Page 78 of Stick Move

“Yes.”

He slides the ring on and it fits perfectly. As I admire it, tears fall hard and he screams. “She said yes, and I’m going to marry the most amazing woman in the world.”

The back door creaks open and I lift my head to see Camryn, with a grinning Melanie standing behind her.

“Daddy?” Camryn asks as he continues to crouch on one knee before me.

“Yeah, Bean?”

“Is everything okay?”

“Everything is perfect.”

She blinks, her eyes filled with hope. “Does that mean I can call Ms. Brighton Mommy now?”

He nods. “It does.”

She laughs and catapults herself at me, and I squat to pick her up. Noah stands, wraps his arms around both of us and swings us in a circle. I’m doing my best not to ugly cry my eyes out again as happiness fills my heart and when we finally stop spinning and he sets us down, Camryn puts one hand on her hip.

“Mommy,” she yells, and my heart swells with all the love I have for my new family.

“Yeah, Jellybean.”

“Tomorrow, can I have a lump in my pancakes?”

I exchange a curious look with my fiancé. “Why?”

“There’s something I need to wish for.”

Noah groans and I suspect he knows what she’s about to say. I don’t, so I ask, “What is it you want to wish for?”

“A brother or a sister.”

I laugh, and so does Noah. I take her hand. “How about we go pick up Mabel and see how that goes first?”

“Yay,” she screeches, because she’s smart enough to know that answer means yes, she can have lumps in her pancakes tomorrow and I’m ready to expand this family and fill this beautiful farmhouse.

I meet Noah’s smiling gaze. “Wife, mother, daughter-in-law, dog and sheep mom. Those are all the positions I’ll ever need.”

His grin is playful and mischievous when he whispers, “Well, there might be one I’d like to try later.” He winks. “You might not need it, but I bet you’ll like it.”

EPILOGUE

Noah

One Year Later:

After a very successful NHL season, we made the playoffs but didn’t win the cup, and while that’s disappointing, I’m still the happiest man in the world. How could I not be when I’m sitting in my big backyard, the sun shining after a rainstorm yesterday, surrounded by friends and family?

I spot my daughter laughing as she and her friends play on the swing set. Camryn had a fabulous first year in kindergarten and has made numerous friends. Brighton joined the PTA and has made some wonderful friends as well, and many of those friends and their families, along with my teammates and their partners and children are all here at our country house, enjoying a big barbecue before the guys and I dig in for another year.

The resort is running beautifully, and we mainly live there during the week, as it’s closer to Camryn’s school. Brighton has been working one day a week, helping out with the events. She doesn’t need to work, but she enjoys the wedding planning mostly, especially when it was our own. Yes, we got married at the resort that brought us together. Melanie was her maid-of-honor, as the two have grown quite close, and Brady was my best man. It was one of the best days of my life.

I turn to see Mom and Dad come from inside the house and I pull a chair out for Mom to sit beside me at the table as all my friends mingle. She gives me a smile. While her disease is progressing, she’s in great spirits today, and she and Dad come to the farmhouse with us every weekend. We want to spend as much time with her as possible.

I pour Mom a glass of her favorite wine, and Brady, Gunther, Conner, and Conner’s sister-in-law Dani—she used to be married to Conner’s brother Alec, but Alec passed away—call out to me, as they play a game of horseshoes.

“Go play,” Mom says and I drop a kiss onto her forehead and push from my chair. I spot my beautiful wife chatting with Melanie, and note the way Melanie keeps glancing at Brady. Okay, that’s interesting.

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