Axel - Two Years Later
My eyes wandered around the locker room, landing on each of my teammates. It was business as usual, but my heart was heavy. Some days, I didn’t recognize the man I’d become. I was a better person than when we met, and I owed that to Luca.
The Nighthawks hadn’t taken the cup during my four previous seasons, but we had come close.
I’d loved every second of it, watching the rookies grow and lean into their potential.
It had made me consider coaching. It had been the best years of my career.
And here we were at the end. I’d almost waited to tell the team I was retiring, but decided to make the announcement at dinner on the road well before the end of the season.
“Last home game. You okay over there, Cap?” Decker asked, side eyeing me. He was going to give it one more season, barring injury.
I curled my lips in and nodded as a smile crossed my face. “I’m good.”
“You can change your mind,” Karlsson added. “You have until September.”
“Sixteen is enough,” I said. “I’ve got a new job.”
“Are we going to see your face all over Manhattan? The next real estate mogul in the making?” Nichols chirped. I enjoyed buying older properties and renovating them for the residents. It put pressure on other landlords to upgrade.
“No billboards. I have something better lined up.”
The GM and Coach Byers had offered an extension to my contract, but my heart wanted to be somewhere else. Luca had managed everything for the last two years, and I flat out missed them when I was away. As much as I loved the game, I loved my husband and kids more.
Coach Byer walked in, ready for the pre-game hype earlier than usual. His eyes skated around the room until he found mine. “Hughes, I need to see you in my office. Everyone else, warm up.”
My team exited the locker room as I stopped by the coach’s office. “You need me, Coach?”
He looked up from the paper on his desk. “Yeah, Axel. I just wanted to say I’m sorry for what’s about to happen.”
My brows rose. “Excuse me?”
He smiled. “Yeah, I needed to distract you. I know you wanted to leave without any fanfare, but those people out there in the stands and your team would tear this place down if I let that happen.”
I didn’t know what to say. “I um…”
“I know. But try to enjoy it.” He looked at his watch.
“We can go now.” Walking around his desk, he patted me on the shoulder before leaving the room.
I followed him out to a hum in the arena.
When I stepped out onto the ice, the crowd erupted, chanting cap, cap, cap.
My teammates stood in front of our bench, clapping.
I was a little overwhelmed. Acknowledging the fans, I took a slow lap to wave.
I wanted to find Luca and the kids, but the flashing lights and spotlight on me made it impossible.
“Okay, Nighthawk fans, show some love to the captain, Axel Hughes!” he bellowed across the arena.
I fought back the emotion as I circled the ice, memories flooding me.
Signs lined the glass with every imaginable message.
When I made it around to the bench, another sight almost brought me to my knees.
There on the red carpet stretched across the ice stood my family, lined up, all decked out in my jersey.
I lost my composure when I came to a stop in front of Mason.
His eyes were damp as he pulled me into a hug.
Just like the day we found each other. My eyes filled with tears. “What are you doing here?”
He wiped his eyes. “Nothing would keep me away. If you hadn’t come looking for me seven years ago…You saved my life.”
He had that wrong. “You saved mine.”
When we parted, he looked at me with a smile. “I love you, big brother. Mom would have been proud, too.”
No matter how angry I’d been at her for most of my life, it had been hard to say goodbye when we lost her to Alzheimer’s. I hugged him again, pushing down the emotion. “I’m glad I have you. I love you, little brother.” Clapping him on the back, I pulled away.
Moving down, my father was next. Our relationship had improved after some intensive therapy, and things were better. He put his hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. “I’m so proud of the man you are. I’m sorry I missed so much of your life, but I’m here now.” He hugged me tightly.
“Thanks, Dad.” It had taken a while to call him that, but time had mellowed me. Life was so much better after learning to let go of the anger. And now that I was a father, I could offer him some grace.
“Congratulations, Dad. You’re gonna win tonight.
I can feel it.” I squatted down to hug my son.
We officially adopted Jordan six months after he came to live with us.
The little guy had helped heal some of the broken parts of Luca and me.
He was learning to play hockey, and I planned to coach his youth league on this ice.
Ruffling his brown hair, I kissed his cheek.
“Thanks, buddy. Keep your fingers crossed.” I pulled him in again. “I love you, buddy.”
“Love you too, Dad.”
Finally, I stood and looked into the eyes of the man I loved more than life.
Luca held our three-year-old daughter, Julia, in his arms. “Hey,” he said, reaching for me.
I kissed his cheek. Kissing him in public was still like striking a match inside me, so we opted for less PDA. I’d get that at home.
As the scoreboard flashed with photos from my career, I leaned in to talk to Luca. “Did you know about this?”
“Yes,” he said. “But I know nothing about the party this weekend.” He winked, letting me in on the surprise. Wrapping his hand around my neck, he brought his forehead to mine. “I love you and the life we’ve built. You’re a great dad, Axel, and I can’t wait to do this thing with you every day.”
“Me too, love.” I kissed him one more time as Julia grabbed my jersey.
We’d only had her for a few weeks, but she’d warmed up to us quickly.
My prediction was that she would be the next Hughes.
Taking her in my arms, I leaned down and picked up Jordan.
With my kids in my arms, I skated around one more time, thanking the universe for the life I had.
Thank you for reading Axel and Luca’s story.
If you’re interested in how Mason and Axel found one another after being separated at birth, pick up Under Center for Mason’s story.