Page 248 of Staying Selfless

“Daddy, how many goals?” my daughter’s sweet voice rings out behind the glass as Logan picks her up again, snuggling her close.

“How many goals do you want me to score?”

“Eight!” She jolts up from her mom’s shoulder, her hands in the air.

“You’ve got a lot of faith in me, baby,” I laugh. “How about we start with one, and if we are really lucky, I’ll get two for you. How does that sound?”

“That’s good!” Her green eyes are wide and impressed while her loving smile radiates throughout my entire body, lighting me up.

“Cami!” Ella shouts, her arms open to him as my old teammate makes his way down to the plexiglass.

“Ella Jo, get over here, girl!” He scoops up my daughter from my wife’s hold as Ella squeezes her arms around his neck because she absolutely adores her Uncle Cam.

And her Uncle Marc. And her Uncle Zee. And her Auntie Ali. But she really loves her Uncle Cam.

Which is why, when Logan decided to go back to work after Ella was born, we made Cam an offer we knew he wouldn’t turn down. We got him an apartment on a lower level in our building and offered him double what the public school system was paying him to leave his teaching job that he wasn’t entirely into and become Ella’s nanny.

Logan has done an incredible job balancing work-life and motherhood while I’m on the road for hockey, but it just makes our lives easier to have Cam involved.

Cam loves working with kids, but he was having a hard time surviving on his paycheck, and he was ready to get out of Minnesota. Now, he gets to be in Chicago, work with his favorite kid of all, and we get another one of our best friends nearby. Win-win for all.

“Want to go see Papa and Gigi?” Cam asks Ella, referring to her grandparents.

“Gigi!” Ella exclaims, overjoyed whenever Mary’s name is said.

Mary finally got her girl. They’re obsessed with each other.

“Say good luck to your dad, baby,” Logan adds, Ella already on Cam’s back.

“Go, Daddy!” my sweet girl says. “Love you.”

“I love you too, EJ.” I put my hand on the glass one more time as she does the same, before she puts her tiny palms on either side of Logan’s face and quickly kisses my wife’s lips.

I want to kiss my wife’s lips too, but this damn plexiglass is in the way.

“Good luck, Maddison!” Cam shouts as he carries Ella up the arena’s steps to go find my family.

“How are you feeling?” I ask Logan once Cam and Ella are out of earshot.

She rubs her belly before stretching out her back. “Pregnant.”

“Hell yeah, you are,” I remind her with a smug grin. “Any contractions yet?”

“None yet.”

“Well, if anything happens during the game, make sure Marc comes down and tells someone so I can get off the ice.”

“I will, but don’t worry about us. They seem awfully snug in here.” She looks down at her nine-month bump, rubbing it some more.

We found out that Logan was pregnant back in March. Well, actually, I found out that Logan was pregnant back in March. After my brother knew about both of Logan’s previous pregnancies before me, you bet your ass I was going to be the first one to find out this time. I tracked her cycle, I did my part, and when Logan’s tits were extra sore one day, I was the one to tell her she was pregnant.

The test she took later that day confirmed what I already knew.

And now we are about to be a family of four. I can’t wait to have another little one. My favorite job is being a dad and a husband.

The best day of my life was my birthday three and a half years ago when Ella Jo was born, both of us now sharing that day. Not only do we share a birthday, but we also share our unruly brown hair, our egos, and our unconditional love for her mom.

And thankfully, Ella got Logan’s sweet nature, kind heart, deep-set dimples, and emerald eyes. We couldn’t handle another one of me. She’s the perfect mix of us both.

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