Chapter 42
CHAPTER
FORTY-TWO
FARRAH
Tonight is the final game of the Stanley Cup final against the Sacramento Fire Cats, and it’s at home in D.C. The girls and I have made it to all the home games this round, and I’ve worn my WAG jacket that Andie had the forethought to get for me. But tonight is extra special because Bruce’s family is here, my family is here, and Jackson came with his foster parents.
Everyone is jittery with nerves and excitement as we take our seats in the stands to the left of Bruce’s net. During warmups, he finds me and waves his goalie sick in the air, then removes his gloves to form a heart with his hands.
His mother is sitting in front of me, and she turns back with a wide smile on her face. “It’s such a treat to see him so smitten.”
My face heats at her comment, and she laughs.
Jackson and his foster parents are wearing McBride jerseys and Jackson looks awfully hyped up for someone who says he doesn’t like hockey.
Noah is with Andie, and he appears very tense and nervous for the guys.
My family is seated in the row below Bruce’s family, and they’ve all donned Remington jerseys, except Felicity who decided on a McBride jersey at the last minute, which Remy will likely grumble about later.
During the first period, we’re on the edge of our seats, barely speaking to each other at all. The period ends with the Eagles down one to two.
The second period, everything amps up. The guys seem faster than ever out there as they fight to get ahead, and they do. The period ends with the Eagles ahead four to three.
When the guys come back out for the third and final period, you can tell they’re tired, but still laser focused. Bruce doesn’t even smile at the cameras; he’s in his net and stretching his legs before the puck drops.
The third period feels like it goes by in slow motion. The captain of the Sacramento Fire Cats gets another goal, tying up the score with five minutes left. Every player on the ice is ultra careful tonight not to get a penalty, which means there’s a serious lack of fights. I find that I miss the action a little but understand why everyone’s playing it safe tonight. Both teams would give anything to win this.
I blow out a breath as the game moves into the defensive end, with Bruce crouched and ready in front of the net. Someone tries to shoot a puck between his legs, but he brings his pad down just in time to send the puck flying off it and away from him.
Remy snatches the puck and takes it across the ice and away from Bruce. I breathe an audible sigh of relief and Amber, who’s beside me, gives me an empathetic look. I know she’s feeling just as nervous as I am.
I scoot to the edge of my seat, like that will help me see better. Remy expertly passes the puck to West. West takes it around the back of the net and then shoots it. It ricochets off the side bar and the entire arena groans at once.
Mitch gets the puck from a defenseman on the opposing team and he’s surrounded quickly. He passes to Colby and Colby finds an opening and shoots. We wait with bated breath; the entire arena feels frozen as we wait to see if the shot hits its mark…
And it does. The buzzer goes off, and the arena goes wild. We’re all up and hugging and jumping up and down. But there’s still one minute left in the game. It’s not impossible for the Fire Cats to tie it up again and send it to overtime.
The Fire Cats captain takes possession of the puck in the next faceoff and drags it quickly down to the defensive zone again. I can’t imagine the pressure Bruce feels in this moment, keeping the puck out of his net in this next minute is possibly the most important minute of his entire career.
The captain shoots it, and Bruce knocks it away with his glove. Another Fire Cats player snags it and goes for a rebound, but Bruce is ready and knocks it away with his stick.
The defenseman grabs the puck again and slides it to his captain. The captain takes one last shot, in the top left corner with seven seconds left in the game.
Bruce catches the puck in his glove and the buzzer signaling the end of the game hums loudly throughout the arena. Everyone’s up again, screaming.
I look over at Amber, and we hug each other close. “They did it!” I scream over the noise.
“They won the Cup!” She yells back.
I turn to look at Bruce and tear up when I see his teammates giving him hugs and lifting him into the air.
The Eagles ease Bruce back onto the ice then line up to shake hands with the Fire Cats players. The other team looks deflated and heart broken. I feel bad for them; it has to suck to get so close and not win in the end.
Amber grabs my hand and yanks me. “Come on! Let’s go congratulate our guys!” The row of us wives and girlfriends head through the chaos of bodies in the stands to get to the bench and onto the ice.
We make it there just in time for the red, white, and blue balloons and confetti to be dropped from the rafters. It rains over us like a shower and makes it difficult for me to find Bruce, but he’s the easiest one to find with all that goalie gear on. When I find his beaming, bearded face, I run to him—careful not to slip on the ice—and throw myself into his arms. He catches me and holds me as I wrap my legs around his waist. “You did it! You were amazing!”
Bruce rips his helmet off, letting it fall onto the ice and gives me the sweatiest, happiest kiss of my life. He smells terrible, and I don’t even care. The only thing that matters in this moment is kissing my man and letting him know how incredible he is. “I love you, Cupcake,” I tell him.
“I love you too, Yeux bleus.” He smiles wide and kisses me again.