of a heart attack just now. I’ve been trying so hard to stand up for myself lately. I’m shaking, but holy crap, that was exciting.”
Darla laughed at me and took the girls’ hands. “Come on, Bambi. Let’s take your wobbly legs back to our seats.”
After we put our first Wild win in the books for the season—and my first shutout—I was ready for a quick shower and a day off with my girls. Coach Collins gave us a good talk in the locker room after the game, and on the way out the door, he patted my shoulder and nodded at me.
“Good game tonight, Murphy.”
“Thanks, Coach.” I nodded back.
There were always a few autograph seekers or kids straggling around in the hallway after the game, hoping for pictures or whatever. I scanned through the crowd, trying to find Kacie. We hadn’t really agreed to meet up after the game and I supposed she could’ve left and just gone straight to my house. I squinted against the lights and saw three Minnesota Wild jerseys halfway up the concourse.
One big one and two little ones. My girls.
Before I went to them, I happily made my way through the sea of waiting kids, signing autographs and taking pictures. When the crowd cleared, I looked up the hallway and Kacie was propped against the wall, smiling at me. Piper and Lucy were sitting on the ground using each other as a crutch, clearly done with all things hockey related.
I walked over, but stopped before I got to Kacie and leaned on the wall just like she was. “Hey, hot mama. You waiting on anyone special?”
She cocked an eyebrow and sighed, looking past me. “Just this hunky hockey player who winked at me during the game tonight.”
“Mom, that was Brody!” Lucy giggled.
“How are you guys? Did you have fun?” I bent down and scooped them up, one in each arm.
Piper squeezed my cheeks with her little hands. “We had so much fun. Bobby was our waiter and he kept going and getting us everything we wanted.”
I paused and glanced at Kacie. “Waiter?”
She laughed. “A very nice stadium attendant who came running every time these two knuckleheads raised their hands.”
“His name was Bobby? I’ll have to look him up and say thanks. Anyway, who’s ready for a sleepover at my house?”
Lucy and Piper both raised their hands. “Me!” they hollered.
“Me too!” said Kacie, throwing her arm up in the air.
I set the girls down and hooked my finger in the collar of Kacie’s jersey. “Get over here.” I pulled her forward and planted a big kiss on her lips. I easily could have devoured her right there, but I knew she would be uncomfortable with a major make out session in front of the girls. I pulled back and leaned my forehead against hers. “I’ve been dying to do that since I first saw you sitting in that seat. Thanks for coming today.”
She peeked up at me from under her long lashes. “Thanks for inviting us. And giving us your parking space. And those seats were amazing.”
I pulled away and started to walk up the ramp, grabbing Kacie’s hand. “They better be. They cost a fortune.”
Kacie’s eyes lit up. “I knew they didn’t give the players seats that good!”
“No way!” I laughed. “Those are top-of-the-line, premium money seats. I was lucky enough to buy them like five years ago and I’ll never give them up as long as I’m on this team.”
My eyes slid over to Kacie when the last part of that sentence stupidly tumbled out of my mouth. We had both been purposely not bringing up my contract at all. Just the hint that I could ever play for another team was stressful on both of us. Thankfully, she smiled at me and that was it.
“Mom, who was the lady with the bony ass in the bathroom that was mean to you?” Lucy asked.
“What?” My gaze frantically went back and forth between Kacie and the girls.
“First of all, don’t say bony ass. Second of all,”—Kacie looked from Lucy to me—”it was Kendall.”
I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed. “You’ve gotta be kidding.”
“Relax. It was fine.” Kacie gently squeezed my hand. “She was her usual charming self, but Darla really gave it to her. Then it was my turn. I wasn’t quite as good as Darla, but for once I didn’t freeze. Proud of me?”
“Always.” I leaned over and kissed her cheek as we got to the parking lot that led to the players’ vehicles.
I opened the doors for them and stepped back. “You know I haven’t talked to her, right? I wouldn’t lie to you. Ever.”
For just a brief second, Kacie’s face fell into sadness and her eyes looked at the ground. “I know you wouldn’t. I totally believe you, that’s why I’m not worried about it. I’ll follow you to your house.” She planted a small kiss on my lips as she walked by.
By the time we got home, the girls had perked back up and were excited for a fun night. They fell out of Kacie’s Jeep and yelled all the way to the elevator, listening to their echoes in the parking garage.
We walked into my house and Diesel damn near stroked out from all the excitement of the girls being there. As soon as we were in the door, I ordered a couple pizzas since it was already late.
“What time are you leaving tomorrow?” I asked Kacie.
“Not sure. We don’t have anything planned, but the girls do have school Monday, so I didn’t want to leave too late.” She walked over and grabbed her purse off the counter.
“Sounds good. Wanna have breakfast at Scooter Joe’s?”
Her face lit up. “Yes! I miss Joe. The girls will love it there.”
“What is this?” I asked as she put two twenty dollar bills in my hand.
“For dinner.”
“Hell no. Are you nuts?” I tried to give her the money back, but she wouldn’t take it. “I’m not taking money from you.”
“Yes, you are, or I’ll be mad.” She crossed her arms and put her nose up in the air dramatically.
“I don’t need the money, Kacie.”
“I know you don’t, but that’s not the point. You got us tickets, parking, and enough souvenirs to last a lifetime.” She pointed to the stack of T-shirts, mini hockey sticks, pucks, and Brody Murphy bobblehead dolls on my counter. “I need to pay my own way.”
“Fine, fine. I don’t want to spend my time arguing with you. Just know that you’ll get it back,” I promised. “Anyway, change of subject. Did you guys really have fun tonight?”
“We had a really good time. It was great watching you out there. My favorite part, though, was watching you after the game.”
I motioned for her to follow me into the living room. “After the game?”
“Yeah.” She sat down on the couch with me and snuggled into my side. “In the hallway outside the locker room. With all those kids around you, talking to you, taking pictures. You were in your glory.”
She was right. That was one of my favorite parts of this job. It’s definitely good for the ego to come out of the locker room after the game to a group of cheering fans, even if you lost.
“I love that part.”
“I can tell.” She smiled sweetly. “Tell me about it. How amazing does that feel?”
“Before I knew how it felt to be the player, I knew how it felt to be that kid. One of my favorite childhood memories: April 18th, 1999, Madison Square Garden with my dad. We flew there just to see Wayne Gretzky’
s last game. My dad bought me a Gretzky jersey that we probably couldn’t afford and insisted that we stay after to get his autograph.” She laid her head on my chest and sighed. “Am I boring you?”
“No way.” She rubbed my inner thigh. “I love when you talk about your childhood. Keep going.”
“You keep rubbing my thigh like that and my brain is going to seize up.”
“Sorry.” She giggled, moving her hand to my stomach. “Continue, please.”
I propped my feet up on my coffee table. “We waited for over an hour. There were so many people there. I remember biting my nails down to stubs, worried that he was going to send the rest of us away, but he didn’t. He signed every paper, picture, and jersey people put in front of him. When it was my turn, my dad told him I was a hockey player too. Gretzky probably heard that from every dad that brought his kid up to him. Anyway, he acted interested, like it wasn’t the millionth time he’d heard it. He looked me right in the eye and said, ‘Remember, kid, you miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.’”
“Wow. Powerful.”
“I know. That moment changed my life. Hockey was no longer just a hobby to me, it was a way of life. It was a goal. I wanted to be Wayne Gretzky when I grew up. Then I fell in love with being a goalie instead, but I’ll never forget that moment as long as I live.”
“Mommy, what’s this?” Lucy ran up to us and handed her mom a condom.
Kacie sat straight up and stared down at the square in her hand. “Uh, where was this?”
“In our room. In the drawer.”
Kacie looked over at me in a panic.
“Have you ever eaten ribs, Lucy?” I asked.
She frowned and nodded.
“You know how your hands get all messy and they give you those little wet towelettes to clean up with after? That’s what that is.”
“Ooooh, okay.” Lucy turned and ran back down the hall, very excited to tell her sister she was wrong. “I told you it wasn’t candy, Piper.”
My head fell back against the couch. “Holy shit. Is parenting always this stressful? Are you constantly lying?”
“Pretty much.” She took my hand and flipped it over, placing the condom on my palm before she lay back down. “Except don’t think of it as lying to them, think of it as protecting them. They don’t need to know what a condom is right now, there’s lots of time for that.” She sat up quickly and spun to face me, her eyes hooded by her frowning brows. “Why was that in the guest room?”
“It was in there from the last time you were here. Remember?”
“Yeah, but we used that one.”
“When I grabbed that one, I put a couple extras in the drawer.” I cocked my head to the side. “Kacie, whatever you’re thinking right now stop. Since the minute I walked into the inn during that storm, there’s been no one but you. Period.”
Her shoulders sank and she looked down at her lap, playing with her fingers. “I’m sorry. Every once in awhile, I have these panic moments that you’re going to get bored of the girlfriend and her kids thing and want out.”
“Bored?” I laughed at the irony. “Life with you and the Twinkies is far from boring. My life before you guys was boring. I played hockey, worked out, and hung out with Viper and Andy. You and the girls give my life excitement. Don’t ever think otherwise.”
“Deal.” She looked down the hall and leaned in to kiss me. What started off as a sweet kiss quickly jumped to the next level when Kacie slipped her tongue in my mouth. I put my hand on the back of her head and pulled her in tight, kissing her deep. As our tongues moved and teased together, Kacie’s hand started rubbing my inner thigh again. I cupped her face with my hands and sat up a little straighter. My cock pressed tight against the seam of my Nike pants and there was a knock at the door. Kacie jumped back and wiped her mouth, looking over toward the door.
I groaned. “Pizza.”
“I’ll get it.” She grinned, looking down at the obvious bulge in my pants. “We don’t want to scare the poor delivery guy.”
After dinner, we took the girls into the guest room together and tucked them in.
Kacie sat on the side of the bed, rubbing Piper’s arm. “In the morning, we’re going to go to this little café around the corner and have breakfast, okay? Does that sound like fun?”
Lucy’s eyes lit up. “Do they have blueberry muffins there?”
“They have all kinds of muffins and scones and treats.” I bent down and kissed her cheek. “And the best cinnamon rolls ever. They’re as big as your head. You’ll love it there.”
“Can we bring Diesel?” Piper sounded worried.
I laughed. “Sure, we’ll sit outside under the heaters. Diesel gets to eat all the crumbs off the ground. He likes it there too.”
Kacie got up and walked to the door. “Good night, girls. I love you.” She reached over and turned the light switch off.
“Love you, Mommy,” they sang in unison.
“Night, Twinkies.” I started to follow Kacie out.
“I love you, Brody,” Lucy called out into the dark.
“Me too,” Piper added.
I stopped in my tracks and leaned back against the door frame, closing my eyes and pulling my hand up over my heart. My chest ached.
Holy shit.
Before I responded, I had to clear my throat to get rid of the basketball-sized lump those two little girls had unknowingly just put in it. “I love you guys too. So much.”
As Kacie reached past me to shut the door, I noticed a tear fall onto her cheek.
“Come here.” She took my hand and pulled me into the living room. “I want to talk to you about something.”
We sat down on the couch and she pulled her leg up, turning to face me.
“What’s going on? Are you okay?” I asked.
Her eyes moved around my face, but she wouldn’t meet my stare. “I’m fine, but I’ve been meaning to tell you something.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “My first day at the hospital—”
“Mommy! Mommy!” Lucy and Piper yelled, running down the hall toward us. Lucy clutched the collar of her pajamas and Piper dove into Kacie’s lap. “It’s dark in there; we don’t like it.”
“Dark?” Kacie frowned at them. “You want me to leave the light on?”
“No. There are weird noises. We don’t want to sleep in there.” Lucy shook her head back and forth.
“You’ve only been in there for like two minutes.” Kacie chuckled. “Let’s try again.”
“No, Mom. Pleeeeeeeease,” Piper whined. “Can we sleep out here with you?”
“Um…” Kacie stalled.
“I have an idea!” I jumped up.
An hour later the girls—and Diesel—were sound asleep on my living room floor under a canopy of couch cushions and blankets that were pinned to bar stools with stacks of books. Kacie and I lay on either side of them with our heads propped up on our hands, facing each other.
“I can’t believe you made them a fort,” she whispered across them, her soft eyes grinning at me.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve made one.” I looked up at my design. “I did a pretty damn good job.”
“You certainly did.”
“Anyway, what were you gonna say before they came in?”
Kacie looked down at the girls and back up at me. “It can wait. No big deal.”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely.” She sighed. “Tonight was fun.”
“It was fun. I’m hoping you guys coming here wasn’t a one-time thing?”
Her lips pulled up into a tiny smile. “More like a once-a-month thing.”
I’d had such a fantastic night with Kacie and the girls. I didn’t want to make her mad and push her boundaries, but we hadn’t seen each other in days and I couldn’t stop thinking about the way she kissed me on the couch.
“Interested in ending this night the fun way?”
Raising one sexy eyebrow, she turned her head slightly. “What way is tha
t?”
I motioned toward my bedroom door. “In there.”
She chewed on the corner of her lip and looked down at Lucy and Piper. “You think it’s safe? Think they’d hear us?”
A playful smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth as I looked her straight in the eye. “I can be quiet. Can you?”
I backed out of the fort and walked around to Kacie’s side, taking her hands and pulling her up off the floor. As soon as she stood up, I cupped the side of her face with one hand and tilted it up to me. I studied her beautiful greens for a quick second before I had to taste her. I took my time kissing and sucking her full lips. She kept trying to hurry me along, but I knew it was going to be several days before I saw her again, and I wanted to enjoy every single second with her tonight. She put her hands on my chest and kept kissing me as she pushed me backward toward my bedroom.
I let her.
Once inside, she turned to quietly close the bedroom door. Diesel appeared in the doorway, eager to go to bed in my room where he normally sleeps.
“Sorry, bud. Park it out there for awhile,” I said as Kacie closed the door in his face.
She turned to face me, her back pressed up against the door. I slid my hand around behind her and clicked the lock securely.
Kacie looked up at me, frowning nervously. “What if they need me?”
“Then they’ll knock.” I swiftly bent down and claimed her mouth again, picking up right where we’d left off. My hands slowly traveled the length of her back and slid over her hips. I cupped her ass and lifted, pinning her between me and the bedroom door as she wrapped her legs around my waist. Dragging my tongue along her neck, I pushed my erection into her. A small moan escaped her as she grabbed my shirt with her hands and yanked it over my head. I picked her up off the wall and walked backward to my bed, sitting on the edge with her straddling me.
The time away from each other had clearly started affecting Kacie too. Our clothes weren’t even off yet and she was already grinding herself on me.
