Chapter 22

"Y ou happy to be headed home, sweetie?" I ask Amelia before shrugging. "Because if not, we can probably extend our stay a few more days. Margie, that old lady in the cafeteria, reeeeally likes your daddy. She could hook us up, I bet."

"No, Daddy!"

She giggles, holding a stuffed bullmastiff. Kolt brought it for her after he FaceTimed with her a few days ago and she told him she was missing Clyde. I almost turned that fucker into a service dog just so he could come see her. Lucky for him, he's bounced between Kolt's and Tripp's houses the past week and undoubtedly gained a few pounds from the amount of treats he's been given.

"Yeah, you're right." I nod. "Six days is enough. I'll just have to let Margie down easy. Besides, they say distance makes the heart grow fonder, right?"

"You're still talking about your new flame, Marg, I see," Maci mutters, walking into the room and trying to fight off the grin on her face.

"What can I say? Our love burns deep." I wink. "And Daddy's still got it."

"She's, like, eighty," she tosses back, widening her eyes.

Leaning against the wall, I shake my head. "Well, Maci, what can I say? Age is just a number."

Scrunching her nose up, she looks at Amelia, who is desperately trying to bring all the shit my teammates and family have sent her in her tiny arms.

"Whatcha say, girl? Ready to get out of this place?"

She nods excessively before heading toward the door. Maci does one last sweep of the room, stopping at the window.

"I think you're going to want to see this," she whispers to me, nodding at the window in a way Amelia won't notice.

Slowly, I walk over. And even though I've been a Shark for years, I can't believe my eyes.

The entire New England Bay Sharks team is standing outside, all waiting by the exit for when we finally get out of this place. What was expected to be a short visit to the emergency room ended up being six nights long. But finally, Amelia's lungs are clear, and she's eating and drinking again. RSV are three letters I hope I never have to hear again for the rest of my life because I won't lie; there were such scary fucking episodes for my baby girl this week. It's nice to see her finally back to herself.

I put my arm around Maci and dip my face closer to her ear. "My kid's pretty damn lucky, huh?"

Smiling up at me, she nods. "She is. She has Logan Sterns as a dad."

"Aw, look at you, being all sweet," I drawl before bringing my lips closer to her ear. "Must be because we're headed home and you're in need of a trip to good ol' pound town."

She rolls her eyes and looks up at me, amused. "What about Margie? I thought your love burned deep. Perhaps you'd like to take her home instead."

I gag, shivering. "I love you, Boston, but please … don't talk about Marg that way. She has dentures. And smells of … Nana."

"But age is just a number," she says, shrugging her shoulders. "So is the number of teeth one has intact."

"You're taking it too far," I grumble before taking her hands. "All jokes aside … I couldn't have gotten through this past week without you. You held down the fort, staying here when I had to go to the stadium for my game and practice."

I want to kiss her lips so badly, but I haven't talked to Amelia about what is happening between Maci and me. I mean, fuck, she's only three, so I don't even know how to approach it.

"I know this week put a damper on your writing deadline. I promise, when we get home … I'll do whatever I can to take care of Amy so you get the words in." I wiggle my eyebrows. "I'll even give you more inspiration if you need it."

"Surprisingly, I actually still managed to write ten thousand words this week. Which means I'm nearly done with this story."

"What happens at the end?" I utter, getting closer to her and again wishing so fucking bad my lips were on hers.

That's not the only thing I want to do with her mouth.

"I'm not sure yet," she says softly, giving me a sly smile. "To be determined, I suppose."

Amelia runs over to us, grabbing both of our hands. "Let's go! Big Clyde is waiting!"

She pulls us toward the door, and I quickly grab her bag with my free hand.

"So, that's Little Clyde?" I point to the stuffie in her arm, and she nods. "Very … original."

I glance over at Maci, and she giggles.

"I, for one, think Clyde will be incredibly honored that he has a stuffie named after him." She brushes her hand over the top of Amelia's hair as we walk out of the room and down the hallway. "But I think he'll be even happier to have you home."

"Because I'm his best friend," Amelia says matter-of-factly.

"Yes. Yes, you are," Maci agrees.

Maddie worked for me for years. She attended doctor visits, holidays, dinners, and everything in between. But this feels different.

This feels like … a family.

I look at Maci and Amelia, and I know right away, these two are my family.

I never knew just how different a family could look from one person to another. But as I look out at an entire team of hockey players—all holding flowers, a balloon, or a stuffed animal in their arms—each waiting for their turn to see Amelia … I see the biggest family I have ever seen. And how lucky is Amelia that she has so many people who care about her and will protect her at all costs? They love her, and that love started with her dad. I can't even call him the number one book boyfriend because he's real. I can physically reach out and wrap my arms around him.

As Logan takes Amelia to the coach first, I can't help but listen to some of his teammates bicker. Mostly because they sound like a bunch of hens.

"Dude, you always have to do this shit," Ryder says, shooting Kolt a harsh glare. "Every single time."

"Do what?" Kolt grumbles, peeking over the stuffed bullmastiff in his arms, which is literally the size of Clyde.

He already gave Amelia a small bullmastiff stuffie. This time, I guess he went with the life-sized version.

"Don't play dumb with me." Ryder points at the gift. "You little one-upper, you."

"Like a ten-upper, I'd say," Tripp chimes in, glancing from Ryder's bouquet of flowers to Kolt's gift that might not even fit in the back seat of Logan's pickup. "Sorry, Ry. But Kolt is for sure winning this time. Amy is going to lose her shit over that dog."

Smith comes out of nowhere, giving both of them a sly smirk as he holds up a card. "You all suck. I got her money. What kid doesn't love money?"

"A kid whose dad is one of the highest-paid players in the NHL," Kolt deadpans, not looking at Smith.

"Yeah, what he said." Ryder gives Smith a chin jerk. "Fuck your cash."

I'm doing all I can to not burst out laughing because I'm ninety percent sure they have no idea whatsoever that I'm listening in.

"Whatever," Smith mumbles. "What the fuck is she supposed to do with that thing anyway? Besides, don't you know anything? Kid likes excavators and Highland cows."

"Nah, lately, she likes bullmastiffs," Kolt's deep voice says, shrugging. "Sorry. But like Ryder said, fuck your cash."

Amelia lets go of Logan's hand and makes her way over to the group of gossip girls, shutting them up.

Rushing to Kolt, she stares up at him. "Uncle Kolty, is this for me?" She points to the life-sized stuffie.

Kneeling down, he nods. "You know it, Super A." He gives the plush toy a once-over. "Whatcha think? Is big Clyde going to be okay with this guy?"

"Probably will become his newest mistress," Logan mutters, running his hand up the back of his head. When he finds me shooting him a look, he shrugs. "What? Have you seen your dog with the pillows?" He elbows Ryder when he sees Kolt talking to Amelia and knows she won't hear him. "Fucker gets after it. My dog is a pillow pimp."

"So, your dog's basically a perv, like you?" Ryder smirks. "The perfect match."

I know he's talking to Logan, but something about the way he just called Clyde my dog does something inside my belly. I feel butterflies flapping around, making me all giddy.

My apartment has been sitting empty for weeks. And even though the men who broke in were caught long ago, a part of me doesn't want to go back. But that's crazy. I mean, even if Logan and I are going to give this thing between us a real shot, it would be reckless to live together so soon, wouldn't it?

And yet the thought of not living with them makes my heart hurt. I love the sound of Amelia's feet walking into the kitchen in the morning when I'm sipping my coffee. Or typing on my computer and taking my headphones off and hearing Logan making her laugh.

One by one, Amelia makes her way through the Sharks.

And despite what the guys said, when Smith passes her a card and she tears it open, seeing the hundred-dollar bill in it, her eyes light up.

"Maci, look!" she squeals. "We can go to Target tomorrow!"

I giggle, smiling at the sight of her huge eyes while she waves the money around. "Yes, we will!"

"Daddy, can you carry my new Clyde?" Amelia says, struggling to even get her arms around the huge dog. "Thank you, Uncle Kolty. I love it."

"I'll carry it, sweetie," I say, lifting it into my arms and peeking over its head.

Kolt's tough exterior almost cracks—but only for a moment. Giving her a tiny grin, he bobs his head up and down once. "You know it, Super A. Hey, tell you what. For your birthday, I'll try to get you an even bigger one."

"How big do you think Sterns's house is, Kolburne?" Ryder shakes his head and winks at Amelia. "I'll get you the real thing."

"A puppy?" she squeals. "Really, Uncle Ryder? Really?"

Logan gives him an are you fucking serious look and lifts her up. "All right, babe. Let's get you home. There's someone there just drooling on himself, ready to see you."

He turns to face the crowd of men. "This week has been rough. And it's been scary as hell. But I can't thank y'all enough for checking in on us, dropping us off food because … this hospital's food sucks, and for coming here today for Amy." He kisses her cheek, grinning. "This team is our family, and we're lucky to have you."

Holding his hand up, he waves, and they all wave and clap for Amelia. To some, it might just look like a group of dumb hockey players. To me, it's one of the most heartfelt moments I've ever seen. And I know right away … this moment is going into my book, somehow, someway.