Chapter 45

Coleson

I’m ready to be out of this wheelchair.

I watch as my wife moves around the room like a damn fairy, cleaning and gushing over everyone. The room is decked out with a huge floor-to-ceiling Christmas tree decorated with nothing but gold accents. Fake snow and angels are everywhere.

Apparently, the girls’ first Christmas with Dan, he decorated with angels because they were his angels. It’s sweet, and I enjoy watching him interact with his granddaughters. It’s obvious he loves them deeply. He’s actually been really nice to all us guys too, which is a welcome change. Dan Davenport as a grandfather compared to as an owner is two totally different men.

Eliza takes her gift from him and beams when she opens a very pretty gold hockey necklace that she asked him for. I know if I look at the stick, it’ll have my number on it how she wanted. I watch as he puts it on her, and I find that I’m jealous. I hate being confined to one spot. I want nothing more than to chase her down and make her sit. She hasn’t sat since we’ve all gathered, and it’s driving me insane.

She’s such a mother hen, and while the idea of having kids scares the fuck out of me, I know she is going to be the best mother. We have some time before we decide on that, but damn, she makes it really appealing to knock her up and watch my child grow within her. Not now. I gotta get healthy first, but maybe after. Eh, who am I kidding? If she asked me today, I’d do it.

Whatever she wants.

I love her, and these last three weeks just prove how I couldn’t have picked a better fake wife. God, I was dumb. I, of course, tried not to fall for someone who radiates love. I’m so glad I didn’t push her away when I first got hurt. I could have, but my selfish self couldn’t do it. I’ve always felt a special pull between us, and I really was an idiot to assume I could keep her at arm’s length. Not when I want to pull her to my chest with every breath I take.

My beautiful wife. My real wife.

Everyone is opening gifts and chitchatting in their matching PJs. Clara cut mine at the thigh to make sure they fit over my cast, which sucks because I was gonna use it as an excuse not to wear the ugly bright-pink PJs. I don’t know why we all need to be wearing matching PJs with Christmas-hat-wearing walruses on them, but we are. And why are they pink? Christmas colors are red and green, but my wife wasn’t hearing it. So now we all look ridiculous, not that I’m saying that out loud. I don’t want to upset my wife, not when she’s smiling like our future isn’t unknown. I guess, in a way, it’s not. Yeah, my career is. But us, we’re solid. She’s mine and I’m hers.

She must feel me watching her because her eyes move to meet mine. A smile pulls across her lips, and I smile back before beckoning her to me. She comes automatically until she stops, pulling out her phone. I watch as her brows furrow, and she glances up at me as she answers halfway to me, “Hey, Coach. Oh, I guess he doesn’t. Yeah, one second.” She comes to me, holding out her phone. “Where is your phone?”

I shrug. “I don’t know.”

She rolls her eyes before I take her phone, and then she turns toward the Christmas tree. I watch her ass move as I answer. “Hey, Coach. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, bud. How ya doing?”

“All right, we’re in Nashville until tomorrow. Are we still good for lunch?”

“Aye, I wanted to make sure to confirm before I got too drunk on eggnog.” I snort at that. “But also, to check in.”

I know what he’s asking. If I’m okay mentally. Just like Eliza, Coach has been a huge part of my recovery thus far. He has come to see me twice and calls every two days. I don’t know how I got so lucky with this guy, but I’ll always treasure our relationship. I look around, and of course, my wife is watching me. I send her a smile and then wheel myself out into the hallway for a moment of privacy. When I’m alone, I say, “I’m all right. We knew it was going to be hard, and it has been. I hate leaning solely on Eliza like this.”

“Ah, but she’s a tough lass. She’s got you.”

“Oh, I know,” I agree wholeheartedly. “I just wish she didn’t have to.”

“Understandable. How much longer till you’re out of the wheelchair?”

“Five weeks, and then I’ll be moved into a walking cast, which will be a damn good time, I’m sure.”

He grunts. “When I snapped my tibia, the rehab was brutal. But I’ve been through it, so I’ve got you. And Eliza…well, she’s just a breath of fresh air.”

“She is,” I say, leaning back in the chair.

“And pain management?”

I nod. “Good, she has me on a schedule. And it’s good to see it visually, so I’m not just popping pills.”

“Good, good. You sound way better.”

“Thanks, Coach.”

“You know you can make it back. I did it, and you can too. Especially with Eliza and me in your corner.”

“I know,” I say softly.

“But?”

A smile pulls at my lips. He may be my coach, but he knows me like a father. One I wish I’d had growing up. Emotion is thick in my throat as I say, “I don’t know. We discussed us moving to Nashville and opening some shops here. Maybe even me coaching some hockey up here.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, I don’t know yet.”

“How does Eliza feel about that?”

“She said she’ll do whatever I want.”

“Good lass,” he mumbles. “Listen, can I ask a favor?”

“Of course.”

“Give me a year.”

I laugh out loud at that. “A year, huh?”

“Yes, you should be pretty familiar with this proposition.” I scoff at that, and he continues, “But give me a year to get you where you need to be, once you get cleared to skate. I know I can get you back to the NHL, stronger and better than ever.”

I press my lips together and think it over. It’s only been three weeks, and I go back and forth about everything. Fuck, I miss the ice. I just want to go lie on it, but it’s not safe. Not yet, at least. The thought of hanging up my skates hurts, but the stress and pain I’m putting Eliza and myself through right now is a lot. If I stay in the sport, I could get hurt again. I don’t know if I want to go through this another time. I haven’t even gotten to the harder shit yet, and I’m just not sure.

“Let me think about it.”

“Hit me up at the new year with an answer, aye?”

“Yeah, for sure. Thanks, Coach.”

“No thanks needed. Merry Christmas, Katz.”

“Merry Christmas, Coach.”

I hang up and look down at the phone as his request plays over in my head. It’s still too early, though. I need to heal and keep my mind mentally strong. I’ve hired a really awesome hockey mental health coach, and I have time to decide. I could agree now and change my mind later on, and Coach wouldn’t fault me. He’d support me. I tuck Eliza’s phone in my chair beside her gift and wheel myself back into the organized chaos that is Christmas with a bunch of adults.

I don’t see my wife, though, and a moment of panic spikes until she wraps her arms around my shoulders. She kisses my cheek. “Everything okay?”

I nod as I pull her arms off and lead her around my chair before slowly lowering her into my lap, much to her protest. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“My lap isn’t broken,” I tell her, and then by her ear, I whisper, “You found that out not two hours ago.”

She snickers. “Keeping time?”

“Duh. I’m due for a repeat performance in another twenty minutes,” I say, and her laugh is like music.

From the couch, Clara says, “Ew.”

“Right? We need men so we can be distracted by our own guys and not hear them,” Elliot agrees, and Dan gives them both a look.

“No hockey players,” he practically begs.

Clara smiles sweetly. “Sorry, Peepaw. Hockey players are hot.”

The three McDavid sisters with hockey-player other halves all nod in agreement. He waves her off. “Then find one not on the Bears.”

She shrugs as Eliza leans into my chest, our eyes meeting. “Everything okay with Coach?”

With my voice low, I say, “Yeah, he wants me to give him a year once I’m cleared to non-contact and see what we can make happen.”

She searches my eyes. “What are you thinking?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. It’s too early.”

She nods slowly. “Understandable. But know that, no matter what, I support you.”

“I don’t want to put you through this again. I’m bound to get hurt.”

“By then, I’ll be a pro,” she insists, her eyes sparkling. “I know who I married. A hot, hockey-playing alpha. So please don’t put aside your dreams because of fears of how it’ll affect me. No matter what, I’ve got you.”

“I’ve got you always, Eliza,” I say softly as I gaze into her eyes.

She cups my jaw. With a smile, she says, “I know.” I kiss her nose, and before I can react to her statement, she goes on. “But the last time you gave up a year of your life, you got the best thing ever.”

She giggles and probably expects me to laugh too, but what she doesn’t realize is she’s absolutely right. “You are the best thing in my life,” I whisper, holding her gaze.

“And even though you were scared, you tried, and look how that worked out.”

“I fell for you way before I tried, Eliza. You’ve been it for me. I was just too much of a dumbass.”

Her eyes get a bit glossy, and then she winks. “I know.”

I can’t help but grin at her. “You always knew, huh?”

“I did,” she says confidently. “Because you were it for me.”

My throat goes tight as I hold her gaze, and I know I don’t want to waste another minute. “If I could, I’d get out of this seat. But I don’t want to wait anymore.”

Her brows furrow as I dig into my side pocket. I pull out a black bear-shaped box with an orange bow on top of it, and her brows pull in even farther. “What’s that? Is that a bear?” she asks with a chuckle, and I nod.

“It is. I feel bears are important to us.”

She blinks. “No, they’re not. I don’t want them anywhere near us.”

I laugh and then lean in so my lips touch her ear. “You know I’m the only one allowed to eat you, Wife.”

“I can’t with you.”

I give her a wide smile before I hand her the box. “Like I said, I would get down on one knee, but I’m a bit broken.”

Her eyes are full of so much love as she nods. “Just a little bit broken.”

She slowly opens the box to reveal a two-carat round diamond on a roped gold band, along with a matching wedding band made of diamonds. In the light, they sparkle just as her eyes do, and when I look at those sparkling eyes, my breath catches at the tears that well up.

She looks up at me, and I finally find my breath and then my words. Quietly, I whisper, “I love you, Wife. More so than I ever thought I could. I was starved before I met you. Starved for joy, for love, for peace, for everything that you have brought into my life. I didn’t know what it was to be loved until I met you. I can’t even imagine my life without you. You make me a better man and a better person. Eliza James Katz, I want to spend the rest of my days as yours. Only yours. Forever. Be my wife forever, Wife?”

Tears spill over onto her cheeks, and I wipe them away quickly. She gazes into my eyes, and I take the box from her. I pull out the rings, not needing her answer because I know what it is. I slide the rings down her finger, and I wait for the panic that I would have felt before. But as I suspected, it doesn’t come. This girl is mine. I look up at my wife, and she leans in until our foreheads touch. “Forever the easiest yes of my life.”

I capture her lips, and while I don’t know what the hell is going to happen with my career, I know that no matter what, we’ll always be standing next to each other.

The ultimate team.

Forever.