Epilogue - Cassi

Twelve Years Later

" M ommy, come watch!" Riley, our oldest, yells from the ice skating pond in our backyard, which the guys have turned into a hockey rink. "It's going to be girls vs. boys."

I waddle over to the comfortable outdoor seating arrangement my husbands built. It's a nice change from the uncomfortable seats at a real hockey arena, complete with outdoor patio warmers to keep us nice and cozy.

I place one hand on my nine-month-pregnant stomach and one in the middle of my back. I've been having contractions all morning, but I don't want to alert anyone until I know for sure it's time. It's been twelve years and ten babies, including two sets of twins. At forty-two, this pregnancy is my last, so I want to enjoy it for as long as possible.

The last twelve years have been the best anyone could ever ask for. I continued my job as an agent but limited myself to only the players on the Minnesota Norse hockey team and, of course, Hadley for when she ever decides to return to acting or pursue a career in singing. But I think she's happy the way her life is, so I don't foresee that happening anytime soon.

As for the rest of my Ladies of the Norse group, they're happy and healthy, all competing to fill their own roster of players for their own hockey team with all the children they're all having—even Teagan—with the luxury of having surrogates to carry her babies. She's producing three babies every two years.

It's our year to host Christmas. It's good that we decided to build our own mansion on an acreage in Minnesota. The fifteen-bedroom house has come in handy for many gatherings for all our friends and their huge families.

Speaking of families, all the children old enough to ice skate line up on the ice—boys on one team, girls on the other, while the younger kids who cannot skate cheer them on from the heated seating area. It's always fun when we all get together now that most of the original Minnesota Norse players are retiring from hockey or getting close to retiring. I know exactly how this night will go; once the kids are all tucked in their beds, the guys and Teagan will sneak out to play their own game of hockey on the ice rink while the rest of the wives watch—it's tradition. The game is even official with our own personal, certified referees.

Another sharp contraction ripples through my body. I squeeze the chair cushion and try to breathe through the pain. I must not have done a very good job of hiding the pain as Ace jumps over the side of the ice rink, still wearing his skates, since he's acting as a referee for the children's game.

"Shit, Cassi, are you in labor?" He rubs my belly like he's done so many times during all my pregnancies. I'm going to miss those small touches the most. Sure, they'll all still touch me like that; it's just different what tiny life or life is growing underneath that touch.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Daddy said shit!" Our four-year-old twins sing next to me, making me laugh.

"We got this." Fin and Tarek each grab one of the girls and skate off with them to distract them. Ever since the night of our drinking game, they have treated me like their little sister, which I don't hate, even though I'm older than both of them.

Dalton and Maverick come rushing over from the fire pit, where some of the adults have gathered to watch the hockey game. "Is she in labor?" Maverick asks as Dalton scoops me up into his arms.

"Yes." I smile through my tears of happiness. "Your daughter wants to spend Christmas with us."

"Daughter? We're having a girl?" The joy on my husbands' faces is more than I can handle and I begin to sob.

"I know we wanted it to be a secret, but I wanted to know." I don't add that I needed to have that special moment with my last child—sharing a secret as we built our bond.

"Oh, Cassi, it doesn't matter that you knew and we didn't. I love you, Cassi. Nothing you could do would upset me." Ace brushes the tears from my cheeks.

"I love you too, Cassi. Thank you for giving me your love and our amazing family." Dalton squeezes me tighter in his embrace.

"I love you for taking a chance on three young punks who knew nothing about how to treat a lady." Maverick kisses my tear-stained cheek.

"And I love all of you for making me a wife and a mother when I thought that ship had sailed."

"I hate to break up this love fest, but if you don't get her to the hospital soon, this baby is going to be born right here."

Teagan was wrong. We made it to the hospital just in time for the baby to burst into this world with only seconds to spare. I gaze around my hospital room as my husbands take turns holding little Valkyrie because, of course, my tiny daughter would have the lungs of a warrior, and I'm stuck with so much happiness that I know no one could ever love me better than my three.