EPILOGUE
Easton
Two Years Later
"Dad! Watch this!"
Casey's voice carried across the backyard, and I turned from the grill just in time to see her wind up for a slap shot.
Her form was textbook, with her back straight, weight transferring smoothly through her hips, stick following through in a perfect arc.
The ball rocketed past one of the younger kids into the makeshift net we'd set up.
"Did you see? Did you see?" She was bouncing on her toes, her miniature captain's jersey complete with a tiny C riding up as she jumped.
"I saw, munchkin." The words came easily now, but they still hit me in the chest every single time. "Coach Jenkins is right. Best form in your age group."
"Better than yours was, I bet," Beck snickered, appearing beside me with two beers. He handed me one, then raised his own in my direction. The silent salute he'd been giving me since the day the team voted to reinstate my captaincy.
I touched my bottle to his, throat tight. Some things you didn't need words for.
"She's going to be better than me by the time she's a teenager," I said, watching Casey show one of the younger kids how to position his hands on the stick.
"Probably sooner." Beck took a pull from his beer. "She's already got better hockey sense than half our rookies. Must be genetic."
I adjusted the captain's C on my polo. "Or maybe she just has a better teacher than I did."
"Humble now, are we?" Beck laughed. "Marriage really changed you."
"Shut up." But I was grinning.
Moving into this house had been the right call. Our house sat right on Lake Chambeau with a backyard big enough for a proper practice net and a dock where Casey spent summer afternoons casting for bass. A fresh start in a place that already meant something to all of us.
Across the yard, Sadie knelt beside one of the younger kids, helping them tie their shoe. The late August sunlight caught her wedding band, and I stared, caught in that moment of silent admiration I'd held for her these past two years. Maybe longer.
"Earth to Cap," Beck said, waving a hand in front of my face. "Your burgers are about to become hockey pucks."
I quickly flipped the patties, grateful for the save.
"Married almost two years and you still look at her like you've never seen a woman before." Beck shook his head. "It's embarrassing."
"It's called being in love, Beck. You should try it sometime."
"Pass." But he was smiling. "Though speaking of love…" He nodded toward the edge of the gathering where Nathan stood awkwardly near the cooler, his eyes tracking Brenna from marketing as she laughed at something Aaron said.
"How long has that been going on?" I asked.
"Months. Nathan finds excuses to be wherever she is; she pretends not to notice, rinse and repeat." Beck sighed. "Someone needs to lock them in a closet."
"Don't look at me. I'm retired from matchmaking."
"Since when?"
"Since I nearly destroyed my life trying to avoid my feelings. I'm the last person who should give relationship advice."
Holly materialized beside us, swiping a burger fresh off the grill. "Are we talking about Nathan and Brenna? Because I have a plan."
"Of course you do," I said.
"Someone has to help those idiots. Nathan's been in love with her for at least two years now, and Brenna's been working with the team for three, pining after him probably since that first team meeting where he showed up in that suit.
" Holly bit into the burger, then spoke around the mouthful.
"These are good. Did Sadie teach you to cook? "
"I knew how to grill before Sadie."
"Barely." Holly grinned at me, then her expression shifted, gaze moving past my shoulder. "What's up with Aaron?"
I turned. Aaron Waters stood apart from the families, shoulders hunched in a way I'd never seen on him. His usual swagger was gone, replaced by something hollow as he watched the kids play hockey.
"Don't know," I admitted. "But I'm going to find out."
I left Beck and Holly to manage the grill and made my way over to where Aaron stood, beer dangling from one hand, eyes distant.
"You good, man?" I asked.
He startled slightly, as if he hadn't heard me approach. "Yeah. Fine. Great party."
"Aaron."
He took a long pull from his beer, then finally looked at me. "That therapist you see. Dr. Reyes." He wasn't quite meeting my eyes. "Did it actually help? The anger stuff?"
The question landed heavily between us. I studied him and saw past the bravado for maybe the first time since I'd known him.
"Yeah," I said carefully. "It helped. Still helps."
"How'd you know you needed it? Like what was the…" He trailed off, jaw working.
"I choked out a reporter and injured a horse, ruining its racing career," I said bluntly. "That was a pretty clear sign."
A ghost of his usual smirk appeared. "Right. Forgot about that."
"But honestly? I should have gone years before that. I just didn't want to admit I couldn't handle it on my own." I paused. "Are you thinking about talking to someone?"
"Maybe." He rolled the beer bottle between his palms. "Probably. I don't know."
"For what it's worth, it doesn't make you weak. Took me a long time to figure that out."
Beck called my name from the grill, and Aaron straightened, that familiar mask sliding back into place.
"Yeah, well. Maybe I'll look into it." He clapped my shoulder. "Thanks, Cap."
I watched him walk back toward the group, then returned to help Beck plate up the food.
"Everything okay?" Sadie appeared at my elbow, sliding her arm around my waist.
"Yeah. Just Aaron being Aaron." I kissed the top of her head. "Are you having fun?"
"Mmm. Your team families are lovely. Though I think half the wives have veterinary questions for me." She gestured to her phone. "I have three appointment requests already."
"Hazards of being married to a popular vet."
"Hazards of hosting a party." She squeezed my waist. "But I love it. Seeing everyone together like this. Casey's so happy."
We both turned to look at our daughter, who was now demonstrating stick handling to a group of younger kids, her face flushed with exertion and joy.
"She really is," I said quietly. "We did good, Sadie."
"We did." She tilted her face up, and I kissed her, a quick press of lips strong enough to feel the connection between us.
"Hey!" Casey's voice rang out. "No kissing! Gross!"
Laughter rippled through the crowd, and several of the guys started making exaggerated kissing noises. I flipped them off discreetly while Sadie buried her face in my chest, shoulders shaking with laughter.
"You're setting a bad example for the children," Beck called.
"You're just jealous," I shot back.
"Damn right I am."
Once the worst of the mess was handled, and Casey was showered and in bed, Sadie and I finally collapsed onto our couch, exhausted but happy.
"That was a good day," she said, curling into my side.
"It really was." I kissed the top of her head. "Thank you for suggesting this. Making it annual. Casey's going to remember this forever."
"I hope so." She tilted her face up to look at me. "I saw you talking to Aaron earlier. Everything okay?"
"He asked about therapy. About whether it actually helped."
Her expression softened. "And what did you tell him?"
"The truth. That it saved my life. Maybe my career. Definitely my family." I stroked her hair. "That I should have started years ago."
"Think he'll actually go?"
"Maybe. I gave him Dr. Reyes's number. Whether he uses it…" I shrugged. "That's on him. But at least he's thinking about it."
She was quiet for a moment, then smiled. "Happy anniversary."
I frowned. "Our anniversary's not until next month."
"Not that anniversary." Her fingers traced patterns on my chest. "Two years ago today, you walked into my clinic for your first day of community service."
Two years. Christ, it felt like yesterday and forever all at once.
"Best two years of my life," I said quietly.
"Mine too." She kissed me, slow and deep, and I felt it in my bones.
This was home.
Not the house, not even Lake Chambeau. Her. Casey. This family we'd built from broken pieces and second chances.
When she pulled back, there was heat in her eyes. "Take me to bed, Easton."
"Yes, ma'am."
I checked on Casey one more time, finding her asleep with a hockey magazine on her chest, then closed our bedroom door and turned to find Sadie already unbuttoning her shirt.
"Two years," she said, with that playful glint in her eye I knew so well. "And I still want you just as much as I did at Sassy's."
"More, I hope." I crossed over to her, taking over the buttons. "Since we know what we're doing now."
"Mmm, practice makes perfect."
I slipped her shirt off her shoulders, then unhooked her bra with one hand. "Remember what I told you that first night?"
"Which part?" Her breath hitched as my hands cupped her breasts.
"That you were mine." I kissed her neck, feeling her pulse jump under my lips. "Every inch of you."
"Still true," she breathed.
"Good." I walked her backward toward the bed. "Because I'm going to remind you exactly who you belong to."
She smiled with that surrender in her eyes that I'd seen that first night at Sassy's, at the lookout, in our living room , a thousand times since. "Then remind me."
I did.
THE END
I hope you enjoyed reading Easton and Palisade's story as much as I enjoyed writing it.