Chapter 12
Twelve
Leif
“I heard Mama Bang is in town!” my teammate River Patton—a guy I’ve known for years since we played in a handful of tournaments together—announces as I enter the gym.
“She’s driving me crazy,” I admit as I smack hands with him in greeting.
Last night, she texted me three times while I was on my date with Cami. This morning, she woke me up an hour before my alarm to remind me to start a load of wash. I’m not used to having my mom in my space and I’m giving my brothers a lot of credit for the shenanigans they put up with during her visits.
River chuckles. “I’ve got nothing. My mom Gayle is a saint and my mothers-in-law…” He whistles low. “Maisy is a dream and Anna gives solid advice.”
I shake my head, loving the dynamics of River’s family. Between him and his wife Lola, they’ve done a lot of blending and yet, it works. It’s more functional and loving than a lot of other families I know. “Yeah,” I agree. “But you’ve got Axel Daire to watch out for.” River’s father-in-law, a longtime player with the Thunderbolts, retired at the end of last season. I had the opportunity to play with him for a few months and even though he’s not playing the game anymore, his nickname is still Brawler.
At that, River straightens. “Yeah. Axel’s fair but you’re right, intimidating as hell.”
I smirk, although I shouldn’t. I don’t know anything about Cami’s dad. Other than that, he’s not a fan of our marriage and wanted to jump on a plane and haul his daughter back to Minnesota.
“That’s what I like to hear,” Brawler announces, stepping into the gym.
River swears good-naturedly.
Brawler chuckles. “Can’t get rid of me, kid. You, Lola, and Mia are coming for dinner tonight, too. So are Jasmine and Johnny.”
River shakes hands with him and I watch through narrowed, assessing eyes. I remember the shitstorm that kicked up when Patton knocked up Lola, Brawler’s daughter. I think everyone in the League heard about it but given my history with Patton, I got more details than most. Since then, Lola and River had a baby girl, Mia, and tied the knot. Now, everyone is in a good place.
Can’t Cami and I achieve that too? I mean, our moms are already friends. We should be able to figure this out. To make it work. And last night, we had a good dinner together. We talked and shared stories. I kissed her good night in front of her apartment door and wished her luck at her new job today. As far as first dates go, it was the realest one I’ve ever been on and I relished it. Loved spending time with her.
Then, I went home to drink tea with Mom and get an earful on the proper way to fold a fitted sheet.
We can have the happily-ever-after. Hell, if River Patton managed to figure it out, I can too.
“So, your mom’s in town?” Brawler asks.
“Mama Bang is no joke,” Barnes supplies, picking up heavier weights.
Brawler chuckles. “With five boys in the NHL? I doubt you can pull the wool over her eyes. Heard your brother King is serious with his new girlfriend?”
“She’s on a mission for us all to settle down. Now that Mom’s retired and…well, she recently lost a close friend…she seems worried that she’s not going to be around to see us find our happily-ever-afters,” I explain.
River grimaces. Axel quirks an eyebrow.
“Does she have a woman in mind for you?” Axel asks.
Damien drops his weights and sits up on the bench. He eyes me for a moment, silently asking if I’m sure I want to drop the news.
“I got married in Vegas a couple weeks ago,” I admit, gripping the back of my neck.
Shock registers on River’s and Axel’s faces. They both sputter.
Damien laughs. “You have more in common than you give yourselves credit for,” he says, gesturing between River and his father-in-law.
“Does your mom know?” River asks.
“Turns out, she was going to set me up with…my wife,” I admit.
“No fucking way! You didn’t tell me that.” Barnes stands and moves closer to our huddle.
“We went on our first date this weekend,” I continue.
“Your first date? You’re way past that, my man,” River points out.
“How’d it go?” Axel presses.
“It went great but…Cami’s new in town. She starts a new job today. We’re figuring things out,” I admit.
Axel crosses his arms over his burly chest. “And this is what you want? Marriage?”
“Is she open to a divorce?” River questions.
“She is. It’s me who really wants to give this a shot. She’s…different. Lively and smart and funny. I like being with her. I want to make it work.” I hate that I sound defensive but why can’t anyone just be happy for me that I’m happy? Isn’t that enough?
My teammates are quiet for a moment.
And then, Brawler says, “Come for dinner next weekend.”
“What?” I sputter, shaking my head.
“All of you.” Brawler gestures around the group.
“She’s going to need friends in town,” River adds.
“Harper’s back from Aspen; I’ll tell her to reach out,” Damien agrees.
I look around the group. “You guys are serious?”
Patton guffaws and hits the back of my head. “You’re a Thunderbolt now, Leif. I know we don’t have a flashy record but we’re a solid group of guys.”
“We’re a family,” Damien states. And then, “We had a good season.”
Axel snorts. “We did. I went out on a high.” Then he looks at me. “I’ll talk to Maisy and we’ll organize something for next weekend. Get her to meet the women, to be a part of your life here. Bring your mother too.”
I nod, staring at him. “Thank you, Brawler. That means a lot.”
“All good, kid,” he replies.
“Now let’s work out.” Damien claps his hands together. “We can’t keep skipping the gym to discuss Leif’s personal life.”
I chuckle and move toward the weight rack. As I move through the exercises, it’s with an agility I haven’t felt since the end of the season. Everything feels lighter and easier. Smoother.
My team has my back, and I didn’t realize how much I needed that. How great it would feel to lean on them.
I hope Cami feels the same way in the future.
“You’re fucking married?” Jake asks. He looks even more serious than usual as he glares at me through the screen.
“Take it easy,” my youngest brother, Tanner, tosses out. “Mom says Cami is great.”
“Mom would,” Jensen mutters, glancing over his shoulder at his girlfriend, Bailey, who is holding back her laughter.
“A Vegas wedding, huh?” my eldest brother Kingston asks.
“I’d never get away with that,” Annie laments.
“That’s true,” I toss out. “Listen, it was obviously not planned but…we’re giving it a shot. I can’t wait for you all to meet her.”
“I hope that happens before your actual wedding,” Tanner says.
King chuckles. “With the way Mom’s telling it? Y’all will be married—again—by the end of summer.”
“The twins are excited,” Jake mutters, looking exhausted. But happy. Since he’s settled down with Gardenia, he looks a lot less stressed, which is a good thing.
“I am too,” I admit. “And it will be a great opportunity to spend time with Rory, Gardenia, and Bailey,” I point out, sticking to the positives.
Annie chuckles. “You’re reaching, Leif.”
“Hell, I know,” I admit.
My siblings laugh.
“You look good, though,” Annie adds. “You look happy.”
“I am,” I say honestly. “I really am. And I truly want to make my marriage work.”
“Good for you, man,” King tosses out.
Jake and Tanner nod in agreement.
“I’ll keep you posted on the wedding details,” I say as Mom enters the kitchen. I see her through the screen door leading to my patio. “Mom is out of the shower.”
“Oh! I gotta go before she reads me the riot act,” Annie says.
“I need to go, too,” Jensen says, exchanging another not-so-secret look with Bailey.
Kingston snorts. “How’s your visit with Mom going?”
Annie and Jensen sign off.
I sigh. “Honestly, not too bad. I mean, she’s driving me nuts with the questions, but all things considered, I think I’m getting off easier than you guys did.”
“That’s what happens when you marry a stranger,” Tanner sounds thoughtful.
“Don’t get any ideas,” Jake shuts him down.
“But be prepared for Mom,” King warns. “While she’s happy to visit with Leif, him one-upping her has not taken the wind out of her sails. You and Annie are gonna be next.”
King, Jake, and I laugh at Tanner’s fearful expression.
“Mom’s got the kettle on,” I tell them.
My brothers all groan, knowing that means Mom wants to sit down and talk.
“We’ll let you go,” King says.
I chuckle. “Talk to you guys later.” I end the video call.
A few minutes later, Mom steps onto the back porch.
“How was Cami’s first day?” Mom takes a seat in the Adirondack chair next to mine and blows on her tea.
“Thanks,” I say as she passes me a mug. I love sitting on my back porch, watching dusk fall. It’s where I come to relax after a long day. It’s also where I take most of my calls, checking in with my family.
Mom’s question redirects my thoughts. Cami should have been home from work by now but she still hasn’t replied to my text asking her about her first day.
“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to her yet.” I toss a piece of popcorn in the air and catch it in my mouth.
Mom reaches over and grabs a handful from the bowl resting in my lap. “Did you call her?”
“Texted.” I sip the tea.
“Hm.” She munches on her popcorn.
I look at her. “What does that mean?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You harrumphed.”
Mom snorts. “Harrumphed? Not a word I thought you’d use.”
I shake my head and take a sip of my water. “You think it’s weird she hasn’t answered yet?”
Mom shrugs. “Maybe her coworkers took her out for welcome drinks.”
I sit up straighter in my chair. I hadn’t thought about that. “Do you think they got her drunk?”
“Oh brother,” Mom scoffs, taking a drink of her tea. “Leif, she had a whole life before she met you a couple weeks ago.”
“I know that.”
Mom lifts her eyebrows, calling me out. “You’re awfully protective of her.”
“So?”
“So, don’t scare her off. If you want this to work, you can’t smother her.”
“I’d hardly call one text smothering.”
Mom points at me. “Yet here you sit, emotionally eating.”
Now I harrumph and drop back in my seat. “It’s Skinny Pop.”
Mom laughs. “I made the banana loaf you like.”
“With the walnuts?”
Mom nods and grins. “Maybe you can bring some over to Cami. Later. After she’s home and has had some time to process her day.”
“And you don’t think that’s smothering?”
“Nope. Food is always seen as a gesture of goodwill.”
I consider that and have to agree. I narrow my eyes at Mom. “You’re secretly an evil genius, aren’t you?”
“No secret part about it,” she agrees, tipping her head back as she drops a handful of popcorn into her mouth. “My success ratings can’t be beat. I’m three for three.”
I laugh at her reference to King, Jake, and Jensen’s flourishing romances. “I’m already married.”
“And you want to stay that way,” she reminds me.
“You’ll have a harder time with Annie,” I warn her.
“I have different methods for each of my children,” she scolds me.
I sigh. “We were invited to dinner next weekend.”
“We?”
“Me and Cami and you. One of my teammates who recently retired?—”
“Axel Daire,” Mom supplies, proving she follows all of her kids’ hockey careers the same way she follows Dad’s junior team.
“Correct. He and his wife invited us and a few other of my teammates for dinner.”
“They know about Cami?”
I nod.
Mom smiles. “They’re trying to welcome her.”
“They’re good guys.”
“You’re lucky,” she says, relaxing in her chair. “If Cami finds her social circle here, she’ll feel more comfortable in Knoxville. She’ll feel more confident in her relationship with you. But Leif, this is a big change for her.”
“Mom, I got married,” I remind her.
She flicks her wrist at me. “Yeah, but nothing phases you the way it does most people. And Cami…” She shakes her head.
“What?”
“Something happened. I don’t know what, but Cheryl’s hinted at enough to have my Mom sense kicking in.”
I frown, thinking about Cami mentioning her bad breakup from three years ago. It’s strange she wouldn’t have had any serious relationships since, isn’t it?
“Something banana bread can’t fix?” I aim to keep the conversation light because I don’t want to mentally spiral when I don’t have facts. When I’m not learning things about Cami from Cami.
Mom smiles gently. “Be patient with her, Leif. There’s an extra loaf on the countertop for you to bring her.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I roll my neck and stare out over the expanse of lawn. It’s nearly dusk and the sky is a brilliant mix of pinks and purples. A cotton-candy sky, my brother Tanner used to call it when he was a kid.
“I’m going to call your father,” Mom says, standing from her chair.
“He’s at camp this week, isn’t he?”
“Yes,” Mom says, patting the top of my head. “In Michigan.”
“Tell him hello for me. And that I’ve got some good memes I’ll be sending his way.”
Mom chuckles. “I will.”
While Dad is more of the strong and silent type, I like to send him funny memes and reels just for shits and giggles. Every now and then, he’ll send one my way too.
The screen door closes and a few minutes later, Mom’s voice floats outside as she chats with my dad. They’ll be on the phone for a bit, catching up on their days.
I sigh and pull my phone out of my pocket. It’s nearly seven PM and still, no word from Cami.
If I don’t hear from her in an hour, I’ll pass by with Mom’s banana bread. It’s a good excuse, a thoughtful gesture, and hopefully, another step forward in getting my wife to trust me.