Epilogue #3
Her answer? A string of unintelligible syllables as she drags my mouth to hers.
I don’t think I’ve ever felt as much pride as I did while watching my girl walk across the stage with her diploma in hand, wearing those sky-high baby pink heels, her long, golden hair wavy and loose, her cheeks still glowing from the orgasm I gave her before we left the house.
There were a thousand people there, and still, she spotted me in the crowd and blew me a kiss.
Fitting that my first time back on campus at OU was to attend her graduation.
Maisie graduated with honors and is already enrolled to start her master’s program in the fall for Library Science. She’s going to be the hottest school librarian that’s ever lived.
Biased or not, it’s the truth.
“I’m so fucking proud of you, baby,” I murmur against the shell of her ear, tightening my arm around her shoulders.
She tilts her head to look up at me. Her pale eyes are framed with dark, thick lashes. “Thanks, Coach.”
The smile she gives me nearly knocks me on my ass. Warm and radiant. Fucking beautiful.
But above all of that, it matches the happiness shining in her eyes.
Happiness that I know isn’t just about her graduation, but because we’re in our home, surrounded by our family and friends, to celebrate her.
Our house that is still full of half-unpacked boxes and mismatched pieces of furniture because we’ve been too busy to stop the last few weeks with everything going on.
But it’s ours.
We looked for months for something that felt like home, something that had plenty of room for a library for Maisie, an office for me, and lots of bedrooms for when I finally get her pregnant.
I can’t even fucking believe I’m saying that, that I’m even thinking about being a father. Maybe not right this moment, but sometime in the future that’s not too far out.
I always thought I’d be the worst father because of the things I’ve been through, the way I was raised by my own mother, but I’m beginning to realize that I might be… an incredible father because of those things.
Because I would never let my child experience the things that I went through. I want to give my kids everything I didn’t have. Love, security, happiness, a safe place to land.
And I want all of that with Maisie.
Fuck, I want it because of her.
I never imagined this kind of life, this version of myself before her. I never gave myself the chance to.
Now, maybe it’s because I’m getting old, as she likes to say, and my biological clock is ticking, or maybe it’s because I’ve finally found something to live for, to hope for, to envision a future with, but now I can’t stop imagining her standing in this kitchen, her belly round, her cheeks glowing from pregnancy and happiness.
Watching her body change as she grows our baby and brings her or she into the world.
Something that I know she wants too. We’ve talked about our future together and what it’ll hold.
To no surprise, Maisie wants the big wedding, and her version of a white picket fence is a house with creaky floors that needs love, with a library and a big backyard for babies to play.
Just like the one we’re standing in right now.
We might not be ready now, not with her getting her master’s, but one day, when that time comes, it’ll be the happiest day of my life.
I’m already building a life with the woman of my dreams.
Until it’s time for the next step, I’m going to watch Maisie follow her heart and her passion into becoming a librarian, and I’m going to keep working on mine.
Turns out, hockey isn’t the only thing I’m passionate about.
It’s helping kids like myself, the ones who are in an already broken system without the resources that they need. The kids who are aging out without having the knowledge and skills they need for the real world they’re being thrust into.
It’s been nearly a year since I officially started Hawthorne Haven, and I’ve poured every ounce of myself into it. Maisie gave me the courage to jump, headfirst, despite being afraid I’d fail, and it was the best decision I ever made. A decision that I made with her by my side.
After working behind the scenes for months, with the help of Doug and countless others, including advice from Mrs. Aucoin, I was finally able to open the doors to HH.
A nonprofit that focuses on helping children who are in the system not only have access to basic necessities but also connects them with therapists and counselors to help with any trauma they may have experienced.
Or to even just help ease the transition.
I know what it’s like to be terrified, all alone, when being dumped at a group home where I didn’t know a soul. I had no idea what to expect or what would come next… and that in itself was scarring.
I never want a kid to have to face that alone, and that’s exactly what HH is all about.
Making sure these kids don’t feel alone. That they know they always have us in their corner.
If they’re being placed in a new home and the state didn’t provide them with the necessities, we take care of it. We make sure to bridge any gaps to make sure it’s one less thing for them to stress or worry about.
I didn’t start with any funding besides what I put in. I’ve spent my entire career squirreling away anything that I got from contracts, endorsements, deals, scared to touch a fucking penny.
But in putting the foundation together, I realized that these kids… they need it more. I can do something profound by investing in their futures instead of letting the money wither away in my accounts.
I’ve never lived lavishly, and I never will, so why not take that money and put it toward something good?
It feels surreal to say, but working with HH and all of the kids and parents I’ve met…
it’s like all of the shit that I’ve been through was for a purpose.
Now I’m using that purpose for good, to make a child’s life better, even in the smallest way, so they don’t have to feel the way I did.
Alone and hopeless, like there wasn’t anyone out there who could understand what I was experiencing.
It’s been so fulfilling. Nothing at all close to what I imagined my life would be like, but I’m so fucking thankful that I guess fate intervened. In the right way, for once.
“I’m going to go help Lennon and Mama with some of the food. Are you going to be okay?” Maisie says, her eyes bouncing from me to Devereaux and Legros, who are standing a few feet away, looking about as uncomfortable as I am right about now.
Fucking Legros.
Jesus, I can’t seem to get rid of him. Trust me, I’ve tried.
I nod and dip my head, capturing her lips in a kiss that leaves her breathless and her eyes slightly glassy. “Yep.”
“Behave, Coach.” She gives me a pointed look once she realizes that it may have slightly been for his benefit. “Or there will be consequences.”
When I lift a brow, she shakes her head. “Not the fun kind.”
I’m still grinning when she walks away to go help her mom.
Even though it’s the last thing I want to do, I walk over to Devereaux and Legros and give them a nod when they look up.
All three of us stand there awkwardly for so long that even I have to speak up rather than sit in the shit. “How’s the NHL treating you?”
“Good. I’m enjoying it,” Devereaux responds, lifting a shoulder. “Hate being away from my girl so much, but other than that, it’s good.”
I can’t imagine if I were still playing for the league and had to leave Maisie as much as I would have to. Pretty sure I’d be a miserable asshole.
Guess I really have gone soft, as these fuckers like to say.
Mostly Legros, since he has no clue what monogamy is, even if it slapped him in the face.
Or to be in love.
But Devereaux gets it.
“Wilder!” Doug, Maisie’s dad, says as he claps my shoulder, smiling brightly. “The house is looking wonderful, son. You two have done a beautiful job already.”
“Thank you.”
He gives me a quick hug and thankfully eases the awkwardness of standing here with these two.
It never gets old, hearing Maisie’s parents refer to me as their son. Nor the love and acceptance that they’ve given me, when they never had to.
Sure, at first, they were understandably hesitant about our relationship because of the age difference and the way we met, but once they realized how fucking much I love their daughter and that I would rather die than ever hurt her, they warmed up quickly.
And Doug has been a big part of Hawthorne Haven. He’s been there with full support from the beginning, offering his contacts and resources without batting an eye, and it means more to me than he knows.
It’s the first time in my life I have a family, and it’s family that chose me.
Not because of obligation or blood, but because they wanted to.
When I think about that, it makes my chest tight.
“We’ve been working on a few things at a time. Still have most of the boxes around here half-unpacked, but it’ll get there,” I say, and he nods, eyes softening at the corners.
“There’s no rush. If you two ever need us, you just have to call, you know that.”
Flashing him a smile, I say, “We do. Thank you, Doug. It means a l—”
Suddenly, something hard smacks against the front of my shins, and I let out a grunt, nearly toppling over backward.
“Lily!” a small voice says through bouts of giggles. “Come back here!”
My lip curves into a smile when I find the source, the strings of my heart tugging.
“Sorry, WyWy.” Kori grins up at me as she wraps her arms around Lily’s waist and tries to pull her off my leg, where she’s currently wrapped around it with all four limbs, holding on like she’s protesting at a save-the-tree rally and I’m the tree.
“Almost took me out, Lily-kins.” I bend, carefully peeling her chubby little hands off my legs and picking her up gently in my arms. “You’ve got some power behind that hit, little bug. Might have to put you in peewee hockey soon.”
Kori giggles, her hand flying up to her mouth, but she nods too. “Cam says she’s going to be a linebacker.”