Chapter 42
MATEO
Two Years Later….
“We’re here!” I called out, closing the front door of my mom’s house behind Emmie and me.
The familiar surroundings of my childhood home instantly greeted us. The same photos were on the wall of us all growing up, along with new additions with the kids.
The hardwood floors were still the same, similar scuffs and divots from when I was a teenager.
The nostalgia of it made me smile. I always wondered why mom and Steven stayed in this house instead of buying a new one when they got married, but I was glad they did.
This was home, even if I didn’t live here anymore.
I unclipped Tucker’s leash, letting him loose as he took off down the hallway, nails clicking on the flooring. It took all of three seconds before I heard the squealing of kids calling out Tucker’s name.
“I think we know who the favorite is,” Emmie remarked. With a tug on my hand, she led us down the hallway that went to the kitchen and family room at the back of the house. Loud voices directed us where to go.
The two of us stepped through the archway into the space and instantly had two bodies barreling toward us.
“Uncle Maty!”
“Aunty Em!”
Kai ran straight for me, giving me just enough time to drop Emmie’s hand and lift her off the ground. Wrenley went for Emmie, colliding against her legs with a thug. Usually, Jayden was next, but he was currently sitting on the ground with Tucker, the dog licking away at his face.
“Stop growing, you little monster,” I said, muscles straining as I held Kai up. Gone was the cute five-year-old. She was seven going on thirty now. I only saw her a month ago, but I swore she was taller.
“Look at my tooth!” She opened her mouth wide, showing off a missing front tooth. I leaned in, making my eyes wide as she stuck her tongue through the empty space.
“Woahhh.”
“I got a dollar from the tooth fairy!”
Oh man, the good ole days of being a kid and getting money for losing a tooth. If only that happened now.
“That’s amazing. What did you spend it on?”
“I bought two new Barbies.” I held back a chuckle. That dollar sure went a long way.
Kai wriggled in my arms, so I sat her back on her feet as she went over to see Tucker. Tucker gladly took all the attention as he flopped over for belly rubs.
Beside me, Wrenley talked a million miles a minute to Emmie. From the moment she learned Emmie was a figure skater two years ago, she decided that was what she wanted to do when she grew up. Every chance she saw Em, that was all she talked about.
I turned to greet everyone else. Mom stood at the island, putting finishing touches on her famous chocolate cake. Cake that I was going to throw elbows for later. Beside her was Lydia, holding a glass of wine as the two talked.
Through the back door that led to the deck and lawn, I spotted Steven at the grill along with Landon and Wyatt, beer in all of their hands. I’d go see them in a moment, but I had two other cuties I wanted to see first.
I moved to the living room where Trevor sat on the floor beside his two-year-old daughter, Maisie.
A bunch of toys littered the big living room, Maisie stumbling around as she picked some up only to turn and drop them in her dad’s lap.
Trevor leaned back against the couch, Tasha directly behind him as she rubbed a hand over her belly.
It was still hard to wrap my head around the fact that Maisie was two and they were about to have another.
It felt like yesterday when Trevor told me she was pregnant.
“Hey,” I said, planting a kiss on Tasha’s head as I looked at my niece. She was the perfect mix of Trevor and Tasha, although she was way prettier than Trevor would ever be.
“Glad you guys made it,” Trevor said, looking over at me. Not wanting him to feel left out, I moved around the couch and bent over, planting a kiss on his head as well. I stepped back just in time to miss a hand coming out to slap me.
“Mateo, I swear to god.” His tone was threatening, but it had no effect on me.
“I missed you, too.” I flashed him a wink, then turned toward my newest nephew on the other couch.
Arlo, Mila and Bryton’s son they adopted under a year ago, was cradled against Bryton’s chest sucking on a bottle.
“Well, doesn't he look dapper.” I grinned, noting the blue-and-white striped buttoned onesie. His little brown legs kicked in the air as he ate. He wasn’t Mila or Bryton’s biological son, but he looked just like Mila to me.
I wanted to reach out and take him myself, but I learned my lesson doing that the other day. He cried so loud when he wasn’t near Mila that I instantly handed him back.
I gazed at the three of them, ecstatic that they finally got to start the family they always wanted. They deserved it the most.
Leaving them in the living room, I headed back to the kitchen, squeezing Emmie’s hip when I slid past her. This was our last day in Toronto before we headed back home so I could get ready for training camp. I already missed everyone.
“Hey, Ma,” I greeted, sliding up to her side. Before she could stop me, I swiped a finger through the leftover chocolate frosting in the standing mixer and brought it to my mouth.
“Try that again and you won’t get a piece.” She pointed the spatula at me.
“You wouldn’t deny your favorite son his favorite cake.”
“You’ve been overruled by my grandbabies.”
My mouth fell open. “Excuse me?” I turned to Josie, not believing what I was hearing.
“The kids are really cute. It’s hard to compete with that.” Josie shrugged.
“That’s extremely unfair.” I sent her a fake glare. “This house is like a prison.”
“I think you’ll survive.” Mom waved me off. “Why don’t you go see if Steven is ready for the hot dogs?”
“I don’t want to be in here anyway,” I mumbled. Leaving Emmie with my mom and Josie, I headed for the back door.
I pulled it open just in time for Kai, Wrenley, and Jayden to run past, Tucker right on their heels.
“See, even the kids want to be with me,” I shot over my shoulder with a smug look. I closed the door before they could respond, following after the kids into the backyard.
“Mom all but kicked me out of the kitchen,” I said by way of greeting as I stepped onto the patio.
“Tried to lick the frosting, huh?” Steven extended a beer my way from the cooler beside the grill.
“I got one swipe but that was it.” I shook my head, popped the top of the beer, and took a sip.
“The kids got a taste earlier,” Landon commented from a chair off to the side.
I held up a hand. “Hold up. They,” I pointed to Kai, Wrenley, and Jayden running through the yard, “get a taste and we don’t?” Landon nodded. “This house is a prison.”
I flopped down onto an empty chair. Steven chuckled, turning back to the grill. Smoke curled up into the warm afternoon air as he flipped burgers.
Beside me, Wyatt leaned back in his chair, one ankle crossed over his knee, looking more relaxed than I’d seen him in years. Retirement suited him, less tension to his shoulders, more ease in the way he smiled.
I took a pull of my beer, glancing his way. “So,” I said, nudging his shoe with mine. “How’s coaching life treating you now that you’re officially washed up?”
Wyatt gave me a hard look. “Just because I retired doesn’t mean I’m washed up. I’ve won four Cup Championships and one gold medal,” he defended himself.
“And you’ll always be number one in my heart,” I cooed. He gave me a swift kick to my calf, making me yelp. “Hey! That was uncalled for.”
“From where I’m sitting, it was definitely called for,” Landon said.
I reached down and rubbed my calf. “Geez, I was just asking my dear brother how he was doing.”
“Uh huh. I’m sure that’s what you were doing.” Wyatt rolled his eyes.
Wyatt, along with Trevor and Bryton, retired almost two years ago. They played their last game shortly after winning gold at the Olympics.
We all knew it was coming. They’d been hinting at it for a while, and as a group, they wanted to do it together. At thirty-two, they felt it was time to move on and do other things in their career. And none of them went too far from hockey.
Wyatt was currently coaching alongside Steven for the Knights to get his legs under him with coaching.
There were already a few teams looking to snatch him up as their head coach, but I didn’t think Wyatt was going to move the entire family away from here.
Rumors were flying that Steven was about to step down and let Wyatt take over.
Trevor instantly got a job as a sport caster and analyst. Pretty sure he got the call to be a part of the hockey network before his final game. So far, he seemed to love it and he was good at it. He knew the game inside and out.
As for Bryton, he stepped into scouting.
He was with the Knights, scouting out potential hockey players from universities and colleges in Canada and the US.
Bryton knew talent like the back of his hand, which made him the perfect fit for the job.
Plus, he was helping coach Junior League with Landon at Hockey Haven.
When all three announced their retirements, it was like the world ended for fans.
I remembered people posting the world is ending memes with RIP attached as the caption.
When three of the world's best hockey players decided to retire all at once, it was a big deal.
The legacy they left behind was one no one could ignore.
Crazy they finished up their career while mine was just getting started.
“How’s Emmie enjoying retirement?” Wyatt asked in return.
I leaned back in my chair. “She’s doing good. Thinking about becoming a skating coach.”
While retirement didn’t look the same for the guys as it did Emmie, it was still a hard decision. Saying bye to the one thing you loved most wasn’t easy. After taking this last year off, enjoying life without the pressure of skating, Em brought up the idea of becoming a coach.