EPILOGUE
CHRISTMAS DAY
“Ducky, Ducky!”
Someone shook Jesse and he blinked awake to see Maura sitting on the bed beside him, staring intently.
“Wake up. It’s Christmas !”
“Noooooooo,” Jesse said, mashing his face into the pillow. “Ducky wants to sleeeeeeeeeep.”
He couldn’t remember exactly how the girls calling him Ducky had started. Maybe when they overheard someone from the team calling him Webby a few weeks ago?
Maura had been talking about a book with ducks in it and that they had webbed feet and it had somehow become his nickname at home.
He’d had worse.
Honestly, it was cute. He just wasn’t excited about hearing it at this hour of the morning.
“Daddy!” Evie whispered urgently from the other side of the bed. “You have to wake Ducky up.”
“Do I?” Connor asked, not sounding a hell of a lot more awake than Jesse felt. He let out a growly noise and Jesse felt someone land on the bed between them.
“My glasses!” Evie started giggling and Jesse smiled.
“Hi, Evie,” he mumbled without lifting his head.
“Ducky!” She wiggled in between him and Connor, tugging at his arm. “Get up! There’s presents .”
“Five more minutes,” Jesse begged.
“Noooo.” Evie tugged on his arm again.
Jesse flopped against the bed dramatically, muttering, “I’m surprised Nolan’s not here too.”
“Oh, I’m here. The girls made me promise if you weren’t up in the next ten minutes, I’d dump snow on you.”
Jesse rolled on his back, finding Nolan standing at the foot of the bed and squinting at him. “Cruel. And since when do teenagers get up this early? I never did.”
Connor laughed, reaching out to brush hair out Jesse’s eyes. “Why does this not surprise me?”
“It snowed so much last night too!” Evie said, her tone filled with relish. “Which means there will be lots to get you with.”
“I thought you all loved me,” Jesse said when he sat up. “What is this?”
Evie giggled, clambering out of bed, then helping Maura down. “A Christmas surprise?”
“This is a terrible Christmas surprise,” Jesse protested, getting out of bed. Honestly, he loved this though. He loved that they were all wearing matching pajamas and the girls wanted him to be a part of their holiday celebration. Mostly he loved that they were starting to feel like a family. “It’s a good thing I love you all too!”
The girls cheered and took off, skidding out of their bedroom with Nolan right behind them. When the sound of footfalls faded into the distance, Jesse turned to look at his boyfriend.
Connor looked half-asleep too, but soft, his expression fond and happy.
“You sure you want all this?” he asked with a little laugh.
“I’m sure,” Jesse said confidently. “But I won’t be mad when the girls are old enough to want to sleep in.”
“Nah, you’ll miss it,” Connor said, making a beeline for the bathroom.
“So you say,” Jesse said dubiously as he straightened the covers and settled the pillows into place. But a part of him was a little sad he’d missed the early years with the girls. With Nolan.
Because he loved them so much already.
After they’d both used the bathroom and brushed their teeth, Jesse and Connor ventured downstairs to the living room. A large Christmas tree was set up in front of the window overlooking the street and the girls were snuggling with Nolan on the couch. It was picture perfect and Jesse whipped his phone out and got a shot before any of them could move or make funny faces at the camera.
Not that he’d learned the hard way or anything.
“Presents! Presents! Presents!” Maura said, bouncing on the couch.
Jesse squinted. “Coffee, coffee, coffee first.”
“Oh man,” Evie said, hanging upside down on the couch. “You’re so slow.”
Connor snickered.
“See if I make you any coffee.” Jesse glared as he walked past.
Connor shot an arm out, capturing him around the waist. “You love me too much to deprive me of coffee at this hour.”
Jesse made a face. “I suppose I do.”
With a laugh, Connor kissed his temple and let him go. Coffee came together quickly and Jesse had already slurped up half of the scalding liquid by the time he carried a mug to Connor.
He thanked Jesse with a kiss and Jesse took a seat on the rug beside the tree.
“You don’t have to sit down there,” Connor said, sounding amused. “The youngest always hands out the presents. That’s the rules.”
Jesse shrugged. “I need to stretch anyway. And I was the youngest—oldest, and only—in my family, so I’m used to it. Unless Maura will be bummed.”
Connor shook his head, though he turned to glance at her. “You wanna hand out the presents or can Ducky do it?”
“Ducky!” she said, crossing her legs and dragging a soft blanket onto her lap.
So Jesse handed out presents.
A good chunk of them were for the girls of course—and Nolan—and it wasn’t until the living room was covered in chunks of shredded paper and ribbon that Jesse finally handed a small box to Connor.
Connor raised an eyebrow and Jesse rolled his eyes. No, he wasn’t proposing .
Although they had accidentally created a small ruckus when they sent out Christmas cards with a picture of them and the kids and addressed it as being from the Webber-O’Shea Family.
Whoops .
His mother and Connor’s had given them a little bit of hell. But like, honestly, if Jesse was gonna propose he wouldn’t do it on Christmas .
Connor ripped off the paper to reveal a small white box. He looked puzzled as he opened it, his expression clearing when he saw the small platinum charm.
“For my chain?” Connor asked.
Jesse nodded. “If you want.”
“It’s nice,” Connor said, looking a little puzzled as he tilted it to catch the light better. He asked, “Hey, are those location coordinates engraved on here?”
“Yeah. Of the lakeshore in Chicago where we kissed for the first time,” Jesse explained. “And our home in Boston.”
He was really getting into this whole romance thing. It was fun.
Connor smiled. “Ahh, got it! I like that a lot. Thank you.”
“There’s more on the other side too,” Jesse explained.
Connor flipped the charm over, revealing a heart and the names Jesse, Nolan, Evie & Maura inside it. He blinked a little as he set the box on his thigh. He unhooked his chain, slipping the charm onto it. He refastened it around his neck, and the small disc gleamed against the sliver of chest that showed above the red and green plaid flannel pajama top.
“It’s perfect,” he said quietly, patting it. “Just the right weight.”
“The kids helped me decide what to put on the charm,” Jesse explained. “So it’s from all of us.”
“Thank you. All of you.” Connor looked around, meeting each of their gazes.
“We helped Ducky pick it out too!” Maura said proudly.
“You did a great job.” He kissed the top of her head, then stood to kiss Evie, Nolan, and Jesse. When Connor skirted around the tree, he bumped the final wrapped package with his foot.
“Hey, what’s this?” He picked up the box, frowning at the label. “To: Jesse. From: Jesse. Uhh, I guess this is for you then?”
Jesse winked. “Yeah. I have fantastic taste.”
Connor looked confused, but he shrugged and passed the present over, then took a seat on the floor next to his hip.
The kids crowded around them, gasping when Jesse peeled open the box to reveal a shiny new goalie mask.
The cage was gleaming gold on top of the glossy black of the base. The Harriers Hawk was emblazoned across the top of it, like it was skimming along the surface of the water, wings outstretched and ready to strike. The Boston skyline decorated one side of the helmet, while the other had the Bunker Hill Monument rising over a row of houses, along with a script font that said #9 Monument Street .
Emphasis on street, of course.
Connor laughed aloud, tracing the word with his fingers. “I love that.”
“The kids helped me design the mask too,” Jesse said. Honestly, he was shocked they’d managed to keep it a secret, especially Maura.
“This is my favorite part though,” Jesse whispered, rubbing his thumb across where the names Connor, Nolan, Evie, and Maura were emblazoned. He’d always have them close during a game.
Connor pulled him close, thickly rasping, “Mine too.”
“Hey. I love you Captain Growly,” Jesse said, brushing his thumb across Connor’s cheek, smiling at the way his eyes crinkled happily as he smiled back. “You know that, right?”
Connor leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together. “Love you too, my little chaos demon. I really, really don’t know what I’d do without you in my life.”
“Probably be old, grumpy, and boring,” Jesse said with a shrug.
Connor laughed. “Probably.”
Smiling even wider, Jesse kissed him.
And to think, there would be so much more fun and chaos to come in the future. Connor and Jesse and the kids, the Harriers team—they were only getting started.