Page 118 of Hockey Wife

Jim’s daughter jumped in. “So’s Dad. He taught us all to play. Made us hockey mad as well.”

Banks smiled at her. “If you’re going to be mad about anything, hockey is probably the best thing.”

He took one look at Georgia and immediately revised that in his head. Georgia was the best thing.

After a few minutes, Jim started to flag. Georgia shared a look with Debbie and within seconds, she was on her phone, texting.

“The car will pick you guys up at the west entrance.” She hugged Debbie and her husband. “I’m so glad you could make it.”

Debbie’s eyes were shiny. “This was amazing. Thank you, Georgia. For everything.”

Georgia leaned over and whispered something in Jim’s ear that had him chuckling. Then she kissed his cheek, exchanged goodbyes, and watched as they headed out. A few people remained, fans brought in by various charities. Part of Banks’s job was to glad-hand, but it wasn’t Georgia’s. Regardless, she stuck around asking everyone how they’d enjoyed the game and impressing all with her cheer and charm.

Finally, after one too many ogles of his wife by supposed fans, he’d had enough. “I need a word with you.”

She looked alarmed as he grasped her hand and pulled her into the corridor, then around a corner where he pinned her against the wall.

“How do you know those people?”

“Jim and Debbie?”

“Yeah.”

She blushed. He knew it.

“You’ve been helping them somehow.”

“Nothing much. Just a few visits, small gifts, that kind of thing.” He continued to stare until the moment she relaxed and let go. “I work with an organization that brings birthday gifts to people who are dying.”

To say he was stunned was an understatement. “Georgia, that’s amazing.”

“I don’t know about that. There are a lot of organizations that help with bucket lists and last wishes. Take someone to a ball game or Disneyland, but I wanted to do something more understated and personal.”

He trapped her hand between them. “How often do you do this?”

“Two or three times a week. I show up with a card and something small. Sometimes they have family. A lot of times they don’t. It’s usually a one-and-done deal, but Jim …” She smiled through teary eyes. “He’s still here after a year, Dylan. He probably won’t last long. You saw how fragile he is. But working with him and Debbie—sure it’s not even work.”

“What you’re doing is a good thing.”

Another watery smile. “Getting to know them has given me an idea for what I want to do. A charity for wishes, but for the caregivers. They suffer almost as much as the loved ones in their care. Their lives are so taken up by this dreadful thing that’s happening—the slow dying of someone they love.”

Like Dani. His heart keened, amazed at how this tiny woman could house such a big heart.

She went on. “There are caregiver support groups, but they’re mostly focused on the patient, the person at the center. I want to do something practical for the people on the edges. The ones who are forgotten in all this.”

Georgia had been forgotten, and she wanted to make sure it didn’t happen to other families.

“You’ve been working hands-on with these people who need it, and your parents don’t even know, do they?”

She looked embarrassed. “They want me to do something that they can control. That’s all about Dani. I want to honor Dani, too, but I also want to?—”

“Carve your own path.”

She nodded.

“Why the fuck wouldn’t you tell me any of this?”

“I did. I told you I wanted to create my own charity.”

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