Page 21 of Shot to the Hart

“Oh, I’ve always wanted to visit there. Were you born in North Carolina?” Curiosity and excitement swim in her expression.

“Born and raised. I was lucky I got drafted to play for them, most people don’t get contracted in their home states.”

“Oh, yeah.” She fiddles with a piece of lint on the couch. “Honestly I don’t know much about hockey. Or any sport really.Maybe I can start watching your games on TV to learn and you could teach me about the game.”

“Wait a minute. You’ve never watched a hockey game in your life?”

“I didn’t say that,” she laughs. “I’ve just fallen asleep during almost every sports game I’ve ever watched.”

Throwing myself back on the couch, I cry, “I’m hurt!”

We are both laughing now, Bella joining us, even though I’m sure she has no idea what’s going on. I scoop her up as she giggles, holding her close to my chest, relishing her arms wrapped around my neck.

“Alright, Bella, what do you want to do until lunch? We can go swimming, we can play, or we can color?”

“The park!” she squeals.

“Baby, it’s way too hot for the park today.”

“PARK!” her squeal sounding more frustrated than before.

“I know you love the park Bella, but it’s too hot for that. We can swim, we can play with your toys, or we can color.”

“Daddy, park please.” Her little eyes looking into mine, beginning to fill with tears.”I want to swing.”

“How am I supposed to say no to that face? We can go, but not for long, and you have to drink your water,” I tell her, and her tear filled eyes immediately brighten as her smile expands. I turn to Kodi, “You can stay here and when we get back I’ll show you how we do her lunch and nap routine. I won’t subject you to the heat of Florida today.”

“Sounds good. I’ll keep unpacking,” Kodi says, “Y’all have fun!”

I take Bella and head to the car, getting her and Floppy buckled into her carseat before making the short drive to the park.

“Alright ,little lady, let's go play.” Bella’s little body wiggles in excitement as I get her unbuckled and set on the ground besideme. “Hand please.” She eagerly grabs my thumb with her little hand, attempting to drag me towards the playground. The fact that she thinks she can drag my body behind hers makes me chuckle, and I play into it, pretending to trip over my own feet as she pulls me forward. Once we are inside the gated area, Bella takes off on the rubber turf.

“Slide!” she yells, running up the playground and giggling as she comes down the bright blue plastic. I stand to the side of the playground watching my little girl run laps, go down the slide, climb up the playground, over and over again.

“Daddy, let’s swing please!” Bella and her little pink cheeks come up, patting me on the leg.

“Yes, but water first.” She takes her pink princess water bottle, gulps some down, hands her bottle back, and then once again, takes off towards the swings. I follow closely behind her, lifting her into the bucket swing and beginning to push her.

“Higher, Daddy, higher.” I put a little more of my weight behind the next push.

“Five minutes Bella and then we are going to head home for lunch.” And in an instant my sweet and happy little girl has dissolved into tears and kicking feet. I slow the swing to a stop, attempting to get Bella’s attention by placing my hands on her knees. “Bella, hey. Remember we were going to swing and then go home for lunch. But, if you’re kicking and screaming we can’t enjoy our last few minutes at the park.”

“No home, Daddy.”

“We have four more minutes then home, okay?” She nods, wiping at her eyes, and we enjoy our last four minutes before heading home for lunch.

“How was the park?” Kodi asks as I get Bella settled in her tower at the counter, while I grab the ingredients to fix her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She instinctively grabs Bella’swater bottle, refilling it with fresh, cold water before placing it in front of her with a bowl of berries.

“Thanks for doing that. She had a blast, but it is too hot to be outside like that right now.”

“I figured she might need a snack when you got back. I’m waiting for the fall weather to kick in.”

I place Bella’s sandwich in front of her and swiftly clean up. She scarfs it down, clearly hungry from her adventure at the park before she begins to yawn.

“Tired Bella?” Kodi asks, Bella gives her a small nod. “Does nap time look like bedtime?”

“Pretty much, but I typically just do one book,” I say before picking her up and leading the way to her room. As soon as her head hits the pillow, her eyes close, and we exit the room.

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