Trading Sleep for Someone Sweet

FORREST

TEN YEARS LATER

Skating out into the middle of the rink, I look around. The stands are empty. The fans will be arriving soon, but this is it for me. The end. My last game, and then it's retirement. I can't believe I've been able to play the game this long.

Charlotte has been our home for over a decade, but it's time for us to make our way back to Willow Creek, where we belong. Our friends, who have become family, are all in the same position that we are, retiring and heading back home.

Granted, we won't be living together again, but it will be nice to be able to see each other more often. To continue to raise our families together. Closing my eyes, I inhale deeply, allowing the cold air to fill my lungs.

I already have a new job as a coach for the junior college in Willow Spring. Hockey is and will always be part of my life. But this chapter has concluded. There is a bit of sadness flowing through me, but more than that, I am at peace with my decision and my life.

Hearing voices, I turn my head, then open my eyes to see my wife and daughter standing at the glass. Skating toward them, feeling my body being drawn to them, I place my hands against the glass. They each lift a hand so we're palm to palm, their eyes on mine.

Brooklynn's eyes are wet with unshed tears. Ainsley is only nine. She doesn't quite understand what's happening. All she knows is that I'm switching jobs, and we're moving closer to all her cousins.

And boy, does she have cousins. The whole friend group from the two houses we once lived in across the street from each other has stayed close. We arrange as many get-togethers as we can every year, including a big vacation once a year.

Jerking my chin to the side, I skate toward an area where I can talk to them. "Are you okay?" Brooklynn asks.

Smiling, I dip my chin. "I'm good. It's bittersweet, but I'm good."

Her lips curve up into a grin, but it doesn't reach her eyes. In fact, now that I'm really looking at my wife, I can tell that something is bothering her. I don't get the chance to ask her about it, though.

A few moments later, the doors are open, and fans begin to fill the stands. Reaching out, I wrap my fingers around Brooklynn's and give her a squeeze. "Go and enjoy every second," she whispers.

"I'll see you after," I promise, then I flick my gaze down to Ainsley. "And be good for Mom, yeah?"

She gives me a big smile, and that smile reaches her eyes. "Okay, Daddy. Grandpa promised me an ice cream bar," she cries.

Of course he did. Releasing my grasp on Brooklynn, I skate backward a few feet as I watch them turn and head upstairs toward the suite where I know my father-in-law bought season tickets so he can always come and watch in comfort, but the reality is that he wants to spend the game with Ainsley. And I'm okay with all of that.

Ainsley has two grandparents who love and adore her. They shower her with affection. Brooklynn's parents have been, without a doubt, the best thing to happen in my life, aside from Brooklynn and Ainsley.

They are kind, loving, and supportive. Never have they demanded anything from us except our presence, and that has never been in need because we have always wanted to be around them—holidays, birthdays, everything and anything that you would get together with your family for.

Skating back to the locker room, I allow myself to think about my own parents only because I'm in that nostalgic state of mind. I don't think about them often. There's no reason to. I haven't spoken to them since the drama with Kiki a decade ago.

I didn't take on my position at my family's business. I wouldn't allow them to control my life the way they wanted, and to them, that was worth losing their only son over and the chance to be part of my world.

They've never even met Ainsley. To be fair, that is for the best. Even if I know they are missing out on so many amazing and wonderful experiences, I know without a doubt that they would never appreciate them.

Shaking my head, I shake out all thoughts of lost family and focus on the game. This is my last game, and it needs to be my best performance yet. And I know without a doubt that I need to end my career on a high note.

Meaning I need to win.

It's not a want right now. It is a need.

I inhale and renew my focus. I can feel the mood shift. The adrenaline begins to flow throughout my body. The stands are filling, and then, as a group, we head out to warm up.

Time to fucking go.

brOOKLYNN

Closing my eyes, I dip my chin and try to keep my nausea at bay. I'm still not sure how I feel about said nausea. I haven't come to terms or grips with what I discovered today. I know it's real, though. I got tested at the doctor's office and got my results.

I'm pregnant.

I'm going to have a ten-year-old and a newborn in just a few short months. How do I start all over again? Honestly, we thought we couldn't have any more children. We haven't been using any preventive measures since Ainsley was three years old.

I've always wanted more children, and so has Forrest, but we have always said if it was meant to be, it would happen. We've been more than content being a family of three. But now it seems as if it's meant to be… even though I'm inching toward forty.

One minute left.

Opening my eyes, I hear a sound that I know so well. A goal. When I scan the rink, I find Forrest. Even from here, I can see the determination on his face. The other team scored, and he's not going to let that happen again. He's going to defend as if his life depends on it.

The announcer calls out who made that goal, and the entire stadium interrupts with a resounding, "Who cares?"

Forrest is focused now. I watch as he glides over the ice effortlessly. I still can't skate. He's tried to teach me, but my legs are like a newborn giraffe's. Lifting my fingers to my lips, I hold my breath, but Ainsley doesn't seem to be as nervous as I am.

"Hey, Mom," she calls out from beside me.

Instead of saying anything, I hum. But she just goes right on talking as if she's not the least bit nervous about the outcome of this game. It's the third period, and there are only seconds left before it's over.

The game is tied.

We need a goal.

"Mom," Ainsley calls out again. "I love you."

My heart swells. Turning to her, I smile as I take her hand in mine. "I love you, too, honey," I murmur.

Then I hear it again. The telltale sign of a goal. The crowd is going wild, and I lift my head to see Forrest with his hands raised in the middle of the arena. We won. The game is over. He's won.

Placing my hand on my chest, I let out a heavy breath. Thank God. Then, I hear the announcer ask the audience to quiet down for a special announcement. I sink my teeth into my bottom lip, then a knock sounds on the suite door.

It's the assistant marketing manager. She smiles and lifts her hand. Looking down at Ainsley, I give her a smile. "I need to do something real quick. Stay here with Grams and Pop, okay?"

She lifts her chin in a single nod and gives me a smile. I give my mom and dad a little wave and don't miss their expressions of confusion. Following Sarah, the assistant marketing manager, I move through the back halls of the arena and head down to the ice.

The stands are still surprisingly full, maybe because it's the last game of the season, maybe because Forrest is retiring. I'm not sure. But I'm glad because I feel like everyone here has been part of our family, and this is a huge announcement.

Forrest turns around when everyone gets quiet. I'm standing on the ice just a few feet away from him, praying I don't go slipping and sliding all over the place. His teammates stand behind him, all sweaty and exhausted from a hard-fought and won game.

Then I'm handed a microphone.

I take a deep breath before I start, my eyes on my husband. "Thank you to every single person here for loving and accepting our family into this world. Forrest and I could not have dreamed of a better ten years for ourselves and our family. And even though this is the last time we will be here as a player and player's wife, I know this arena will always feel like home."

The crowd claps and cheers. "So I feel like it is the right place and right time to tell Forrest something. We have one beautiful daughter, who is nine years old. We've always wanted more children, but for whatever reason, we were not blessed, and we've been more than content with our lives. However, as this chapter of our lives closes, a new one opens, and I've just found out that we're going to have another baby."

Forrest's lips are smiling, but the moment my words register, his expression morphs into shock and then awe. The entire arena erupts in cheers. His teammates slap him on the back, his body shifts forward slightly, and then, as if something sends a jolt throughout his body, he jerks and skates straight for me.

Before I realize what's happening, he picks me up in his arms and spins me around on the ice. When he shifts his head back slightly, our eyes connect, and in that moment, the crowd's applause and cheers melt away.

It's just us.

Just the two of us. Then his mouth touches mine before he murmurs, "Never could I ever have dreamed of a life as amazing as this one."

I'm not able to respond. His tongue fills my mouth and he kisses me in the center of the ice with his teammates and thousands of people watching. I don't care about any of it except him.

Because I feel the exact same way. I could never have dreamed of a life as amazing as this one, and I cannot wait for the next chapter, even if that includes a lot more sleepless nights. They're going to be the sweetest sleepless nights that have ever existed.