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“Good, good. I spoke with Eldrick. We called him Dick or Cross back in the day. He said he told you about your mom and me.”
“Hooking up. Yes, he did. He said that she wanted me to be your baby.”
“After we were together, she started dating Roman Beatty. You’ve heard of him.”
Scoffing, “Yeah. I saw him in my dad’s office.”
“Anyway, they dated a while and when she started showing, he thought the baby was his. We all played college together, although he was a year older than your dad and me. I hate to say this because I liked your mom. But in my opinion, she thought she had found her pot of gold with Roman. His rookie season in the NHL was the best rookie season ever. He wasn’t a saint, none of us were until we foundthe one.
“In his first year, he had three women claiming their babies were his. He had all of them take DNA tests. The other ladies were telling the truth. Your mom was not.
“When your mom approached me, you were nearly four years old. I was married to Brooke’s mom, totally in love.” A puff of air escapes his lungs. “Not a good track record with women.
“It made me suspicious. I had talked to Roman when she made the claim. He said, ‘Hell, that little boy is probably yours or Cross’. I was never good at math.’ I also had a DNA test, and it was negative. That’s when I knew you must be Cross’ son. I told her I would give her some money because I liked her. I just never loved her. And I was one hundred percent in love with Brooke’s mom. In my conversation with Cross, he mentioned that she hadn't approached him yet, at least not at that point. Anyway, I need to tell Brooke.” Coach Sweet interlaces his fingers and then rests his head on them.
“I told her last night. We promised to never keep anything from each other again. She was surprised, but it didn’t bother her, other than the fact you kept it secret. I explained you’re my coach, and there are privacy issues. She thinks you hung the moon, so don’t worry.”
He shakes his head. “Wow, you’ve come a long way. Have fun on first line.”
“Thank you, Coach. Can you keep Caleb tonight? I want to take your daughter on a proper date after the game.”
“Reed, just take care of them. They’re the two most important people on earth to me.”
“Yes, sir. You know I would step in front of a car for them.”
A tap on the door snaps our attention. Kandy, the kinesiologist, is sporting Stallions gear instead of her usual scholarly suit. Sometimes she wears a skirt and blouse, but today, she looks relaxed.
“Coach Sweet, I’ve taken care of the details. Good luck today.”
“Thanks for having a new jersey ready for me.” On that note, I shake Coach’s hand. It seems like they have something substantial to talk about.
I head to the locker room and get my cold gear on, pull on my practice jersey, then step onto the ice. I skate around the perimeter without my stick. Then I make large figure eights, exhaling a cloud of white fog, thinking about Brooke wearing my jersey today.
This morning, I went to the courthouse and petitioned to change my name legally to Cross, but regardless, that’s the name I’ll wear on my back. It’s become obvious that my mom was all about the money, and she was more than likely culpable in embezzling from my trust fund that Eldrick set up for me.
It’s game time. My team, the Kentucky fucking Stallions, versus the Galena Giants. My focus is usually on the ice, but today during warmups, I find myself searching for Brooke. To my surprise, I spot my biological dad and Holly first. He waves at me like a proud papa and for the first time in my life, I have a dad. He’s made mistakes, but so I have I. And if I expect people to forgive me or think of me differently, I need to do the same.
My dad kept the events surrounding Caleb and what happened last night a secret. He shut it down so the news outlet didn’t get hold of it. Instead, he said he wanted to get Erik treatment.
Two minutes before the game starts, I notice my friends streaming into the cold barn. Harper, Logan, Adalee, Lettie, Dane, and the people I love most in the world, Brooke, and Caleb. My heart skips a beat, and I put my hand over my heart. Cupid shoots a dart to my heart, and it feels like I’m having a heart attack; the feeling of support overwhelms me.
For the first time in my life, I have a cheering section. The last time was before juvenile detention.
The national anthem plays and with my hand over my heart, I promise to be the best version of myself. Will I still check the hell out of the other team? Hell yeah. But will I be a broody son of a bitch. No, because I’m happy. I have found a woman who lets me love her and worship her. Who loves me for all my flaws. Who loves me to tease her. And her son loves me as much as I love him. I. Have. A. Family.
Coach taps my shoulder and says, “I’m asking you this one time not to do anything. Beat Bratt with your skates, your speed, your finesse, and your skills.”
“Yes, sir.”
My new jersey has Cross stitched across the shoulders, and I proudly wear number seven. We win the faceoff. Erik isn’t in at the moment. Dawes is in the zone and passes it to the right to Flynn who gets checked into the boards but not before he flicks the puck to me. I’m in the middle lane, and it’s like the parting of the Red Sea. Working the puck, I shovel it into the net just under the goalie’s leg. The buzzer sounds, and the fans explode in cheers.
We’ve never had a full arena during a day game. These are actual fans, not just drunk college students looking for a good time at midnight.
I glance into my cheering section, and Caleb is holding a sign. I skate over and wave for Brooke and Caleb to come down. His sign reads, “Weed, Mommy says you can buy me skates.” I put my hand up to the glass, and his little fingers mirror mine. Brooke mouths, “I love you.” And my heart feels like it may burst from my rib cage.
Before I can return the sentiment,my teammates hit me against the board, slapping my helmet and as I look up to my dad, I make a cross using two fingers. He knocks on his chest and returns the gesture. His wife claps, then kisses him on the cheek. They’re proud of me.
For a guy who never got lucky, I hit the jackpot. My girl is wearing my jersey, and I can’t wait to make love to her while she’s wearing it.
