Page 86 of Hockey Nanny

His little arms flailed, and I ducked under him for a surprise dunk, sending him squealing and sputtering in pure delight. Carissa clapped and hollered from the water, and for a moment, I swore the rest of the world didn’t exist.

Dawson and Gage lounged on pool chairs nearby, sunglasses on, sipping something icy. I caught Dawson rolling his eyes at my antics, but there was a twitch of a smile at the corner of his mouth I didn’t miss. Gage just shook his head, like he couldn’teven pretend to disapprove, because the kid in my arms was grinning ear to ear.

“You two better get in here before I’m the only adult left in control of this chaos,” I called, and Carissa splashed toward me, water flying everywhere.

Henry clung to my shoulders, shrieking, “Dad, Mom! Catch me!”

I lifted him high, then swung him toward her, letting her scoop him up mid-air, and he screamed with laughter. The sound ricocheted across the pool, and I realized how much life had changed. How right this was. This wasn’t some fleeting, reckless moment. This was ours. All of us. Henry bouncing between Carissa and me like a spark of pure joy, Dawson and Gage nearby, smiling even when they pretended they weren’t.

Carissa leaned over, splashing me in the chest with a wet smack. “You’re going to kill us all one day,” she said, mock stern but glowing with laughter.

“Worth it,” I answered, and Henry cheered, pumping his fists.

“Boone’s right! Worth it!”

We kept playing like this, water slapping, laughter ricocheting, Henry shrieking, me flinging him around, Carissa occasionally retaliating with a sneak splash attack. Every once in a while, Dawson glanced over, and I saw it: relief, peace, the kind that came from knowing your family was whole. And Gage—yeah, he was there too, quiet but grinning, leaning into the moment like he was exactly where he belonged.

I felt Carissa’s hand brush mine as she let Henry cling to her, and our eyes met for a second, just a second, and everything we’d been through, all the fear, the doubt, collapsed under the weight of this. Pure, unshakable happiness.

And for me, right there, right then, being the clown in the pool with my family, I couldn’t imagine anything better.

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Gage

I watched Henry squeal, arms flailing as Boone launched him into the air again, and something inside me softened in a way I hadn’t realized it needed. That pure, unfiltered joy, his laughter ricocheting off the pool tiles, Carissa’s laughter floating over it all, made my chest ache with gratitude. I let my eyes linger on them for a moment, feeling the warmth of it settle into my bones. Seeing her smile at Henry, hair slicked with water and eyes bright, sent a jolt straight through me. She looked unstoppable, radiant, and I felt this insane pull toward her.

She stepped out of the pool, water cascading down her shoulders and back, and I caught the glance she threw me, the one that didn’t need words. She kissed my cheek in passing on her way to the showers, and the memory of it, brief as it was, made my pulse spike. I leaned back on the lounger, trying to tell myself to breathe, but my mind refused. I thought of where I’d been. Not just recently, but the year before, the weight I carried, the walls I’d built. And where I was now. And I knew, without a shred of doubt, that the people around me had brought me here. Boone, Dawson, Henry… and Carissa. She was the axis around which all of this spun, and I’d let myself get tangled up in her orbit long before I even realized I wanted it.

The thought was enough to make me throw off the lounger and stride toward the shower, my boots slapping lightly against the wet tiles. Steam was already curling from the water, foggingthe glass, and I slowed for a heartbeat just to savor the moment—the scent of chlorine and warm skin, the way her hair clung to her neck, the curve of her spine as she adjusted the water. She turned slightly, eyes widening in surprise when I stepped in front of her.

“I can’t even—” I started, voice rough, and she shook her head, lips curving into that mischievous grin that made my brain short-circuit.

“Gage,” she said, breathless, half admonishing and half amused.

“I don’t care,” I interrupted, cutting off the words before they could form into anything reasonable. “I just… I’m goddamn happy. All of this. You. Henry. Us. I can’t even put it into words, but I’ve got to tell you.”

She tilted her head, letting the water cascade over her shoulder as she studied me. The soft droplets glinted against the curve of her collarbone, running in rivulets down the edge of her wet bikini top. I wanted her. I wanted to close the gap between us and make the heat that had been simmering since we’d all gotten home explode.

So I did. I leaned in, letting my hands brush the curve of her hips as I pressed into her, feeling the slick warmth of her skin under my palms. She didn’t pull back. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment, and that’s all I needed. I tilted my head, lips capturing hers, and the rest of the world evaporated. Steam wrapped around us, blurring the edges, and I lost myself in the taste of her, the soft surrender, the subtle arch of her body pressing into mine.

Her hands found my shoulders, nails digging lightly into muscle as if grounding herself, and I let my hands slide up, tangling in the wet straps of her bikini, fingertips grazing skinthat shivered beneath my touch. She moaned low and wet against my mouth, and it vibrated straight through me, sparking a fire that I hadn’t even realized had been smoldering.

I pressed her back against the glass wall of the shower, careful of angles but letting myself be greedy with the contact. Steam condensed around us, water dripping in rivulets across her back and into my hair, and I felt her body respond immediately; tilting, pressing, molding into me with a need that matched my own. Her lips parted, and I followed, deepening the kiss, tasting her, claiming her in a way that was urgent, desperate, and utterly alive.

For a long stretch, the world shrank to the warmth of her skin under my hands, the weight of her body against mine, the wet slick of water carrying our heat, and the sound of us gasping and laughing against the hum of the shower. Every movement, every touch, every soft gasp carried the promise of everything we had yet to explore, and everything we’d finally allowed ourselves to feel.

She pulled back slightly, forehead resting against mine, breath mingling. Her eyes were dark and luminous, shimmering with the steam and something unspoken, and I grinned like a fool. “I could get used to this,” I rasped.

She laughed, a wet, airy sound that made my chest pound. “I think you already have.”

And in that instant, with the water running over us and Henry’s laughter still echoing faintly from the pool outside, I knew she was right. I had. I was exactly where I was meant to be.

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