Page 26 of The Home Game

“You don’t have to wait in the entryway either. Living room’s in there.” He pointed to the left. “Make yourself at home. You can watch TV or whatever. We’ve just got the basic channels but um, feel free to watch whatever you want. I should start prepping dinner because it’s gotta cook for a while but …”

“I could help,” Matty said but Antoni shook his head.

“No. You’ve done way more than enough already.”

“Can I keep you company? Watch Reese while you cook?”

“Um, it’s a small kitchen but sure.”

It was a small kitchen, cheaply remodeled and plain. The furniture was clearly not built for someone Matty’s size. But he wedged himself into a chair and unstrapped Reese.

“C’mere, you.” he said.

Antoni glanced over. “Oh, I, uh, is it bad that I usually leave him in there while I cook? He seems happy and I don’t have to worry about him—”

“Makes sense,” Matty said. “I can put him back in the carrier when I go. I just want to get in some baby snuggles while I can, if that’s okay.”

Antoni’s expression went soft. “Yeah, of course. You really like kids, huh?”

“Love them.” Matty pressed his nose to Reese’s hair, enjoying the sweet, milky baby smell. “If the hockey thing hadn’t worked out, I probably would have found a way to work with kids. I dunno that I’d be a good teacher. School was never really my thing but … maybe coaching or something.”

“I can see you being a good coach.”

“Yeah, maybe someday. And maybe someday I’ll be lucky enough to find someone to have kids with. I always wanted at least four of my own.”

“Glutton for punishment,” Antoni joked and Matty glanced up, grinning at the light, teasing tone.

“Yeah, well, I’m a guy who gets paid to get punched in the face, so …”

Antoni laughed a little. “So I see. I, uh, maybe googled you the other day. I saw a few of your fights and that they call you an enforcer. It was kinda weird. Hard to reconcile the guy offering to let me move in with him to the guy who lost a tooth on the ice.”

Matty poked at the spot where the false teeth were. “Two teeth,” he corrected. “And, uhh, yeah. Everyone says it’s weird. But a lot of us are like that, you know? I don’t fight because I want to bash guys’ faces in. I just do it to stick up for my teammates.”

Antoni froze with one hand on the refrigerator door handle. “Oh. Huh. I never really thought of it that way.”

Matty shrugged. “I mean, I dunno if every player feels that way but that’s why I’m there. Guys think twice about messing with the talent when I’m on the ice and if my boys need it, I’m there to do the dirty work. I’m not … you know, I’m not the guy who scores goals. I’m the one who makes sure the other guys can.”

“Hmm. That sounds almost poetic.”

Matty’s cheeks warmed and he pressed one against Reese’s head for a second. “Well, I don’t know about that.”

“No,” Antoni said, piling stuff on the counter. “It’s kind of chivalrous.”

“I thought that was about romance. Like knights and queens and stuff.”

“Sort of,” Antoni said slowly. “It was a moral system, really. With rules about manners and honor and nobility. There was a big emphasis on protecting those less fortunate and I guess that’s what made me connect the two.”

A funny expression crossed Antoni’s face and he turned away. “Um, which, I guess you like to do off the ice too, huh?” he threw over his shoulder.

“I try,” Matty said honestly. It made him feel good to think of himself that way. And to know that Antoni thought of him that way.

Antoni stilled. “You’ve really been so …” He looked over at Matty. “I wish I knew how to thank you.”

“I don’t want thanks,” Matty reminded him, rocking Reese a little and just soaking in the feel of sitting in a warm kitchen, talking to someone.

It was nice. It was small and simple but maybe that was who Matty was at heart. It was how he’d grown up and he’d never really been the glitz and glam guy even now that his back account let him make stupid purchases like yachts.

But the truth was, he wanted small and simple. He wanted cozy and homey and …

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