Chapter 33
Isla
2013
E ach time one of the players on the opposite hockey team crashed into Brayden, Isla cringed. How she agreed to let Brayden play in the youth hockey league was beyond her. He was only seven. And her baby boy. Her precious, sweet, gentle baby boy who was currently being bullied by a kid an entire foot taller than him.
It didn’t matter how many times Vera reassured her that he was okay; the referees and coaches would stop things before they escalated. Isla would always worry about Brayden when he stepped onto the ice.
Brayden had shown an interest in hockey since he could walk. He would use a stick he found in the yard and a tennis ball to play hockey in the driveway. Vera had signed him up for the youth hockey league the day after his fifth birthday, which surprised Isla. Normally it was Vera who worried most about the kids’ safety. But Vera was also fiercely passionate about supporting their kids’ interests. And Isla supported whatever they wanted.
Even if that meant stressing two nights a week while her baby boy skated on thin slivers of metal with other boys whose frontal lobes wouldn’t be fully developed for years.
“Mom?” Ellie was sitting beside Isla, half-heartedly watching her brother’s game. “Can I have another dollar for the concession stand?”
Isla fished a few dollars from her bag and handed them to Ellie. “Get me a Diet Coke, please.”
“Mama said you can only have one per game, remember?” Ellie’s arched eyebrow and the you-know-I’m-right smirk were undeniably identical to Mason’s, who was sitting a few feet down with Everleigh asleep on her lap. Isla pulled Ellie close, sliding her against her hip on the metal bench.
“You can get another chocolate bar if you don’t tell Mama about the Diet Coke, okay?”
“Deal.”
She watched as Ellie scampered down the stairs, her long ponytail bobbing from side to side with each step. They’d spent nearly every Tuesday and Saturday the last few months inside the arena that had become their second home. But Isla loved knowing Brayden was happy, even if that meant holding her breath each time he got the puck. Isla watched as Brayden kept control of the puck and made a goal. Beside her, Vera stood and cheered.
“That’s it, Brayden! Good job!” Vera was on her feet, clapping as Brayden smiled up at her. They each gave a thumbs up, which they did every time Brayden made a goal. As she sat on the metal bench again, there was an undeniable smirk on her face. “I made that kid.”
“You had some help,” Isla teased.
“Nope. All me.” Smiling, Vera leaned in and kissed Isla. “I’m kidding. He looks like you, but he plays sports like me.”
“Thank God for that.”
Like Isla, Vera wore a sweatshirt with the team’s logo and Brayden’s name and jersey number on the back. Mason had one on, too, which warmed Isla’s heart. She loved how much her kids loved each other. She’d been worried about the fifteen-year age gap between her and Ellie and Brayden, but Mason loved them more than anything. And, if possible, she loved Everleigh even more.
Mason had been the best big sister for them. She always wanted to be around them and be involved. And when Everleigh received her diabetes diagnosis, Mason poured herself into learning everything she could about Type 1 diabetes and how she could help Everleigh. She’d also been able to open her own business, Paws on a Mission, and was working to train other service dogs for kids with diabetes.
Watching Mason flourish melted Isla’s heart. She deserved the world. All of her kids did. And Isla and Vera would do everything and anything within their power to help them reach all their dreams. Whether financially helping Mason start her business or cringing at hockey games when her little boy got pushed around in a game, Isla would do anything for their kids.
“Um, what does she have?” Vera asked as she nodded toward Ellie, who was walking up the stairs with a Diet Coke under her arm, a candy bar in her hand, and a wide grin on her face. “I thought we agreed to no more snacks after the second intermission.”
“Halftime,” Isla corrected, only to get a glare from Vera.
“Baby, no,” she sighed, shaking her head. “We’ve been over this.”
“It’s not my fault this sport is weird. Every other sport has halftime.”
“Baseball doesn’t.”
It was Isla’s turn to glare at Vera, who laughed.
“Here you go, Mommy,” Ellie handed Isla the Diet Coke before snuggling between them, happily munching on her candy bar.
“Thank you, baby.”
“You’re going to ruin your dinner, Mommy,” Vera playfully scolded.
Isla took a sip of her Diet Coke and hummed happily. “Worth it.”
After the hockey game ended, they all headed to Brayden’s favorite Mexican restaurant to celebrate the win. Brayden happily recounted his favorite moments of the game to them as if they hadn’t been there. But his passion for the game made Isla’s heart soar. He was such a good kid and was quickly becoming a decent hockey player as well. His dedication and natural talent for his age impressed Isla and Vera.
Isla had never pictured herself as a boy mom, but she had to admit she loved it. Brayden constantly kept them on their toes, literally and figuratively. If they weren’t hopping from one sporting event to another, they were reminding him for the umpteenth time that reptiles of any shape and size belong outside or in an enclosure and not on the dining room table. She’d taken her morning coffee beside one too many lizards for her liking.
It was late by the time they arrived home, so Vera helped Ellie and Brayden get showered and ready for bed while Isla took Everleigh. Their baby had just turned a year old a few weeks prior, and Isla still couldn’t believe it. She wasn’t quite ready for Everleigh to be a toddler yet. Thankfully, Everleigh still wanted a nighttime comfort feed before bed, which allowed Isla and her some much-needed one-on-one time.
Settling into the oversized recliner in Everleigh’s room, Isla cradled her in her arms as she nursed. Isla would never not be amazed that her body was still taking care of Everleigh a year after giving birth to her. She’d breastfed Everleigh longer than Blake or Mason, but Everleigh didn’t seem to be in any rush to give up her nighttime feeding. Even if she had forgone all other feedings for actual food.
The door to the room opened slowly as Brayden carefully carried a glass of water inside. It was something he’d done a lot since Everleigh was born. He heard Vera saying that Isla needed to drink water while breastfeeding, so he always brought her a glass of water. The gesture was beyond sweet to Isla, and she savored the time with her babies. Everleigh was done feeding and asleep in her arms, so Isla adjusted her position so Brayden could cuddle up in the recliner with them.
“You played good today, Bray.” Isla kissed his shaggy blonde hair and slipped an arm around his shoulders. “I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks, Mom,” his still childlike giggle was one sound Isla wanted to commit to memory. Brayden rested his head on her shoulder and yawned, and it wasn’t long before he was asleep.
Being a mom was Isla’s greatest blessing in life. She’d been so worried motherhood wasn’t for her when she was pregnant with Blake, but that thought quickly went out of her mind. Isla was made to be Vera Mackenzie’s wife and the mother to their children. Nothing gave her the fulfillment that her family did. Kissing Brayden’s head again, Isla savored the smell of his freshly shampooed hair.
As it so often did, her mind wandered to her eldest daughter. It had been almost two decades since she held Blake as she’d fallen asleep. Isla could still remember the last night she’d tucked Blake into bed. The court hearing was the following day, and Isla had a gut feeling things wouldn’t go her way.
Of course, at the time, she thought that meant split custody of Blake and Mason with Ben. The mere thought was enough to make Isla so sick to her stomach that she lost ten pounds in a week. But as she sat on the side of the bed that night, she tried to reassure her girls that things would be okay.
“No matter what happens tomorrow, I want you girls to both know Mommy loves you so much.”
Isla carefully touched each of their cheeks as Blake and Mason lay cuddled beside each other in Blake’s bed. Mason had insisted on sleeping with her sister, and Blake hadn’t protested. She was beyond thankful for their bond.
“Mommy? Blake’s blue eyes looked up at her with confusion. “Why are you crying?”
“Oh, baby.” Leaning down, Isla kissed Blake’s cheek. “I just love you and Mason so much.”
Looking back, there were a million things Isla would have said. But she knew she couldn’t change the past. If she could, she’d never gone to that courtroom. She would have taken Blake and Mason and made a beeline for Canada or Peru. Anywhere to stop the events from happening the way they had.
But in her heart of hearts, Isla knew everything had to happen for a reason. As much as losing Blake nearly killed her, she’d met Vera while processing her grief. Her life with Vera had been one Isla never expected and couldn’t have imagined in her wildest dreams.
Together, they had raised four beautiful children and created a life they loved. The pain of losing Blake was never far from their minds, and Isla would spend the rest of her life thanking God for Vera for not only understanding but sharing that grief. Vera took on more pain because of Isla’s past than Isla would have ever asked her to carry. But Vera had come up beside Isla and Mason and helped them navigate their new life in a way that changed all their lives forever.
The bedroom door opened again as Vera peeked around the corner. Everleigh’s favorite nightlight was the only light in the room, but Isla could still see the love in Vera’s eyes as she walked over to the recliner and knelt beside it. She kissed Everleigh’s soft dark blonde hair before looking up at Isla.
“I’m very jealous of the good cuddling you’re getting right now.”
“You should be,” Isla chuckled softly. “It’s pretty great.”
“I bet.” Even in the dimly lit room, Vera’s eyes still sparkled. “Not to brag, but I got some Ellie cuddles, too.”
“Oooh.”
“Not as rare as Brayden cuddles, but still pretty damn good.”
“I wholeheartedly concur.”
Ellie was easily the cuddliest of their kids. She was entirely more content to be in their personal space than anywhere else. It had started when she was a baby and wouldn’t sleep at night unless she was on Vera’s chest. When Vera had been pregnant with them, she struggled to sleep on her back or side and often ended up in the recliner downstairs. So it was no surprise when that had been Ellie’s preferred place to fall asleep for the first few years of her life.
These days, Isla rarely found Vera and Ellie asleep on the recliner. If it happened now, it was because Ellie had a bad dream or wasn’t feeling well. Isla knew Vera missed that special bonding time with Ellie, but she was beyond thankful their kids loved them enough to want to be around them so much.
“Can you put her to bed?” Isla nodded at Everleigh as Vera stood and picked her up. She kissed her cheek and rubbed their noses together as Isla fell more in love with her wife than she ever thought possible.
Before putting her down, Vera checked her blood sugar with a finger prick that didn’t even wake Everleigh up. It had been a learning curve for all of them with Everleigh’s diagnosis, but Isla was slowly starting to feel they had a handle on it. At least the routine part of it. They both still struggled to sleep, even with Nala lying beside Everleigh’s bed. And more often than not at least one of them got up in the middle of the night to check on her.
Carefully, Isla picked Brayden up and held him as she wrapped his long legs around her waist and his arms around her neck. She didn’t care that he was almost too big to hold like that. Isla would do it until she couldn’t physically do it anymore.
“I’m going to put him in bed.”
“Come here.” Vera put her hand on Isla’s waist, pulled her close, and kissed her. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“I’m so lucky to be the mama to your kids.”
“I’m the lucky one.” Isla kissed her again. “I love our family.”
“It’s the best.”
“We might be biased.”
Isla chuckled. “And I’m okay with that.”
After another kiss, Isla carried Brayden down the hall to his bedroom. The summer before kindergarten, they had let Ellie and Brayden pick their own rooms, and Ellie insisted she get first dibs since she was the oldest. Never one to argue with his sister, Brayden agreed, which meant he was still in the bedroom that had been their nursery for so many years. However, now it was painted dark blue and had decals of cars and dinosaurs on the walls.
Isla tenderly laid Brayden down in bed and tucked him in. She kissed his cheek, running her fingers through his hair to get it out of his face.
“I love you, Brayden.”
“Love you, Mom,” he mumbled as he snuggled up with his favorite dinosaur plushie and went to sleep.