Epilogue – Frankie
The glass rattled under my palms as I pounded on it, screaming until my voice cracked and went hoarse.
“Eyes up, Emmie! You've got this! Track it!” I screamed as the puck soared through the air, shot hard and fast from the outside, narrowly missing the big defenders that stood in her way, blocking her view. It didn’t matter though; my girl never let a puck past her.
“Yes, girl!” I screamed, jumping up and down as she blocked yet another goal.
I didn’t care how feral I looked; I didn’t care that everyone around me was laughing. My daughter was less than a minute away from finishing her very first championship game, as the starting goalie, without a single goal on her net.
That was something worth screaming about.
On the bench, Travis bellowed plays out like a drill sergeant, his body tense and oozing dominance as he controlled the menaces on the ice like a well-executed dance.
Eli was right beside him, golden retriever smile flashing as he slapped helmets and shouted encouragement. My men, coaching my daughter, all while looking like they were born for it.
Behind me, Toby wasn’t even watching. He was moving up and down the bleachers like a miniature bookie, hand out, palm full of crumpled bills. “Last chance, folks! Final buzzer coming in hot—Coach Saw drops the F-bomb, and I’ll double your payout!”
Half of the parents groaned, half laughed while they dug in their pockets for their chance at the obvious win. Coach Rick sat next to me with a bag of popcorn, muttered, “Kid’s got my retirement plan figured out.”
I pinched my nose as I shook my head, giving it up to God to keep my youngest out of the slammer because there wasn’t a chance that I was missing a second of Emmie’s game to scold him.
The worst part of the whole thing was that he wasn’t wrong. Thirty seconds later, Travis barked, slapping his hand against the boards like he was an ornery player instead of a respected coach. “Goddamnit, cover your wing!”
It was loud enough the ref glared, and Eli shoved Travis to the other end of the bench with a grimace and a friendly wave at the man officiating. The buzzer hadn’t even finished echoing before Toby was raking in his winnings, with a grin that was all trouble.
The team erupted, benches clearing as they celebrated their hard-fought, well-deserved championship win. They were the underdogs, a team of misfits with a tiny girl in goal that everyone underestimated.
And they freaking won it. Won it all.
When the team congregated at the snack bar for their celebratory snow cones, wearing their new medals with bright, sticky smiles, I sat back and soaked it all up. I freaking lived for the high of motherhood, because days like this one made it all seem worth it.
“Alright!” One of the parents called, grabbing everyone’s attention, “Kids, gather your bags and line up! The cars are parked at the curb, and we’re off for the lock-in sleepover at the arcade!”
Heaven help the parents who volunteered to host that event, I wasn’t going near it with a ten-foot pole.
Especially because they invited the siblings of the players too.
“Don’t burn the place to the ground, okay?” I called, hugging Emmie tight as she adjusted her backpack, no doubt filled to the brim with snacks instead of clean clothes or a sleeping bag.
“Got it, Mama.” She winked, pulling one of Eli’s signature moves before she grabbed Toby’s arm, dragging him after her.
“Don’t worry, Mama!” Toby said with a smirk. “Eli took my matches, but Trav taught me how to make sparks with sticks and rocks!”
“Lord help me.” I groaned as my men in question flanked me, waving everyone off for the night as we faced cleanup duties.
I wasn’t sure where they had been for the last twenty minutes while I wrangled the team at the snack counter, but they also deserved a break now that the season was over.
So, I wasn’t going to ride them too hard.
The silence circled us in the chilly air of the rink. No kids. No parents. Just me, my men, and the ice that started everything.
A year ago, I’d been bartending here, scraping by on two hours of sleep and pure stubborn determination.
And now I had a business degree and the corner office at Hayes Family Construction, with a shiny plaque outside my door telling everyone how freaking badass I was.
My plans had given Trav the courage he needed, and the stubborn kick in the ass, to take the plunge and expand his operation. He had triple the employees, double the projects running, and HFC was building things he had always dreamed of.
God, it felt good to see him succeed.
And Eli was now a part-time firefighter, working two days a week at the station, and a full-time fire investigator. It eased some of the worry in my chest knowing that most of the time, he wasn’t going into the buildings until the fire was out.
“Black Cat.” Eli said, sliding his fingers over my back, teasing the slice of skin at the hem of my jersey before sliding under it. “We have a surprise for you.”
My eyes widened as I looked from him to Trav, on my other side, looking deliciously up at something. “Does it involve a filthy trip to the locker room?” I teased and Trav laced his fingers with mine, as they both led me to the stairs leading down to the main rink below.
“Something like that.” Eli smiled.
The air rushed out of my lungs, my feet freezing in place as I took in the scene.
Candles. Literally everywhere.
Rose petals, black and red, sprinkled across the ice to a red carpet that led to the center.
“Guys.” I whispered in awe.
“Let’s go, Shade.” Trav said, pulling me down the steps, and opening the gate in the boards so I could walk out onto the red carpet. When the three of us got to the center, there was a bucket with champagne in it and a million other candles surrounding the space in a circle.
“Frankie,” Eli whispered, taking my other hand in his, until my men stood shoulder to shoulder in front of me.
His eyes were red, despite the magical smile on his lips as he lifted my hand to them, kissing my knuckles.
“You told us once that no one had ever done anything nice and thoughtful for you before, so we knew when we did this,” He took a shuddering breath, and my own breath escaped with a shake, “That we had to do it big.”
“This?” I whispered, turning to look at Travis as he gave me a gentle one-sided grin.
“Proposing.” He replied firmly, always steady and sure. “We want to make this official, we want to make it real. Actually, I wanted to do it a year ago when we brought you home from the hospital, but—”
“Jesus Christ,” Eli elbowed him in the gut with a roll of his eyes, and I giggled. “What he means is, we know you’ve done this before. We know you’ve been married, hoping to get the magical fairy tale ending you so desperately deserve, baby.”
Travis squeezed my hand as tears fell over my eyelashes, “And we know you didn’t get it that time, and we’re glad. Because it means you came back to Cedar Bluff. To us. For this.”
Eli pulled a box from his pocket, holding it between them as they both fell to one knee, making my tears turn into sobs, as my vision danced and swayed as I tried to see them lift the lid of the box open.
“Black Cat,”
“Shade,”
“Will you marry us?” Eli smiled.
“Will you give us the world?” Travis added.
“Will you let us be the men in your life forever?”
“Will you let us be the fathers your kids deserve?”
“Oh my God,” I cried, melting to my knees in front of them as I nodded my head, forcing the lump in my throat away. “Yes!”
They engulfed me, swallowing me up with their big strong arms, and warm love, and I welcomed it.
I embraced it.
There was nothing else in the world that I needed, outside of them and my kids.
Our kids.
Our family.
We were whole.