“Oh my God.” The woman places a hand on her chest. “Of course you can use them. Hubby will be thrilled. It would be an honor.” She grins. “Oh, and I am sorry. I thought you were his girlfriend.”
“That’s my second job.” I wink. And here I go selling the lie to one of Kaz’s fans.
She laughs. “Prettyandfunny. You lucked out, Kaz. I guess hockey players have their pick of the best of the bunch.”
Sorry to burst your bubble, lady, but it’s all smoke and mirrors.
When I’m done, I hand her back her phone. “Will you attend the upcoming charity hockey fundraiser?”
“Go, Enforcers!” Timmy yells and punches his little fist in the air.
His mother pulls him close. “It’s a bit of a challenge for us. My husband works on weekends, but we’ve been donating every year. I know how charitable Kaz is—another feather in his cap?—”
“What feather in his cap means?”
“An achievement someone can be proud of, Timmy. Like when you get an A on your report card or when you hit a home run at T-ball.”
He nods. “I wants all the feathers in my cap.”
We laugh.
Even the grumpy hero doesn’t hold back a chuckle.
“We might not be there in person, but will be there in donation,” the woman says. “We don’t have millions, but every little bit counts, especially when it comes to missing kids.”
I nod. “Absolutely.”
“Thank you again. This was such a thrill,” she says. “We’re going to go now.” Her eyes meet mine. “You’re really good at your job. You’re so passionate about it.”
“I have a pretty amazing boss.”
Kaz clears his throat.
Timmy stares up. “Will you be my boss when I grows up, Kaz?”
He lowers to his haunches. “I thought you wanted to be the best hockey player in the world.”
Timmy scratches the side of his head. “Oh, yeah.”
“It’s okay. You can grow up to be anything you want. You can become the greatest hockey player in the world, and then, if you want to come and work for me, we can talk about it, but I suspect once you hang up your skates, you might be ready to betheboss instead of working for a boss.” He ruffles Timmy’s hair.
The boy nods. “I’m gonna be like you.”
Kaz stands up, removes his charity jersey that matches mine, and hands it to the kid. “A little something to help you with your goal of becoming the greatest hockey player ever.”
Timmy’s eyes are so wide, they take over his face. He stares up at his mom. “Can I have it?”
His mom nods and caresses his forehead, brushing away the dark brown strands. “Kaz is giving you a gift. And what do we say when nice people give us gifts?”
The little boy’s head whips around. “Thanks, Kaz. You’re thebestest. I’m never gonna take this off.”
With that, the woman and her little boy saunter off, waving one last time at his hero.
Kaz winks.
My ovaries.
The brooding giant is great with kids.
