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Charlotte reached for him from Halsey’s back. Cole took her, settling her against his side while she complained that nobody had asked about her schedule.
“What do you have planned?” Cole asked.
“Stuff.”
“Sounds busy.”
“It is.” She leaned across him toward Ford. “Can we get a dog before the cookout?”
Ford looked at Cole. “This is your fault.”
“You told her we could talk about it after the season.”
“I said we’d think about it.”
Charlotte wedged herself between them and looked up at Ford. “Thinking happens before talking.”
Cole laughed. Ford tried to hold on to the stern look for another second before giving up. He kissed Charlotte’s forehead, then leaned across her and kissed Cole.
“We’ll talk about it at home,” Cole said.
Charlotte began listing names for a dog they didn’t have yet. Ford kept one arm around her and the other around Cole while their teammates argued over summer plans around them. Cole still didn’t know where hockey would send him next season, and Ford didn’t know whether he would ever play again. They would face those answers when they came.
At the end of the night, the three of them were going home together. That was the future Cole trusted.
EPILOGUE
Charlotte came through the school office with her backpack half-zipped and stopped when she saw Ford waiting beside the secretary’s desk. The smile she usually gave him at pickup disappeared as she looked from him to the clock above the office door.
“Is everything okay?” Her fingers closed around one of the loose straps on her backpack. She was trying to sound calm, but Ford saw how quickly she searched his face for an answer.
He crossed the office before she had another second to worry and rested a hand on her shoulder. “Everything’s fine. Better than fine.” He waited for the tension around her mouth to ease before handing the sign-out sheet to the secretary. “We’re going to Chicago.”
Charlotte’s eyes widened. She checked the secretary’s desk and managed to lower her voice, though the excitement pushed every word out faster. “Today? Why?”
“Cole’s dressing tonight.”
She launched herself at him hard enough to make him take a step back. Ford caught her around the shoulders as she buried her face against his jacket, her whole body shaking with the effort not to celebrate at full volume in the school office.
“I told you they were going to call him again.” She pulled away, flushed and grinning. “Cole’s the best player on the Stags. Chicago was stupid not to call him sooner.”
Pride warmed Ford’s chest before he could remind himself not to encourage her. “You might want to keep that opinion away from the rest of the team.”
“They should play better.” Charlotte lifted her chin, ready to defend Cole against every man in the locker room. Then some of the excitement left her face. She caught the zipper pull hanging from her backpack and worked it between her fingers. “Do you think they will keep him this time?”
The question no longer scared Ford the way it once had. He still wished he had an answer that could take the uncertainty out of Charlotte’s expression. “We don’t know. He could be home in a few days, or they could need him longer.”
She looked down at the scuffed toes of her shoes. “I want him to play there if he gets to.”
“I know.”
“But I like that he lives with us.”
Ford slid his palm over the back of her head and drew her against his side. He wanted every chance Cole had earned too. He also wanted Cole at their kitchen table tonight. “Cole likes living with us. Nothing about that will change.”
Charlotte stayed tucked against him for another moment. Then she drew a breath, squared her shoulders, and pulled the zipper closed on her backpack. “Are we staying overnight?”
“I packed our clothes before I came. You can do your homework in the car.”
