Protecting Her Heart: Indianapolis Eagles Series Book 4

by Samantha Lind

  “Hey, Marcus, are you ready to go?” I call out.

  “Absolutely, Ms. Laura,” he tells me, shutting off the sharpening machine.

  “Thank you for agreeing to come with me today. I figured having an extra set of hands to load luggage would be helpful.”

  “You know I’d do anything to help you.” Marcus has been with the team since the early days, and is like family to me. He lives and breathes hockey, and loves being in charge of all the gear the guys require to play the game.

  “Well, I appreciate it. How’s Nancy doing these days?” I ask as we walk out to my car.

  “She’s good. Just started her final year of teaching, so it’s a little bittersweet of a school year for her. As sad as she is about retiring, she’s also looking forward to it. Wants to spend more time with the grandkids. Our daughter just told us this past weekend that her and her husband are expecting baby number three!” he tells me excitedly.

  “That’s awesome! Congratulations,” I reply. “So, with Nancy retiring, does that mean you’ll be following in her footsteps anytime soon?”

  “I haven’t decided yet. I’m not a young spring chicken anymore, and sometimes the travel starts to wear on us old guys. I’m going to see how I’m feeling towards the end of this season and make my decision then.”

  “I completely understand. We’ll miss you whenever it is that you decide to retire. Whoever is hired to fill your position will have big shoes to fill,” I tell him sincerely.

  “Well, thank you for that. This organization is my family, and it will be weird to not have the guys in my life all the time.”

  “Well, you know you’d always be welcome to stop in and visit whenever you want. You can come watch the games with me in the box or hell, the stands. You won’t know what to do with yourself not running constantly back and forth, drying gloves and changing out sticks and blades all game long. You’d actually get to watch the game from start to finish, and not just on video replay.”

  We continue our idle conversation while I drive us to the airport and find a parking spot. I grab a welcome sign I made from the backseat, and we head into the airport and make our way to stand just outside the security checkpoint they will exit from. I pull up their flight on my phone, and see that it just landed and should be at the gate any moment now. Since I took the liberty of booking them on a chartered flight, it shouldn’t take them long to get off the plane and out of security.

  I scan each person that exits the security checkpoint, searching for the right people. Not knowing exactly who I’m looking for, I just have to wait for them to approach Marcus and me. About fifteen minutes after we arrive, a large group finally exits and lights up when they see my sign.

  “Laura?” a woman questions as she approaches me.

  “Yes, and you must be Amber,” I reply.

  “Yes, it’s so nice to meet you! You didn’t have to go to all the trouble of meeting us here at the airport.”

  I pull her into a hug, wanting to do all I can to take this woman’s burdens, if even for just a couple days.

  “It’s no problem at all. I wanted to make sure you had help with everything. I even brought along some help with me.” I motion to Marcus, who’s standing back a bit from where we’re gathered. “And you must be Brayden. It’s so nice to meet you!”

  “Nice to meet you, too, thank you for everything,” he states.

  “Yes, thank you so much. Let me introduce you to everyone else.” Amber makes quick introductions all around, and we head off toward baggage claim.

  “If one of you would like to come with me to the rental car counter, we can deal with getting that while we wait on the luggage. Marcus can go with everyone else and can help gather it all.”

  “That would be great,” Amber says. “Honey, did you want to go, or would you like me to?” she asks her husband, Will.

  “You can, I’ll help with the luggage,” Will answers her.

  Amber and I part ways from the group, along with her mom Susan, as she made her own reservation, to give them two cars while in town, and we make our way to the car rental counter. I reserved it on our corporate account, but wanted to be here to make sure nothing went wrong with the reservation or pickup process. Thankfully, nothing has, and we quickly have the keys to their SUV for the weekend.

  “We can go pull the cars around to baggage claim, so that everyone doesn’t have to traipse through the airport.”

  “Sounds great.”

  “Then, once we leave here, I have lunch being catered at the arena for everyone, and then we’ll dive right in to all the fun and surprises.”

  Amber and Will have kept most of the details of this trip as a surprise from the kids. I also have some surprises that even they don’t know about, one being the dinner for tonight that Mark, Scott, and Brian, along with their wives, will be at.

  We quickly find the cars and pull around to the baggage claim level. By the time we make it there, Will and Marcus have all the bags pulled outside and on the curb. Amber and Susan, as well as Will’s mom, Judy, help get the kids all situated, while the guys play Tetris loading the luggage in. With six adults and three kids, they have just a few bags. With Marcus’ expertise with loading luggage, he quickly gets everything loaded and we’re all on our way.

  Once back at the arena, I show everyone into the conference room, where the catering company has set up a nice spread for us. I excuse myself to go let my dad and Daniel know we’ve returned, and they both join us for lunch.

  Brayden is excited, but I can tell he doesn’t have a ton of energy. I worry for a few minutes that I’ve planned too much for him to get through during his trip, so I make a mental note to pull Amber aside and ask her to tell me if he needs a break at any point.

  We finish lunch, and I notice Brayden perk up a little bit, and my nervousness lessens just a bit. I know he’s excited and I’m sure that has something to do with him perking up.

  “If everyone is done eating, I’d like to take you all down for the tour,” I announce to the room. Everyone gathers around, and I lead them out of the conference room and to the elevators to take us to ice level.

  While we wait for the elevator to arrive, I lean in close to Amber so that only she can hear me. “Please let me know if Brayden needs a break at any time. I realized at lunch that I might have overpacked today’s schedule.”

  “Thank you. He’s doing okay, now that he’s eaten, but if things change, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

  We load into the elevator and it quickly descends to the ice level. I show them around the immediate area, where the guys will kick a soccer ball around before games and warm up. Since the guys are currently out on the ice practicing, the space is currently empty, so it’s a little boring.

  Next, we make our way into the locker room and the expression on Brayden’s face is priceless. I arranged to have a photographer from our media team follow us around to snap pictures for the family to have, that way they could focus on soaking in the memory and not on taking pictures to remember this time once they return home.

  Hanging in an empty stall is the custom jersey with “Macentire” on the back, along with the number 10. Amber told me that was always his number when he played, and we figured it was symbolic to continue the trend on his jersey with the Eagles.

  “We happen to have a free stall in this locker room and thought maybe you could use it while you’re here visiting us. Think you could help us out and wear this?” I ask, bringing his attention to the jersey. I notice tears in Amber and Will’s eyes as we all observe Brayden take in the locker with his name on it and the jersey hanging up.

  “That’s for me?” he asks in disbelief as he walks over and fingers the jersey.

  “Yep, everything in that space is for you,” I tell him. Marcus filled the space with all the team apparel each player is outfitted with at the start of each season.

  “Why don’t you try on the jersey?” Amber suggests to him, and he quickly slips it from the hanger and over his h
ead. The smile on his face is priceless, and I can hear the click of the camera shutter clicking rapidly as the photographer captures everything.

  “What do you say we go check out how practice is going?” I ask the room. Brayden looks at me with an even bigger smile on his face, if that’s possible.

  I lead them out of the locker room and down the tunnel to the ice. The family files in on the bench as we observe the guys practicing. Coach is standing on the ice just a few feet from the bench, and turns his attention from the players to us.

  “Hello, you must be Brayden,” he says, reaching his hand out to shake.

  “Yes, sir,” Brayden answers.

  “Please, call me Coach,” Jacob insists. “I see you’ve found your team jersey. Think you’re up for helping me run these knuckleheads through some drills?”

  “Really?” Brayden asks, as he looks out at all the players on the ice. The guys have all started to skate toward the bench, forming a half-circle around Coach and the Macentires.

  I watch as Brayden and his siblings, Avery and Liam’s, eyes all widen like saucers as the players all gather close by.

  “Guys, meet Brayden. Brayden, meet the guys who make up the Eagles roster,” Jacob says to everyone. “Brayden, here, is going to take over running drills, so what he says, goes.” The guys all nod, knowing this was part of the plan all along.

  “Think you can come stand out here on the ice with me?” Coach asks him.

  “Sure!” he says, jumping up from his place on the bench. “Can I, Mom?” he stops to ask Amber.

  “Of course, sweetheart. Just be careful.”

  Brayden joins Coach on the ice and they stay close to the boards, in case he needs to sit back down quickly. Any one of the guys on the ice could easily pick him up and skate him back to the bench, if needed, but for now, he’s content just staying close. Coach helps guide him through calling drills for the guys to practice for the next half hour or so, also allowing Avery and Liam to join them on the ice.

  Mark approaches the bench, grabbing a water bottle, and tosses me a wink before he crouches down to bring himself more eye level to Brayden.

  “Hey, man, nice to meet you. I hear you’re one of my biggest fans,” Mark says to him.

  “Y-You’re Mark Lee. Holy cow. Mom, Dad, it’s Mark!” Brayden eagerly says, causing all the adults around him to laugh at his excitement.

  “Sure is, buddy,” Amber answers him, more tears sliding down her cheeks. Will wraps his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to his side as he tries to offer his wife some emotional support while they watch their dying son meet one of his idols.

  “I hear you’re also a big fan of a couple other guys on the team. Think you’d like to meet them, maybe we can all get a picture together?”

  “Really?” he asks, still stunned he’s standing there, talking with Mark.

  “Scott, Brian!” Mark calls over his shoulder, and both guys slide up, coming to a stop right in front of Brayden, who’s now sitting on the edge of the boards the guys hop over during every game.

  “Hey, man, nice to meet you,” Brian says to him as he reaches for a water bottle and takes a drink.

  Brayden is just as starstruck with his introductions to both Brian and Scott as he was with Mark, but he quickly loosens up and starts talking with all three of them as they stand around him.

  The guys talk with him for a little while longer before they have to return to the action on the ice to finish up practice.

  Coach comes back over to the bench and whistles for the team to gather around. He gives his end of practice speech and then dismisses the team to the locker room.

  While we wait for the guys to shower after practice, I take everyone into the video room so that we can take a bit of a break before heading back into the locker room.

  I leave the family in the video room for a few minutes while I pop into Coach’s office to make sure he has the paperwork to bring in with him for us to sign Brayden to a one-day contract. He’s going to be our honoree Captain for tomorrow night’s game.

  “I’ve got everything I need. How did he like practice and getting to talk with the guys?” Coach asks me.

  “You should have seen his face. It was priceless. He was a little starstruck at first, but quickly opened up and started talking with the guys. I think he’s a little overwhelmed with everything.”

  “I’m glad. He sure looked like he was having fun when I had him calling drills. He was getting into it like a pro.”

  “I’m going to get back to them. Send someone to get us when the locker room is ready for us, please.”

  “Will do, they should be ready in the next twenty minutes or so.”

  I head back to the Macentire family as they take the downtime to rest.

  “We’ve only got one more thing planned for this afternoon, and then you guys can take off to go check in to the house. I’ll give you the address of the restaurant where I have our dinner reservations this evening, and I’ll just meet you there. I also coordinated with the homeowner to accept the grocery delivery this afternoon, so everything should already be there and ready for you when you arrive.”

  “Thank you so much for everything, Laura,” Will tells me. “We are so grateful for everything you and this organization has done for us so far.”

  “My pleasure. If you think of anything else we can do for your family while you are here, please don’t hesitate to ask, and I’ll do everything in my power to make it happen.”

  We continue to visit while waiting for the all-clear to join the team back in the locker room. Josh enters the room we’re waiting in and we all follow him. Upon entering the locker room, we find the players sitting at their stalls all around the room.

  “Brayden, how about you come sit here in your stall?” Scott says to him. As the captain of the team, Scott commands this room. Every player in this room shows him the respect that he is due.

  “We hope you’ve enjoyed your time here so far today. I entrust that Laura has been treating you well and giving you the full Eagles experience,” he says, motioning to me.

  “Yes, it’s been amazing so far,” he tells Scott.

  “Good to hear. Now, listen, what do you think about being an honoree Captain for tomorrow night’s game? Think that’s something you could do?”

  Brayden’s eyes nearly bug out of his sockets as he thinks over Scott’s offer.

  “Really?!” he asks.

  “Yep. The most important job of the honoree Captain is to drop the ceremonial puck at the start of the game. Think you can handle that job?”

  “Absolutely!”

  “Good, good,” Scott says on a laugh.

  “Well, with you agreeing to be an honoree Captain, how about we make this official and sign you to an Eagles contract. I understand it’s always been your dream to make it to the NHL, so we’re here to make that happen. You will officially be listed on tomorrow night’s roster as the Eagles’ honoree Captain,” Coach steps up and explains. He pulls out the contract and a pen, and spreads it on a table in the center of the room.

  I watch the expressions on Amber and Will’s faces, as this was one of my surprises for everyone. The tears are flowing amongst all the adults in their group as we all watch Brayden walk over to where Coach is standing, who hands him a pen to sign the paperwork.

  Once Brayden finishes signing, Coach takes him around the room and introduces him to every player and support staff member that is present. Once he’s had the chance to meet everyone, we all gather around and take a few group photos with everyone included. I also take the time, while everyone is mingling, to present the rest of the family with their jerseys and team apparel.

  I stand back and just observe while the team embraces the Macentire crew and shows them what a family this group can be. The guys are all great, talking with everyone and spending time with them. The players slowly start to trickle out, done for the day with team requirements. By the time we clear out of the locker room, it’s late in the afternoon
and I can tell the excitement has caught up with everyone.

  “That’s all I have for you guys this afternoon. Here’s a printout with the restaurant information for tonight’s reservation, which is at six thirty. I’ll plan to meet you there just a few minutes before that. My cell number is in the packet I gave you earlier, with times for tomorrow’s events, so please call or text me if you need something before then.”

  “Thank you again for everything. Everyone has gone above and beyond for us, and we can’t thank you enough,” Will tells me as I walk their family back up to the upper level and out to the parking lot.

  “It’s my pleasure, really.” I bid them one last goodbye as they load into the rental cars and leave the arena.

  Once they’ve made it out of the employee lot, I head back inside to the offices. I find Mark sitting in one of the waiting area chairs, kicked back and on his phone.

  “Hey,” I say, approaching him.

  “How’d today go?” he asks, standing in front of me and sliding an arm around my waist, pulling me against him. I easily melt into his embrace as his hands come up to massage my shoulders. I moan slightly as my head falls into his chest, and he continues to knead into my sore and tired muscles.

  “If you keep doing that, I might fall asleep against you, standing right here,” I say into his chest, not wanting to move an inch so I don’t stop him from his assault of my muscles.

  “Are you able to get out of here soon?” he asks, his lips next to my ear. The slight skin to skin contact has me perking up almost immediately.

  “Yes, I just need to shut down my computer and grab my things.”

  “Sounds good. Do just that, and then let’s get out of here,” he says, nipping at my neck.

  Chapter Twelve

  Mark

  I stand by as Laura gathers her things and shuts down her computer. I can tell she’s exhausted from her busy day, but can also tell how much it’s meant to her, getting to fulfill Brayden’s wish. The look on his face when I skated up to him to introduce myself to him was priceless. He was definitely awestruck at first, but once he warmed up to us, he came alive and had a good time with everyone.