Page 35 of Shot to the Hart

Me

Thanks Kodi. I’m glad you watched the game. Goodnight!

“You’re so lying. She texted you didn’t she?” Dom asks.

“Just told me it was a good game and Bella said goodnight.”

It’s nice to have someone that isn't my family or the guys acknowledge my efforts in the game. I haven’t had that happen since the night Lily and I met. I’m ready to get back home to Bella, and honestly Kodi, too. They make me smile every day and she cares about me too, not just Bella. Her friendship has been something I didn’t know I needed, and her care for Bella has been a blessing.

It’s close to three in the morning when I finally park my car at home after making sure Dad got back to his house. Sunday nightafter our win was the first time in a long time that I’ve seen my Dad genuinely smile. I’m so glad I got him to join me this weekend.

I’m exhausted and trying to sneak through the hall without being too loud. I notice that Kodi’s door is cracked, which is weird considering she normally sleeps with it closed. Craning my head back, I notice that Bella’s door is open too. That’s odd. I enter Bella’s room and she isn’t in her bed which causes my heart to race a little quicker, my palms beginning to sweat.

Slowly, and as quietly but as quickly as possible, I push Kodi’s bedroom door open. The sight that greets me, illuminated by the soft moonlight, knocks the wind out of my chest. Snuggled up in the middle of the bed are Kodi and my daughter. Arabella in her princess nightgown has her little hand resting on Kodi’s cheek and her face nuzzled in Kodi’s chest. Kodi is wearing a big tee shirt and short loose shorts, not covered in a blanket, and doesn’t even have a pillow under her head. It looks like she created a barrier between the edges of the bed and my daughter's small body.

Creeping closer, I decide I should move Arabella to her room and let Kodi get comfortable. I lean down near where she lays and gently run a finger along her bare arm trying to wake her without frightening her. She stirs and makes a small noise but doesn’t wake. Trying again I whisper, “Kodi,” and goosebumps erupt along her skin. I take a moment to take a closer look at her tattoos, they aren’t particularly cohesive and I wonder if any of them have meaning. She has a penguin tattooed along her forearm, a tiny cherub sits beside the melted smiley face that I noticed when she came in for her interview. I wonder if there are any hidden beneath her clothes.

I finally give her a little shake and say, “Kodi, Darlin’ wake up for me.” This is what I’ve always hoped for and I suddenly wish I could do this every time I get home from a weekend away.

That last attempt wakes Kodi up, she’s squinting at me in the dark and whispers, “Mav?”

“Hi, gorgeous.” Grabbing a pillow from the edge of the bed, I whisper back, “I’m gonna take Arabella to her room and then head to bed. Let me put this under your head and you go back to sleep.”

I can see her soft smile as she adjusts the pillow I’ve just laid under her head, kissing Bella on the top of her head and then unwrapping her tiny body as carefully as possible, to avoid waking her up, from where it’s wrapped around hers. “Thanks, Big Guy. See you in the morning.”

I walk around the bed, carefully and quietly lift my daughter and get Bella settled into her bed with a quick kiss and a whispered, “I love you.”

As I pass back by Kodi’s room, I take one more peek in and see she’s fast asleep but still not covered by a blanket. I quietly step further into the room and find myself leaning closer., Her dark hair is fanned over her pillow in all different directions, her lips slightly parted as tiny snores escape, and the moonlight coming in from the window highlights the curves of her body. She doesn’t stir and I don’t know what comes over me, but after pulling her blanket over her body I lean down, tenderly placing a kiss on her forehead. Leaving her room, I close her door then head to my room for some much needed rest.

21

MAVERICK

TEACH ME

We leave for our game against Charlotte in two weeks, and since the girls are asleep I decide to watch some tapes to prepare to go against my home team. Sitting in the theater room with my coffee watching Dom and I race down the ice, I hear the door click open behind me. Turning around, I find Kodi in those black yoga shorts that have me trailing her legs with my eyes and a baggy T-shirt, a glass of water in her hand. Her face groggy like she just woke up, her messy bun is falling to one side.

“Hey. Did I wake you?” I ask her.

“No, I just woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep. Whatcha doing?” She comes closer, plopping herself down beside me. I reach around her to grab the remote, leaning into her a little more than necessary just to feel our bodies connect for a brief moment. I hear her take in a quick breath, holding it until I’ve removed myself from her space, but I leave our arms touching as I lean back into the couch.

“Watching tape, gotta get ready for the game in Charlotte.”

“Oh, that sounds. . .” she trails off.

“Soundswhat,Darlin’?” I look over to her, raising a brow and waiting to see how she’s going to insult my career.

She lifts her chin and giggles, “Like the perfect nap time.”

I roll my eyes at her. “Come on. I’ll teach you a thing or two. And trust me, it’s so much more intense being there watching it happen.”

I click play and watch Collins and I pass the puck to each other, Dom protecting Nik and our net. “Okay, see here. Collins is a right winger. His job is to help me, the center, get down the ice with the puck as fast as possible and score goals if I can’t. But the defenseman also help me get down the ice, they just don’t want to leave Nik and the net wide open for too long.”

“Holy shit. You guys are moving so quickly,” she mutters as Collins passes the puck and I shoot it right past the goalies head. She’s sitting a little more upright now, paying special attention to the screen as we move flawlessly about it.

“So Nik is the goalie, that’s pretty self explanatory. What does Dom do?” she asks, keeping her eyes glued to the screen.

“Dom is a defenseman. He gets to be a little more aggressive than the rest of us,” I explain.

---