Chapter 18 Gabriel
Chapter eighteen
Gabriel
"Why are there twenty-five people in my backyard?" I ask.
Dex doesn't even look up from the grill. "You agreed to host."
"I agreed to something small."
Dex gestures broadly with a spatula. "This is small."
I stare across the yard.
Kids are running in circles.
Someone brought two coolers the size of a small car.
Colby and Bobby are arguing over music by the speakers.
Mason is setting up folding chairs like he's organizing a military operation.
And Daisy is currently sprinting across the grass with a hot dog in her mouth.
"This," I say slowly, "is not small."
Dex flips a burger. "Relax. It's a beautiful day."
He's not wrong.
The weather decided to cooperate for once. Warm enough that everyone ditched jackets. The sun is out. My backyard looks like a neighborhood block party that got hijacked by a professional hockey team.
Which is exactly what happened.
Dex pitched the idea earlier in the week.
Team hangout.
Families invited.
Warm weekend.
"You have the biggest yard," he told me.
And somehow that turned into this.
"You invited the entire roster," I mutter.
"Plus families," Dex says proudly.
"Of course you did."
Behind me the back door slides open.
Natalie steps outside carrying a bowl of chips.
My brain does that annoying thing again where it just stops for a second when I see her.
She's wearing jeans and a loose sweater, hair pulled back, already laughing at something Dex said.
Like she's been out here all afternoon instead of walking into a yard full of hockey idiots.
And somehow that makes this whole circus feel a lot more under control.
"More food," she announces.
Dex raises the spatula like he's saluting. "Our hero."
Natalie laughs and sets the bowl on the table.
Maddie bursts out the door right behind her.
"Daddy!" she shouts. "We're starting hockey!"
"Already?"
"Yes," she says. "The kids voted."
Dex nods seriously. "Democracy."
Five kids run past us with plastic sticks.
One of them trips over a lawn chair.
Nobody notices.
"We're making teams!" Maddie says.
"I want Gabriel," one kid announces.
"Of course you do," Dex says. "He's the only one here with actual skill."
"Rude," Bobby calls from the cooler.
"Truth hurts," Dex replies.
Maddie points a stick at me. "You're on my team."
"Naturally," I say.
"Dex," she adds, "you're not."
Dex clutches his chest. "Devastating."
"You cheat," Maddie explains.
"Allegedly," Dex says.
The lawn hockey game starts with absolutely no organization.
Kids run in every direction.
Someone brings out a plastic puck.
Colby misses it completely and nearly falls over.
"Great start," Bobby says.
"I was distracted," Colby replies.
"By what?" Dex asks.
"Your personality and Sloane, of course."
Natalie is standing near the patio with a drink, laughing at the mayhem.
I glance over at her between plays.
She catches me looking.
She smiles.
And for a second I completely forget there's a game happening.
"Focus," Dex says, stealing the puck.
"I am focused," I say.
"Liar," he replies.
The kids swarm the puck like it's the Stanley Cup Final.
Half of them can barely keep the sticks on the grass.
Colby swings and very obviously misses by a mile.
Bobby lets one roll right past his stick so a six-year-old can take a shot.
Even Dex is pretending to whiff at it while the kids chase the puck in a pack.
"Great defense," Colby says, backing up dramatically as one kid winds up again.
"I'm being generous," Bobby says. "It's called mentorship."
One of the kids finally gets control of the puck and starts dribbling it proudly across the yard.
That's when Daisy appears.
She bolts straight for the puck.
"No," I say.
Too late.
Daisy snatches it in her mouth and tears across the yard.
"The dog has the puck!" Bobby yells.
Everyone chases her.
Kids are screaming and laughing as they run after the dog.
Dex dives dramatically across the grass and misses by three feet.
"Daisy is cheating," he announces.
"She's winning," Natalie says.
Maddie collapses laughing.
Eventually Daisy drops the puck near the grill and trots away proudly.
"Great defense," Colby says.
"Elite athlete," Bobby agrees.
Someone hands Natalie a hockey stick.
"Your turn," Dex says.
Natalie looks around at the guys and smirks. "Against professional athletes?"
Colby snorts. "Yeah, because we're all playing at peak professional level right now."
Natalie steps onto the grass anyway.
"Alright," she says. "Move."
She immediately steals the puck from me.
"Hey," I say.
"Too slow," she replies.
She moves fast.
Surprisingly fast.
"You're aggressive," I say, catching up.
"You should see me when I'm competitive," she says.
She shoots.
The puck slides right past Dex.
Dex drops to his knees.
"I've been betrayed," he says.
Natalie laughs and pumps her fist.
Without thinking I grab her in a quick side hug.
"Nice shot," I say.
She laughs, slightly out of breath.
"Thank you."
She brushes a piece of grass off my shoulder.
The touch is quick.
Casual.
I grin and tap her lightly on the back as she walks past.
Across the yard I hear Colby talking quietly to Bobby.
"Have you ever seen him like this?" Colby asks.
"Nope," Bobby says.
Dex is watching us too.
I notice it when I hand Maddie a bottle of water.
Natalie bumps my shoulder as she walks past.
"You're losing," she says.
"Temporary setback," I reply.
"Sure," she says.
Dex walks over to Bobby and lowers his voice.
"He's gone," Dex says.
Bobby glances toward me.
"Completely," he replies.
Colby joins them.
"About time," he says.
I pretend not to hear them.
Which is difficult because they're terrible at whispering.
The game dissolves into complete pandemonium after that.
Kids start tackling each other.
Dex attempts a trick shot and falls over a cooler.
Someone turns the music louder.
Maddie runs past me chasing Daisy again.
"Daddy watch this!"
"I'm watching," I say.
Natalie walks over with two drinks.
She hands me one.
Our fingers brush.
Neither of us pulls away right away.
"You seem happy," she says.
"I am," I say.
We stand there for a moment watching the yard.
Maddie is laughing with the other kids.
Daisy is rolling in the grass.
My teammates are arguing about whether Dex tripped over the cooler or nose-dived for a beer.
"I didn't trip," Dex insists loudly.
"You wiped out," Colby replies.
The back gate swings open before Dex can argue.
"Food delivery," Bryce announces, walking in with two pizza boxes.
Annabelle follows behind him carrying a tray. "And reinforcements."
"There’s more?" I ask.
"We brought food," Bryce says. "You're welcome."
The kids immediately swarm them like tiny vultures.
"Pizza!" someone screams.
Mason claps his hands once. "Alright, little gremlins. While the pizza cools, new game."
The kids turn instantly.
"Red light, green light," Mason says, pointing toward the fence. "Line up."
They scramble into a crooked line across the yard.
"If I catch you moving," Mason says, "you go back to the start."
"That's not fair," Dex says.
"You weren't invited," Mason replies.
"Green light!" Mason shouts.
The kids sprint.
"Red light!"
Half of them crash into each other.
Dex tries to sneak forward.
"Dex," Mason says without even turning around.
Dex freezes mid-step.
"You're twenty-seven," Mason adds. "Act like it."
"I'm extremely youthful," Dex mutters.
Daisy suddenly bolts through the line of kids, knocking two of them over like bowling pins.
The yard erupts again.
Natalie laughs softly beside me.
I glance at her again.
And realize something that has been creeping up on me for weeks.
It isn't one big moment.
It's all the small ones.
The way she laughs.
The way Maddie runs straight to her when something goes wrong.
The way this whole ridiculous scene suddenly feels normal.
I married Natalie because it made sense.
It solved a problem.
It gave Maddie stability.
It gave me something solid.
But lately something has shifted.
Every day a little more.
Every laugh.
Every conversation.
Every time she touches my arm or smiles at Maddie.
Standing here in my backyard watching her laugh with my daughter and a bunch of idiot hockey players...
I realize my feelings for her are getting deeper.
And the dangerous part is this.
I'm not even trying to slow it anymore.
Across the yard Dex points at me.
"Shelly!" he shouts.
"We're starting round two!"
Natalie grins and nudges my shoulder.
"Better hurry," she says.
"Your team needs you."
I look at her.
Then at Maddie.
Then back at the party in my yard.
And for the first time in a long time...
this whole crazy situation feels exactly where I want to be.