by Beth Ehemann
“You did it, baby!” she screamed out over the crowd with tears streaming down her face.
“We did it!” I yelled back.
Lucy, Piper, and Emma stood next to her in their Wild jerseys, pumping their arms up and down. On the other side was Sophia, who held a pouting Grace in her arms. Grace was never a fan of the games and the crowd noise, so she spent the whole game frowning with her fingers in her ears. Next to Sophia stood Fred, who looked as proud as I’d ever seen him with his chin held high. Baby Fred slept soundly in his arms, wearing his own customized Wild jersey with our last name on the back and the tiniest pair of noise protection ear muffs I’d ever seen. He was only three weeks old and had no idea what was happening, but it was a moment I couldn’t wait to tell him about when he was older.
My parents stood behind Kacie and, of course, my mom was sobbing. Dad and my sister, Shea, were hugging and jumping up and down. Shea followed along as I skated for a bit, taking as many pictures as she could. When I got back to the center, I handed the cup off to Viper for his turn around the ice.
The whole team spent the next hour celebrating with the cup, taking pics and hugging each other. Finally, it was time for our families to come down. Kacie practically jogged along the red carpet, straight into my arms.
“Holy shit, Kacie. We did it! We actually fucking won!” I called out as I hugged her.
She squeezed me back hard. “I’m so proud of you, Brody!”
“Daddy! High five!” Emma yelled from below us.
I let go of Kacie and scooped Emma up. “Forget the high five, give your daddy the biggest hug ever!”
She giggled and then groaned when I gripped her tiny body.
“Can you believe all this craziness?” I said to Kacie, leaning down around Emma.
She shook her head slowly, staring up at me with her shimmering green eyes. “This is insane, Brody. I mean look at this crowd! Not one person has left the arena yet.”
She was right; the stands were still packed full. Minnesota had waited so long to see the Wild win a Stanley Cup that clearly the fans were staying until the party was over and security kicked them out.
“Emma! Let’s wave, okay?”
Emma nodded and we turned to the crowd. I pumped my fist high in the air and Emma waved to the crowd, beaming as if she’d scored the winning goal herself.
“How about a family photo?” the team photographer called out. “Maybe standing around the cup?”
I turned back and nodded at him.
Kacie took baby Fred from big Fred and I set Emma down so that I could pick up Grace. We gathered around the cup and smiled for a picture.
“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” Viper called out as he walked over and carefully took the cup off the stand, setting it on the red carpet. “Not many people get to do this, so you’re going to. Put Fred in there,” he said to Kacie as he pointed at the top of the cup.
Her eyes grew wide and she looked at me nervously. “Am I allowed to do that?”
I leaned down close so she could hear me, “Hell yes! It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. Go for it!”
She bit her lip and nodded as she very gently lowered Fred into the top of the cup. We all leaned in around him and the photographer snapped a bunch of shots.
He pulled back and looked down at his camera. “That one’s a winner for sure! Thanks!”
“Can I see it?” I asked.
“Of course!” he turned the screen toward me with a smile. My breath caught when I looked down and I was completely overcome with emotion. A tear dripped from my eye as I stared down at the two-inch by two-inch screen. As a kid, my only dream was to play hockey and win the Stanley Cup, but then I grew up and met Kacie and my dreams shifted just a little bit. Looking down at that picture of my wife, my daughters, my son, and the Stanley Cup all together in one shot, I realized that my new dream was simple.
I had the wife of my dreams, the kids of my dreams, and the career of my dreams, and all I needed to do for the rest of my life was make sure their dreams came true . . . though, one more Cup wouldn’t hurt either.
Wow! That’s really all I can say at this point…wow! When I decided to start this little writing journey almost 4 years ago, I really never expected anyone other than my mom to buy and read my book. I certainly never expected so many of you to fall in love with Brody, Kacie and the rest of the Cranberry Inn gang and follow them along for seven books!!! Thank you. From the very bottom of my heart…thank you. For supporting me, for helping make my wildest dreams come true and most importantly, thank you for loving these characters as much as I do. While I’m sad to say good-bye to them, I’m ready to meet some new people and hear what they have to say to me. I hope you’re as excited as I am!
The the amazing people who contributed to this book—Letitia Hasser, Tami Norman and Holly Malgeri. I am a hot mess of epic proportions almost all of the time. This book would not have been possible without your patience and understanding and incredible talents! Thank you so much for all of your help, and for not blocking me on Facebook.
To all of my author friends, the FTN girls, and my COPA sisters—This job can be a very lonely one. Most days (as I’m sure most of you understand) can be pretty isolated as we talk to imaginary people in our heads and spend our days typing away. Most of you live all over the world, but knowing you’re out there, always ready to listen and cheer me on makes life a little less gloomy. Thank you for being there to keep my company when I’m at my loneliest and for pushing me when I need it most.
To my Roomies—GAH! I don’t even know where to begin with you guys. I seriously cannot imagine my life without every single one of you. Thank you for putting up with my random craziness in our little corner of Facebook, and for loving me—and my family—as much as you do. It means the world to me and I hope you stick around for a long, long time!
To my amazing friend, Pam Carrion—You are the peanut butter to my jelly, the yin to my yang, the Smokey to my Craig. I could write an entire book about how unbelievably awesome you are, but anyone who’s lucky enough to be your friend already knows that. Thank you times 1,000 for all of your help with my books, my group, and my life. I love you so so much!
To my beta readers—Patricia Lee, Michelle Kannan, Michelle Finkle, Jessica Sotelo, Melissa Brown, Megan Ward, and Mrs. B. (ha! I won!)—Thank you so much to take the time out of your lives to read my book and give me feedback. Your input and suggestions helped shape this little sandcastle of mine and I will forever be grateful.
To my mom, husband and kids—There’s nothing I can say to you that would properly thank you for all you’ve done to help me along the way. From putting up with my spastic moods, to feeding me when I forgot to eat, to hugging me when I needed it most…everything I do, I do for you guys. I love you so, so much! Thank you for inspiring me daily.
Beth Ehemann lives in the northern suburbs of Chicago with her husband and four children. When she's not sitting in front of her computer writing, or on Pinterest, she loves reading, photography, martinis and all things Chicago Cubs and Blackhawks.
Connect with her at-
www.bethehemann.com
[email protected]
www.facebook.com/bethehemann
@bethehemann (Twitter and Instagram)
Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Epilogue
A Note from Beth
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Cranberry Inn Christmas
