26. Tate

Holy shit I did it. I fucking did it. It feels pretty fucking great. But there was still a dull ache in my chest until I saw my family on the big screen above center ice and realized Mallory was with them. Holding Dylan.

Then suddenly it all felt so much better. I owed her an apology. I owed her so much more, but I needed to start with an apology. I didn’t know if I would get the chance to give her one. Crew had said she was pissed and was talking about going home. And then Emmett tried to get me to punch him, repeatedly. I was furious with him, but I was not going to make this worse by punching him. Even though I desperately wanted to. I knew, in the end, he’s Mallory’s brother and she loves him so punching him wasn’t going to improve my situation with her.

I go into the third period on a high, hoping beyond hope that Mallory’s presence here is a sign that she might give me another chance. Nash scores early in the third with an assist from Crew, who can somehow make a perfect pass to his brother anywhere on the ice without even looking. It would be infuriating if they were on the opposing team so I get why the Thunder are irked. They’re fired up, still fighting for the last playoff spot in our division. We are fired up because we want to win this for Landon who is still in the hospital.

So things get chippy in the last half of the third. They get a penalty but we can’t capitalize on it. And then Crew takes a tripping penalty. He’s one of our best penalty killers so having him in the box for one hurts. Coach Braddock points to me as we head out to fight this. “You’re not coming off until the kill is over. Can you handle that?”

I nod. He turns to the rest of the penalty killers. “And you all get the puck to Garrison any chance you get. We are not only going to beat these guys, we’re going to make sure he leaves his dad’s record in the dust. Got it?”

“Coach…” He stares at me, an eyebrow quirked like he’s daring me to talk him out of letting me score yet another shorty, which would mean I’m two ahead of my dad’s longstanding record. “I’ve got this.”

They all grunt out their support. No pressure, I think nervously. We’re only ahead by one goal. If the guys are concentrating on getting me the puck instead of just keeping it away from our zone on a power play, they could get sloppy and the Thunder could tie this up. But Coach has faith I can do this and I should do this so I will do this, I tell myself. And I want to do this for Dylan. And Mallory. For the first time in my life, this isn”t about my own ego. I want to make my son and Mallory proud. Because I love them.

“Garrison!”

I have been on autopilot, my brain lost in a fog of new emotions. I didn”t see Nash get the puck from the Thunder forward, or shoot it across the ice to me at the center line, but it”s a foot from me when he calls my name. There”s not one but two Thunder players near me, one to the left and one to the right, and both are skating at me with everything they”ve got, I deke around one.

The puck hits my stick so hard it almost flies over it. But it doesn’t and I skate like my whole life depends on it. But I won’t make it any closer than I am. I have to take the shot because I know that Thunder player who was on my right is a few short seconds from checking me onto my ass. So just a few feet over the blue line, I narrow my focus on the left top corner of the net, pull my stick back, and let a blistering slap shot go.

It”s not the fastest shot I”ve ever done. It”s not the prettiest-looking shot. And I don”t even see it cross the goal line because I”m slammed into the boards by the Thunder player and I”m on my back on the ice. But I hear the crowd. They come alive all at once and I swear to God the ice under me shakes.

Someone holds out a hand and hauls me up to my feet. It”s Emmett Echolls. He skates away without a word. I look up before the team swarms me, and I see my family. I see my son and I see Mallory. I point at them. At her. I hope she knows it. I hope she knows…

The game ends. We win. And I am Player of the Game. But the announcement isn”t the normal one. They bring my family down onto the ice to give me the puck as they announce I got First Star of the Game, and that I just beat my dad”s shorthanded goal record.

My dad, mom, and Tenley holding Dylan, walk tentatively in a line to center ice and I skate out to meet them. Mallory is at the edge of the ice, against the boards where my parents entered from. I stare at her, she stares back but motions for me to go to my parents. I stop in front of my dad. “Just a sec, okay,” I say and pause to kiss Dylan’s cheek. He grins at me as I yank off my glove and ruffle his hair.

Then I skate past my family and straight to Mallory. “What are you doing?” she asks, her voice high and squeaky because she knows the cameras have followed me.

“Apologizing,” I say. “Look, I will grovel in technicolor as soon as we’re home, but for now, just know that I know I fucked up. I handled that whole thing in the worst possible way. I never should have left you at that bar. I’m sorry. I will forever be sorry. And you don’t have to forgive me right this minute but if you think you might sometime in the future can you please come out onto the ice right now?”

”They asked for your family to give you the puck,” Mallory whispers like we”re being eavesdropped on. I have no idea if mics are on us but there is a camera pointed at us over by the boards and I”m sure we”re on the Jumbotron. ”Just go do your thing.”

“You are my family, Mallory,” I tell her. “Maybe not on paper but I love you as much as I love them. You matter to me as much as they do so please. I want you there.”

“Oh…” She blinks. She smiles. She blinks again.

I take that as a yes so I wrap my arm around her tiny waist and lift her up and skate. She lets out a squeak and wraps her arms around my neck. She buries her head against my neck guard as her legs dangle just above the tops of my skate boot. “You are insane Tate Garrison.”

“Maybe,” I admit. “I’ve never been in love before but I guess it makes you crazy.”

“Oh my God stop saying that,” she whispers.

“Say it back and I will.”

”I love you,” Mallory says it so easily that it blows my mind. ”I have for a very long time, you idiot. But I am still mad at you.”

“I’ll fix that,” I promise as I deposit her next to my sister.

I skate over to my dad. He gives me the game puck and a giant hug while my mom holds Dylan. I hug each of them. And then I kiss Mallory.

As a reporter makes his way over to us, I scoop Dylan out of my Tenley’s arms and he comes gladly. I offer him the puck and he holds it in his little hands, staring at it intently, probably contemplating if he can chew on it.

”So, Tate, you sure know how to end a season,” the reporter says. ”How does it feel to beat your dad”s long-standing league record by not one but two goals?”

“Great,” I say with a smile. “Almost as great as being a dad.”

Dylan squeals something indiscernible and shakes the puck in his hand.

The crowd erupts with laughter and cheers.

* * *

“Are you sure it’s okay to kick your parents out?” Mallory asks as I carry a sleeping Dylan upstairs to his room.

“Yes,” I say. “And besides, they should spend some time with Tenley. And Liv.”

Mallory doesn’t answer. I wait for her on the landing and then kiss the top of her head when she comes up the stairs to stand beside me. “Besides, I can’t grovel the way I want to with them here.”

She raises an eyebrow. “How exactly do you want to grovel?”

“With my tongue. And my dick,” I say as I open Dylan’s door.

“Please don’t say the d-word in front of your son,” Mallory warns. “It might end up being his first word.”

“Okay well we don’t want that,” I agree.

She laughs and we both start gently getting him ready for bed, trying desperately not to wake him. It takes a while but we manage to get him out of his clothes and into a onesie. He wakes momentarily but his eyes close as soon as we lay him down.

We turn on his nightlight and sneak out of the room, softly closing the door as we go. Once we’re in the hall I stare down at her. She stares up at me, her gaze tentative. “I know you’re not over it. I don’t expect you to be over it, but will you give me a chance to make it up to you?”

“What happened on the ice with Emmett?”

“He wanted me to fight him,” I explain. “He was begging me to punch him. Told me it was his fault the story got out, not yours. He said I was a jackass if I was going to hurt you over this.”

“And you wouldn’t punch him?”

“I wanted to, but I knew that it would hurt you,” I explain and I tuck a lock of her blonde hair behind her left ear. “And I’d hurt you enough.”

She looks down, at the small space between us. “Tate, I don’t blame you. You freaked out. I might have freaked out too. But what scares me is… I had fallen faster and harder than you. I let that happen. And I felt so… foolish when you left me with Crew. Like I was this burden you had to get rid of. And I won’t ever feel like that again. Ever.”

“I won’t let you. I promise.” I cup her face in my hands. “I am so sorry. And for the record, you may have fallen for me first but I fell hard, Mallory. I know I can manage Dylan on my own now. I know I can go on with my life and win this Cup this year and break a million records without you in my life. But I don’t want to. I don’t want to do anything without you. I don’t know when or how it happened but I fell for you, Mallory Echolls. And my life got exponentially better because of it.”

She tucks her head and presses her forehead to the center of my chest. I wrap my arms around her and dip my head and whisper, “Was that too much? Not enough? Again, I am absolutely clueless when it comes to this.”

“Well just like everything else, Tate, you’re pretty perfect at winning a woman back,” Mallory tells me and she grabs my waist and giggles before lifting her head. “But I am perfectly fine with you still groveling. With your tongue and your dick.”

“Shh!” I hush her and grin. “Don’t need Dyllie Bear yelling dick at the Stanley Cup winning game.”

She laughs but it’s cut short when I pull her into a kiss and then lift her up and carry her to my… our bedroom. And half an hour later when she’s coming and panting my name I tell her I love her over and over and lose myself inside her. Only for the first time since she walked back into my life, I don’t feel lost at all.