Page 11 of Shoot Your Shot

“Daddy, can you carry my new Clyde?” Amelia asks her dad, unable to even put her arms around the dog. “Thank you, Uncle Kolty. I love it.”

I might be known as the grumpy dick to most of my team, but something about the way she calls me Uncle Kolty melts my heart into a fucking puddle. Sterns has the coolest kid, hands down.

“You know it, Super A. Hey, tell you what. For your birthday, I’ll try to get you an even bigger one.”

“How big do you think Sterns’s house is, Kolburne?” Ryder shakes his head at me before winking at Amelia. “I’ll get you the real thing.”

Logan gives Ryder a look that screamsare you fucking seriousbefore he lifts Amelia. “All right, babe. Let’s get you home. There’s someone there just drooling on himself, ready to see you.”

As he turns to face the complete New England Bay Sharks team gathered outside the hospital, I can see the emotion all over his face. “This week has been rough. And it’s been scary as hell. But I can’t thank y’all enough for checking in on us, dropping us off food because … this hospital’s food sucks, and for coming here today for Amy.” He kisses her cheek and smiles. “This team is our family, and we’re lucky to have you.”

As they wave goodbye, we all cheer and wave them off. These guys might drive me insane a lot of the time, but we are a family. And Amelia has a lot of “uncles” who are always ready to protect her fiercely.

I watch Logan put Amelia in her car seat and buckle her in carefully. He has the entire world right in his hands, and he knows it too. The dude is such a good dad, and I’m so happy for him and Amelia both.

“Want to go get a beer?” Ryder says, stepping next to me. “I don’t know about you, but I could sure use one.”

Ryder knows enough about my life to know I’m separated from my wife, but that’s it. Logan is the only one who knows—in depth—why we’re separated. Even though Ryder knows only a little about it all, he still tries to be a friend whenever he senses I need one.

“Yeah, but you’re buying,” I utter and turn away from the truck. “After all, you can afford it now that you’re all over my damn television screen with your dick.”

“I’m in boxers, you fool,” he calls after me. “I can’t help I’ve got that good bulge going on.”

“Ha.” I smirk. “It’s called a sock, Ry. You aren’t fooling anyone.”

He looks genuinely appalled, but then shrugs. “If you say so, Kolburne. I’d haul it out right now to prove that I don’t need a fucking sock to show out. But I don’t want to make you jealous or anything. Not everyone can be hung like me.”

I shake my head before reaching for the door handle of his truck. “For the love of all things, keep your dick in your pants, man.”

Like I said, my Sharks family has gotten me through some shit. I wouldn’t tell the guys that though, knowing it would go straight to their heads.Especially Logan.

“What’d you eat today, some extra Wheaties?” Walker says, nudging my side. “I wouldn’t want to meet you in a dark alley.”

I chuckle, shaking my head. “Hey, someone’s got to keep your scrawny ass safe.”

Walker isn’t scrawny, but he’s not quite as big as me either. I’m a defenseman. I have to be solid to take the types of hits that I do. As a center, he’s built more for speed and agility.

“Poppy likes my ass,” he jokes before skating off as Logan comes closer.

“What, are you trying to impress me, Sterns? Or are you showing off for Amelia and Maci?” I joke, smirking at Logan. “Whatever it is, keep it up.”

“Maybe a bit of both. That week Amelia was sick, I missed having her and Mace at my games. Plus, now that Maci and I are official and shit, I can’t come out here and suck ass.” He swats the back of his hand against my abdomen. “But you’re the real MVP tonight. So, keep doing what you’re doing out there, big dawg. Making me look good.” He winks. “What am I even saying? We both know I already look good.”

I jerk my chin toward the stands, where his daughter and nanny turned girlfriend are sitting. “You want me to keep taking the hits and you skate on through, smellin’ like roses for thosetwo?” I say in a serious tone, but he knows I’m just fucking with him.

“I mean, yeah,” he says shamelessly before he turns toward them, holding up a hand and making them both smile. “I don’t need Maci figuring out she’s too good for me or anything.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.” I smack his back. “Let’s get on with it.”

As we skate back to our positions before the puck goes into play, I can’t help but realize how Logan seems to carry himself even stronger on the ice when his daughter and girlfriend are in the stands. And I didn’t think that was possible because the dude was a complete animal—and still is. I think of how good it used to feel to have Paige in the stands. There was nothing like looking up and seeing her in my jersey, cheering me on. My wife. The most beautiful woman in any arena she stepped into.

No one understands how important it is to have support until it’s gone.

My mom comes to some of my games, but my brother lives in Washington, playing pro hockey out there. So, she’s always trying to bounce between our schedules, traveling between New England and Washington. It helps that we each bought her a house close to our respective arenas, but the truth is, she’s closer to Klay.

I love my mom and all, and I feel terrible for everything she went through with my shitbag father, but even now that he’s dead, she continues to talk about him like he wasn’t an abusive prick. And because I’m always waiting for her to bring him up, her presence puts me on edge before she even has a chance to speak, and I know that isn’t right, but it’s just how it is. It’s also probably why she and I have a hard time spending time together. I’m sort of a dick. What can I say?

My brother, Klay, is happy-go-lucky. And full of fucking sunshine. That’s what Mom has always called him too—Sunshine. The only time I’ve felt the sun shine on me was when my wife was around.

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