Madison climbed off her stool as she talked and ran around the kitchen island until she reached Chase, throwing herself into his arms. Chase had loweredhimself enough that he could catch her. He stood to spin her in a circle. Madison hugged him tightly, and he chuckled.
“Surprise! I’m so glad to see you too, Madison.”
Chase’s heart ached at the strength of Madison’s arms around him. It had been a while since anyone had been so excited to see him, and he basked in it.
When Madison pulled away, Chase set her on the ground, and she jumped into Tobias’ arms. Chase tried not to visibly swoon in front of what was likely the man’s mother.
Speaking of Tobias’ mom, Chase turned toward the island and walked toward her to say hello, extending a hand for her to shake.
“Nice to meet you, ma’am. I’m Chase—”
“Oh, none of that,” the woman said as she threw her arms around him. “We do hugs around here.”
When she pulled back, she kept her hands secured on his shoulders and inspected him like only mothers did.
“It’s so good to put a face to the man who’s made such an impact in Toby and Maddie’s life. You can call me Grace.”
Dazed, all Chase could do was blink at Grace as her words hit him like a gut punch.
“Mom, give him some air. Don’t scare him away or anything,” Tobias said, and Grace let go of Chase.
“Gigi isn’t scary!” Madison said, defending hergrandmother fiercely. “But if she was, Chase is brave, so he can handle anything. Right, Chase?”
“Uh, right!” Chase said, unsure how much intensity to put into his answer, considering the hypothetical threat was Grace. Taking a quick glance at the mess spread on the kitchen island, he quickly moved everyone’s focus. “What are you two working on?”
“We’re making a breakfast of champions for Oby!” Madison announced. “Did you know he’s going to play hockey soon?”
Tobias smiled adoringly at Madison.
“I know! Isn’t it cool?” Chase asked her.
“It’s the coolest! Gigi said we can go watch him play and everything.”
“That sounds awesome. It’s actually why I came over. I’m going to help him practice.”
Madison gave him a quizzical look. “You play hockey too?”
“No, but I’m a soccer goalie, so we have a lot in common.”
“Soccer? I’ve never tried it. Is it as hard as hockey?”
Chase bobbed his head side to side as he considered how to answer.
“It’s a different kind of hard. A soccer ball is a lot bigger than a puck, so a soccer net is a lot bigger than a hockey net. Although, I get to stand there while Uncle Toby has to do it all on ice skates, so that sounds a lotharder, huh?”
“Yeah, ice skating is really hard,” Madison said seriously, and then snapped to attention. “Oh, I almost forgot. I have a present for you!”
Madison ran out of the room, so Chase turned to Tobias and Grace, who were both staring at him with fondness.
“Careful, she’ll have you wrapped around her finger too, if you’re not careful,” Grace warned him.
“I think that trait runs in the family,” he said, his eyes going wide when he thought about how his words could be interpreted. He wasn’t against being wrapped around Tobias’ finger. Or around his whole body. Heat rushed to his cheeks, and a peek at Tobias showed him in a similar state. At least Grace looked amused.
Luckily, Madison returned before anyone could say anything else.
“Here, Chase, I made this for you in your favorite colors, orange and red,” she said as she thrust a handmade bracelet into his hands.
He went down on one knee to reach Madison’s eye level as he examined the bracelet. It had sparkly orange and red beads and the letters spelled out his name surrounded by glittery hearts.
