Epilogue
Jackson
Six Months Later
Two more minutes stand between our team and winning game seven of the Stanley Cup finals.
Two shifts before we find out if we’ll hoist the cup over our heads or suffer one of the most devastating losses in sports imaginable.
Sweat drips down my face as I fight to catch my breath on the bench after another strenuous shift.
Playoffs are an entirely different beast in comparison to regular season. It’s almost as if we’re playing two entirely different games.
The intensity. The physicality. The pressure. The desperation.
Exhaustion beyond what your mind can comprehend while pushing your body to the very brink of deterioration.
The purest form of adrenaline pumps through my blood as I glance up at the jumbotron to see there’s just under a minute left.
If we keep our one goal lead for one more minute—
Before I can finish that thought, Coach calls for our line to hit the ice for the defensive zone faceoff. The line before us iced the puck to clear the zone, and now my line—me, Carson, and Griffin—will have to give it our all to be sure we come out on top.
Before I line up at the hashmarks, I look up at the time remaining on the clock: fifty-two seconds.
Tapping Calvetti’s goalie pads with my stick, I give him a nod before getting into position.
I’d love nothing more than to kick Boston’s asses.
Across from me is Boston’s Nicolai Orlov, a former teammate of Griff’s from Emery University. He’s a tall, burly fucker who happens to be one of the most physical enforcers to play in the NHL over the past decade. Lucky me.
The ref blows his whistle and Griff wins the draw back to Bennett who chips the puck just over Boston’s defenseman’s head. Carson wins the chase to the puck and possesses it through the neutral zone.
I skate like hell to try to keep pace with him so we have a two-on-one rush.
The moment the defenseman pivots toward Carson, I scream for the puck, hoping like hell he hears me over the roar of the crowd.
Carsey sauces the puck across the ice to me, and after two more strides, I shoot the puck low into the empty net.
The goal horn blasts as the arena erupts with cheers from our home crowd.
I look up at the clock.
Forty-one seconds.
We’ve fucking got this.
There she is.
My beautiful bride.
God, she’s everything.
Taevin’s waiting to get on the ice with Scarlett, Gemma, McKenna, Cadence, and Dakota. She’s got her back turned to me, and I smile when I see she’s wearing the custom playoff jacket Scarlett designed for all of the players’ significant others.
This year’s jackets are all black lettermans with lime green patches sewn onto the sleeves as well as the front.
The back of the jackets display the players’ last names with the numbers on the sleeves.
WILSON-GRAY has never looked better than it does when it’s splayed across her back.
And you guessed it, number twelve is on her sleeve.
My wife is stunning no matter what, but when she’s proudly claiming me in front of a stadium of tens of thousands of fans, I can’t take my eyes off her.
Tae’s raven hair has grown several inches in the last few months into what she’s deemed a pixie cut?
Not sure what the hell that is, but it suits her nonetheless.
This is the first season I’ve played with her by my side, and I’ve made it known that she’s my lucky charm.
I’d say it’s undeniable at this point.
After what feels like an eternity, Taevin turns to face me. When her beautiful brown eyes finally connect with mine, I skate to the zamboni door where our families have gathered.
“There’s my Stanley Cup Champ!” Tae says, beaming with pride.
That’s right.
Stanley Cup Champ is the second best title I’ve ever held.
I don’t waste a second as I lift her into my arms, step back onto the ice, and spin her around until she’s squealing for me to stop. Halting my movements, I smile down at her and she cradles my face in her hands. “You did it, you guys really did it!”
Shooting her one of the cockiest smirks I can muster up, I taunt, “Did you ever have any doubts?”
She shakes her head and rolls her eyes. “Couldn’t go two seconds without turning into the cocky boy I met at eighteen.”
“Hey, you not only fell in love with that cocky son of a bitch, you married him. So I musta done something right.”
“Yeah, yeah. So, are you gonna kiss me or not?” she asks, and before a smile can even pull at her lips, my mouth is on hers.
With adrenaline still pumping through my veins, I remind myself to hold back. We’re still in public, after all.
We’re interrupted when a camera crew shuffles across the ice toward us with Alexa following closely behind.
“Mind if I get a quick interview, you two?” Alexa asks.
Setting Tae on her feet, I tuck her into my side so she won’t slip on the ice.
“We don’t mind at all,” Tae tells her, stepping out of my hold to give her a quick hug.
Not wanting to chance Tae’s terrible balance, I wrap my arm over her shoulders again.
“Alright, Carter, count us down,” Alexa tells the cameraman before tapping in an ear piece.
“Three . . . two . . . one . . .”
“Thanks, Dylan. I may be biased, but I’m here with two of my favorite people on the ice tonight, Jackson and Taevin Wilson-Gray.” Alexa turns to face the two of us and asks, “Jackson, your team just won the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history, what does this moment mean to you?”
“Well, Lex, I’m not sure I have the words right now to properly express what this means to me and my teammates.
We had a heartbreaking loss last season in the playoffs, and I think that had us coming into this season with a bit of a chip on our shoulders.
We worked together, trained harder, and pushed ourselves to the brink so we could be here to experience this moment. ”
I look down at Taevin and smile. “This season will always be my favorite for so many reasons. Obviously winning the Cup is something I’ve dreamed of since I was a little kid, but this season is also the first one with my wife by my side.
I’ve been telling her she’s my lucky charm for years, do you think it’s time she sides with me? ”
Taevin buries her head against my chest until she realizes I’m still wearing my equipment and Alexa laughs before saying, “I’d think you’re valid in that statement, all things considered.
I noticed your peach suit as you walked into the arena tonight.
What inspired the bold fashion choice?” Alexa asks, shooting a wink at Taevin.
I adjust the Stanley Cup Champs hat I’m wearing to try to calm my rising emotions.
“My wife. At the beginning of this season, Tae fought like hell to beat cancer. She inspires me everyday far beyond my fashion choices, but June happens to be uterine cancer awareness month and the official color is peach. You might have noticed my teammates wearing peach ribbons on their suit jackets as they walked in today too.”
“What does it mean to have your teammates’ support through this difficult time for your family?” Alexa turns the microphone back toward me.
Shuffling on my feet, I blow out a deep breath and consider my answer.
“My teammates are an extension of my family. I’ll never forget the lengths they went to to support my wife and I over the past year.
Without the understanding and support from the Wolverines organization, my teammates, and the fans, I’m not sure I’d be on the ice tonight to hoist the cup over my head. ”
“What a great way to bring awareness to uterine cancer. Taevin, how proud are you of your husband?” Alexa asks, holding the mic out in front of her.
Taevin looks up at me with stars in her eyes. “I’ve never been more proud to watch someone achieve their dreams. This moment for him is something I’ve wished and prayed for since I first watched him on the ice at a high school playoff game. His love for the game made me a lifelong fan.”
I go behind her and wrap my arms around her shoulders. “Ah, she’s being modest. It wasn’t my love for the game that made her a fan, it was watching me stretch my hip flexors on the ice in warmups.”
Tae’s cheeks heat with the most adorable blush, and I don’t waste a second giving her a chaste kiss on her cheek.
“One final question. Now that you’ve won the Stanley Cup, what are your plans this summer?”
I point to Taevin. “I’m planning on being her biggest fan at the two shows she’s performing this summer. Other than that, we’ll be spending as much of the offseason at the lake.”
“Good answer. Thank you both for your time. I’ll let you get back to celebrating!” Alexa smiles as she turns to face the camera again. “Alright, Dylan, back to you in the studio.”
I lift Taevin into my arms bridal style again and skate us toward where my brother and sister are standing near my mom. I pass by Kenna, Dakota, and Scarlett who are staring at us and smiling like they’re starstruck.
“Why are they looking at us like that?”
“Like what?” she asks.
“Like they’ve got hearts shooting out of their eyes or something.”
“Oh—” She chuckles. “Probably because I told them we were considering starting to look into surrogates and adoption.”
I look down at her, wearing the dopiest smile. “So does that mean what I think it means?”
She wraps her arms around my neck, running her fingers through the hair fanning out of my hat.
“It means that I’m definitely ready to start adding to our family.
I know that however and whenever that happens is out of our control, but I want to fill our house with sounds of little feet padding across the floors, fits of laughter, and squeals of joy.
I want everything in this life with you, Mr. Wilson-Gray. ”
I’m about to pull her in for a kiss when something snags my attention from the corner of my eye. A blur of curly, platinum blonde hair whirs by until my baby sister throws herself into the arms of Enzo Calvetti. He spins her around briefly until her lips crash against his.
What. The. Fuck.