Page 162 of The Nanny Goal

Armstrong giving me a fucking bear hug.

Every single guy pours off the bench.

We’re laughing and we’re crying.

We line up for the post-series handshake with the other team.

Hale first, Connor second, because he spent a decade playing with a lot of those guys that we just beat.

I take up the rear.

It’s the most surreal feeling. I’m tingling. The closest thing I’ve felt to this is holding Inessa for the first time. Like it’s an incredible but mostly out-of-body experience.

Suddenly Petrov, the big Russian guy, is in front of me. He clamps his big hand on my shoulder and he says, in Russian, “You’re a fucking legend, kid, you’re a legend. Enjoy this run. It’s gonna be the first of many for you.”

“Thank you, my brother,” I manage to say back.

He claps my helmet, then moves past me.

I shake hands with their goalie, then their coach, before the Miami team leaves the ice and we’re alone at centre ice.

Someone from the team hands me my stick, which I left at my net.

We all raise our sticks in the air, recognizing the fans who are still on their feet. Our fans. Our home barn.

There are so many red and black jerseys in the house, it looks like a sea of Buffalo plaid. Like the Glengarry dicing our mascot wears.

And then one fan pops out of the crowd. Her jersey is a custom chef’s jacket, and she’s pressed up against the glass, a thousand kilowatt smile just for me.

CHAPTER52

EMERY

two months later

I thought spending a week at the beach with a toddler would be stressful—worth it for the post-season getaway and uninterrupted family time, of course, but I was prepared for nonstop vigilance.

However, it turns out that sand is endlessly fascinating to Inessa, and with a bucket and a shovel, she’s content to play in one spot for hours.

All I have to do is remind her to put her hat back on, and keep apply sunscreen.

By day three, she’s remembering that herself, clever monkey.

“Emmy, my back,” she says, running over to where I’m reading on a lounger under the cover of a cabana.

We’re staying at a private villa just on the other side of the dunes, and we’re the only family who has used this beach since we arrived. It’s not completely private, but it feels like our own little oasis from the world.

I pick up the sunscreen tube and carefully cover every inch of her.

“Drink some water, too,” I say.

She makes big eyes at me as she sucks on the bright pink straw the waiters put in her cup.

Alexei lifts the straw fedora that was covering his face and gives me a lazy smile. “I need some sunscreen, too.”

He’s totally angling for me to rub him all over.

I pass the tube to Inessa instead. “Go give this to your daddy.”

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