Mikael nods, and I can see some sadness written over his face. “The babies are way too small to be anywhere like a stadium. Anders came, and his parents are home with Charlotte and the kids. She said she would make any series final games she could.”
Nilsen walks over to us and sits close so that only we can hear. “Word is that Gribko has a weak left side,” he says softly.
“An injury?” I ask, and he shakes his head.
“Not sure. But shoot toward the left.” Mikael and I nod our heads. “Good to see you back, cap. Was about to take your spot.”
“Over my dead body,” I say joking, knowing this will be my last season.
He arches his eyebrow. “Don’t tempt me.” I laugh, and Mikael stares at him as he walks away.
“On second thought, don’t retire. Our team can’t be left in the hands of that psychopath.”
Coach lets a low whistle through the locker room and talks us up, stressing the importance of the win. Nerves and excitement tingle through me. There’s nothing quite like playoff hockey to get the blood flowing.
“Let’s go out there and show them what we got!” Coach Applegate says. There’s hooting and hollering as we head out the tunnel for warm-ups.
The music is loud, and the atmosphere is magnetic and wild as we stretch and practice. Owen cuts the crease, and Johannson stands next to the goal, looking absolutely pissed.
I skate over to Owen and grab his face mask.
“You good?”
“Yeah.”
“You fucking got this. Look, our girl is up there,” I say, pointing up at the box to where Piper sits, smiling and waving to us. This time, she’s wearing my jersey and Owen’s last name sewed on it as well.
“Yeah, she is,” he smiles, and I knock on his helmet again.
“Let’s fuck it up,” I say and dramatically kiss his mask. He shoves me off with his mitt, and I laugh as I skate away and keep warming up for the game.
It’s a tight game, but we win, making this series competitive. Now we just need to do it all over again in two days. I have hopes that this series will stay clean enough; we can’t risk any injuries or suspensions. But now that our team is whole again, I have no doubt in my mind that we can do this.
* * *
We get home later than I would like. Owen is exhausted and immediately goes into Piper's room and passes out—completely dead to the world. I smile to myself as I head into the kitchen, looking for something to eat, when Piper comes downstairs.
“Hey,” she says softly.
“Hey.”
“You guys played great. It was exciting watching you play in the playoffs.”
“I’m just glad you wore the appropriate jersey. Now you have to wear it to every game.” She smiles at me in agreement and takes a few steps closer to me.
“I have a surprise for you.”
“For me? Should I wake up Owen?”
“No, it’s just for you.”
She grabs my hand and takes me upstairs, I assume to my room, but she turns into the nest. The nest that still smells like a combination of the three of us. But then I look around and see the small table and chairs set up, as well as the candles lit around the room.
“What’s this?” I ask her with a smile.
“A date.”
“Did you cook?” I ask, and she smacks my chest, and I laugh.
