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I go stock still, staring at her.
"She wanted to know if we're ready to come home," she whispers, her eyes misting over.
"Shit. You're serious?"
Jamie bites her lip, bobbing her head in a nod. "The Predators' studio analyst position is mine if I want it." She blinks her eyes rapidly. "I'll be their first female analyst and the only one behind the anchor desk on the network."
"Fuck." I press my mouth to hers in a hard kiss, pride coursing through me. Most studio analyst positions go to former players. Very few go to women. But Jamie has worked her ass off for this. She'searnedit. The sky is the limit for my girl. Darren Smith might not have seen that. But the people who matter do. And the people who matter are in her corner.
"I'm so fucking proud of you, baby," I whisper, brushing away the tears clinging to her lashes. "So fucking proud. Your dad would be too."
A quiet sob breaks from her lips before she can stop it.
I press my forehead to hers, lending her my strength as she puts herself back together again.
"Are you ready to go home, Jonas?" she asks after a moment, smiling at me so brightly she steals my breath and my soul all over again.
"Fuck yeah," I growl. Pittsburgh has been kind to us, but it isn't home. Nashville is. That's where our hearts are. That's where we belong. I can't wait to get my family back to the ranch. I can't wait to see my girl live her dream. I've chased mine for long enough. The only one I want to live now is the one in my arms.
"What are you doing?" Jamie breathes as I press her up against the shower wall.
"Celebrating, baby girl," I mutter, wrapping her legs around my waist. "We're celebrating."
Bonus Epilogue
Jonas
Eleven Years Later
"Stop glaring at me," I growl at Kelsey. "It's freaking me out."
"Oh, my god." Kelsey rolls her eyes. "I just looked at you, you big baby."
"It was definitely a glare." Theo takes a pull from his bottle of beer and then smirks over the top. "I think your eye even twitched a little."
"See?" I smirk, feeling vindicated. "You almost gave me a flashback."
"A flashback? Seriously?" She glowers. "You were never a soldier, Jonas."
"Uh, I'm fucking aware of that. But you were our publicist. That's basically like surviving hell week, every week," I mutter, being completely serious. Kelsey terrorized every man on the team from the day she arrived. I'll never admit it, but once I moved to Philly, I actually missed the fuck out of it. She made us better players and better men, teaching us the importance of taking responsibility for ourselves, our actions, and our words. We didn't always appreciate it, but she always had our best interests at heart, even when she was ruthless with her punishments.
"It wasn't that bad."
Kris snorts beside her.
"Uh, yes, the fuck it was," Wes says, eyeing her like she's crazy.
"You're diabolical," Gray agrees.
"Savage," Theo says.
"Demonic," Logan mutters.
"You weren't that bad."
"You are so full of shit!" I yell, throwing a roll at Kellan, who dodges it, laughing. "You walked around the arena like a goddamn zombie for weeks, talking about 'men ain't shit' after she made you teach those classes. You were stressed the fuckout."
"I stand by that," he says, scowling. "Men are bullshit."
