Page 32 of The Forever Game

“No.” A tender smile spreads across his face. “You’ve got a mother’s heart. And I don’t believe your desire to have kids would be so damn strong if we weren’t meant to have them.” He brushes his thumb across my cheek. “The right baby is going to come along at the right time. We have to believe that.”

The hope and conviction in his eyes are beautiful, and I wish I could be strong like him. I wish I had his faith. Launching back into his arms, I cling to him, praying that his hope is enough for both of us.

CHAPTER12

CASEY

I hold my breath, my heart racing as my team heads for the goal. Ethan’s stick work is fucking awesome.

“Go, man! Go!” I shout, slapping my gloved hands on the boards as he approaches the goal.

The crowd is going wild, the rising cheer around us near deafening, but I love it.

Shit, I wish Caroline could be here. I was so gutted when she texted to tell me how all of the plans had fallen through. I wanted to call her and make sure she was okay, but it was too close to game time, and I didn’t get a chance.

I hope she’s managing to watch this.

Ethan flicks off the pass, skating around a defender and setting up for a perfect goal.

This is it. We’re going to tie the game and?—

The goalie does the splits, and moving like lightning, he flicks his leg out and stops the puck before it can fire into the net. My heart deflates, because two seconds later, the end-of-game buzzer goes.

“Shit,” I mutter. We’re out.

It’s been a great season, and to get to round two of the Stanley Cup playoffs is epic, but it’s not our year.

“Next time,” the guy beside me murmurs as we watch the other team celebrate, huddling in the middle of the rink while our players skate off the ice.

The mood is a little somber as we head for the lockers, but Coach gives us a pretty rousing speech.

“I’m proud of you guys. We’ve had a great season. And we’re going to play even better next time around. You’re a solid team, so you hold your heads high and celebrate the year we’ve had together.”

We let out a few whoops and cheers, the mood rising as we process our loss and start to look forward to some much-needed time off. There’ll still be training and fitness and a myriad of other things to keep us conditioned, but we won’t be traveling for away games, and I’ll get to spend some decent time with my family.

Bring it the fuck on.

An ache to see them travels through me, but I can’t head home just yet.

A bunch of our friends traveled down from Nolan to watch us play, and I need to go hang with them for a little minute.

Ethan and I meet up with them outside the arena. I get a monster hug from Kai, and he starts a playful tussle, his scrawny arms taking me on. His laughter is adorable, and I pick him up, throwing him over my shoulder with a roar that quickly dies in my throat. The look on Ethan’s face is blacker than ink. Damn, he’s in a foul mood tonight, and he’s gonna kill this party if we don’t deal immediately.

At first, I think he’s struggling with the loss, maybe overanalyzing that last pass and wondering what he could have done better.

I lower Kai to the ground, about to tell my teammate that he set his final attempt at goal up perfectly, when I realize he’s not pissed about that. As Kai settles in beside Baxter, I finally notice…

Mick’s not waiting with our group.

I glance around, silently asking where she is, and Ethan mutters darkly, “Work thing. She got a phone call just before the game and left.”

With a soft hiss, I pat him on the shoulder, and he stalks ahead, striding along beside Liam, who’s looking a little on the sad side as well. His arm is around Rachel’s waist, and she’s looking morose too.

What the fuck is going on with everyone tonight?

Sure, we lost, but we’re hitting our summer vacation: next month we’ll be celebrating Baxter and Tammy’s wedding, and the month after that, we’ll be welcoming a new baby girl into the world.

Holy shit, I’m having a daughter.

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