Page 92 of The Coach

In our home.

And ten years later, we were still here doing the same thing.

With little added bonuses.

Tanner was still the head coach of the Vapors, creating for us a little family within the organization. Lee was still his assistant, along with Bailey Crawford, who had become just as close to us as family.

While he’d had an offer to go coach NHL hockey for his old team, Tanner decided he was content here. With our families. I never knew what I did to deserve a man like him, who was so loyal he didn’t want to give up the life we lived here with our parents and my brother, but I would do everything I could to protect it.

My veterans project had expanded to the point of no return and grew to be a national program. We currently have one hundred and fifty clinics around the US that continue to help us in our efforts to aid veterans in their healing process and had extended that into working with headhunters to find them jobs.

While I initially started working with them all one-on-one, now I had a bigger goal. Make the transition from military life to civilian life an easier one.

I often went and did training seminars for our clinic, helping get others off the ground. Sometimes, I brought along my dad, who now worked for our company, helping with the mental aspects of switching gears. It was more than I could have ever dreamed.

Tanner and I got married right here in our hometown, having it at the rink that had become like a second home to us. It had been a magical day full of family—my dad not only approved now but was a big fan of his son-in-law—and friends and love that extended far beyond anything I could have ever expected.

My brother did get drafted into the NHL, but well, his story is too long to cover.

Now, I watch as Tanner and my brother skate around the rink with our three daughters. Taylor, our oldest, was working on her tryouts for the local hockey team. She wanted to be a goalie, and frankly, she was going to be a great one. That little firecracker didn’t have a scared bone in her body.

Lizzy and Jane, our twins, were busy chasing their uncle around the rink, all three with wide grins on their faces. I laugh from where I’m leaning against the wall, taking a breath.

This was what I always wanted, even though I had no clue.

Tanner and Taylor start in on the chase, and when they come by me, Tanner grips my hand, pulling me with him.

I smile at him, and he turns so I’m skating backward. He gives me a grin and says, “Jump.”

So, I do.

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