32. Ash

It feels like a weight has been lifted now that Jack has congratulated me.

I was so worried this would ruin our friendship. I know he’s a laid-back guy, but this is his sister.

I suppose it makes us family now. He’s always felt like family to me. It feels right, like everything is how it’s supposed to be.

I help out as much as I can with the fundraiser. As I make a start on packing away all the machines, I accidentally walk in on Jack and Olivia making out.

Jack told me during one of our nights by the fire that they’d been flirting and that it looked like it was going somewhere. I’m happy for him, but I don’t need to see him getting hot and heavy. It’s not something you want a buddy to see.

To be fair, he’s caught me doing a lot worse. I cringe at the thought. I really have lived a full life.

Now, my life is about to get a lot richer.

To me, family is the most important thing. Whether it’s family by blood or your chosen family. They’re all you have in this life.

I’ll always have my hockey family, but this is me starting a legacy and my own family.

After running through all my doubts and fears, I know I won’t be anything like my father. I will be present and loving and an active parent.

I can’t wait to tell my mom. She’s going to lose her mind. Every time I see her, she asks if I’m finally dating someone respectable.

I was always worried that I wouldn’t find someone worthy, but I know she’s going to love Kayla.

We mesh well together. She doesn’t put up with my crap, and she keeps me on my toes.

I know that I’ll be happy with her for the rest of my life. I can already see us getting married and having more kids. I’m getting ahead of myself, but I can see it.

I’m not na?ve enough to think it won’t be hard sometimes, but we both have good support systems. Most importantly, we have each other.

To the outside world, I know this will seem rushed — but I also know deep down that she is the one for me. If she hadn’t gotten pregnant, I know somehow I would’ve ended up back here with her. We were meant to be.

I keep an eye on Kayla throughout the rest of the day, making sure she’s okay. I walk over and graze her waist with my hand. She smiles up at me, and my heart leaps.

“Just checking in,” I say.

She narrows her eyes at me. “If you become overprotective, I will kill you.”

I grin. “I’m just seeing if you need anything… again.”

She laughs. “Did you put the machines in front of the barn? They’ll be getting picked up in the morning.”

I nod and chuckle to myself, and she raises an eyebrow.

Leaning in, I whisper, “I caught Olivia and Jack making out in there.”

She smacks my arm excitedly. “I knew it!”

“You sound like Izzy.” I roll my eyes.

Laughing, she trails her hands down my arms before engulfing me in a hug. “You better get used to this.”

I can’t help but smile. Kissing the top of her head, I can’t believe this is happening. I feel so happy, I’m worried my heart is going to explode.

My whole life has changed today, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

Something random occurs to me. “Why are so many young people living in this town?”

Kayla pulls out of the hug and purses her lips. “What do you mean?”

I shrug. “I expected the people of a town like this to be older. Olivia and Nathan own businesses here, and they’re both young. There’s a young demographic.”

Kayla hums. “Well, most of us grew up here. Sometimes people move away, but most people come back in the end. Everyone had kids around the same time, so now they’re all taking over their parents’ businesses.

I nod. “Makes sense.”

Olivia and Izzy walk past, and Kayla smiles mischievously. “Guess that means you’re next.”

Izzy whips her head around. “For what?”

Olivia pauses, a confused expression plastered on her face.

Kayla rubs her stomach. “The next generation. You know how it is around here. There’s always a wave of pregnancies.”

Izzy scrunches her face up. “You know I’m destined to be a cool auntie and nothing more.”

Kayla winks and then gives Olivia a cheeky grin.

Olivia holds her hands up. “I’m not part of this.”

Kayla and Izzy smirk at each other then loop their arms through Olivia’s and walk toward the house.

I hear Kayla as they walk away. “You are so part of this.”

I’m going to have my hands full with those three. Lucky Jack will be here to endure it with me — and probably Nathan too. Nathan and Jack walk over, and we watch the girls, arm in arm, laughing as they walk into the house.

“We’re in trouble,” Jack says.

Nathan smacks his shoulder. “Big time.”

“Beer time, boys?” I ask.

They laugh and nod.

We get the fire started.

“Cheers, boys.”

We all raise our drinks and take a sip.

Nathan shakes his head. “Wow, you’re going to be a dad.”

I laugh. “It doesn’t seem real.”

Shifting in his chair, Jack says, “Once you have Kayla throw up her dinner on you, it’ll feel real.”

I shudder. “Did that really happen?”

He nods. “I had to have a shower and dump all my clothes straight into the wash.”

Nathan cracks up. “Oh, dude.”

I bite the inside of my lip. “Has it been hard for her?” I don’t know if I want to know the real answer. I don’t know if I want to hear about her struggling. I hate that I wasn’t around while she was going through all of this.

Jack tilts his head as he thinks. “Of course. It’s a big adjustment. She weighed everything up.”

I laugh. “And made a pros-and-cons list.”

Jack laughs. “Typical Kayla.” He shrugs. “She’s strong and stubborn. Once she knew what she wanted to do, there was no stopping her.”

I nod. “She just didn’t know how to tell me?”

He nods and takes a long sip of his beer. “I just had to give you both a little nudge.”

“Thank you.” I raise my beer to him.

He tilts his beer to me. “You owe me.”

Sighing, I drop my head. “Oh, no. That’s never a good thing.” The last time I owed him, I ended up on a freeway in the middle of the night. Long story. I doubt that would happen here, but the ranch opens a whole new set of possibilities.

The girls come out and join us. I can’t keep my eyes off Kayla. I can’t believe we’re together. I don’t have to keep my hands to myself anymore.

We all spread out around the fire, lost in our own couple conversations. Kayla’s chair is up against mine, and our hands are intertwined. The sun is setting, casting a beautiful mix of colors over the mountains. I could get used to this.

I stroke her hand with my thumb. “So, it was a success?”

She smiles, and it lights up her face. “Huge success. People were really generous.”

“Do you think it’s because they heard you were pregnant?”

She shrugs. “Maybe, but the town has always been generous. They’re good people.”

I let go of her hand and put my arm around her, pulling her close. “I know.”

Leaning her head on my shoulder, she asks, “What about hockey? How is it going to work?”

I can hear the shakiness in her voice. I run my hand down her arm to try and soothe her. I know she must be worried about how it’s all going to work. I feel confident in my decision, but I haven’t had a chance to go through all the finer details with her yet.

I tilt her chin up so she’s looking into my eyes. “As much as I love the game, I’ve had a good run. If I bow out now, I’ll be fine with it. I don’t care — as long as we’re together.”

She sighs heavily. “I don’t want you to have any regrets. If you want to keep playing hockey, we’ll make it work.”

I appreciate her saying that. I know she means it. I’m not sure every woman would have the same perspective. I’m grateful to have her. I know with her losing her mom and me having a deadbeat dad, we’ll make sure our child is loved and cared for. We’ll do whatever it takes to ensure that our life is filled with love.

I can’t wait for our first family picture together.

Suddenly I remember the photo. “Oh! I forgot. There’s a really cute picture of us being leaked to the media next week.”

Her eyebrows shoot up. “What?”

I grab my phone and show her.

She smiles. “I suppose there could be worse pictures. There’s nothing you can do to stop it?”

I shake my head. “Natalie is a shark. If she says it’s out there, it’s out there.”

Kayla nods and shrugs. “They’ll find out we’re a couple eventually.”

I frown. “Yeah, there’s a portion of my fanbase that might not like that. As ridiculous as it sounds, they’ll be annoyed that I’m off the market.”

She rolls her eyes. “I’m not on social media much.”

I nod. That’s true. I had a hard time trying to stalk her online when I was back at home. “Just a warning — they will say that I deserve better and that they’ll steal me from you.”

A devilish grin spreads across her face. “Let them try.” She chomps her teeth at me.

I put my hand on my heart. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to take you on, babe. You’re terrifying.”

She laughs.

As much as we’re joking around, I want her to know that I’m taking this seriously. Looking into her eyes, I whisper, “You will never have to worry about that.”

Kayla softens and kisses me gently. I let the tingly feeling consume me as I deepen the kiss. I’ve been wanting to do that for weeks.

Jack groans. “Enough, you two!”

I kiss her again, just to annoy him. He makes a disgusted sound.

We break from the kiss with massive smiles on our faces.

Izzy leans forward. “Have you thought about names for the baby? Izzy works well for a boy or a girl.”

Kayla laughs. “No, it doesn’t — and your actual name is Isabelle.”

Izzy pokes out her tongue. “You’re ruining my fun.”

Olivia joins in. “You know, Olivia is a nice girl’s name. Or Oliver for a boy.”

Kayla nods. “Actually, that’s a good point.”

Izzy gasps dramatically. “I can’t believe you would betray me like this.”

We all burst out laughing as the banter continues. Jack, Nathan and I all roll our eyes.

On the inside, I’m ecstatic. This is all I need. Good friends. My own family. I don’t know what I’m going to do career-wise, but I have a few ideas. And as long as I have Kayla by my side, I know it will all work out.

For the first time since I can remember, I can’t wait to see what the future brings.