Page 118 of Of Pucking Course

“Too chicken to defend your title?” Sam teases.

“Zip it,” Caitlin says through a laugh before taking another sip of wine.

The kids declare that it’s their turn to chase Sam, so he stands up and slowly jogs around the yard while Liam and Layla giggle and run after him.

“He’s such a good uncle,” I say.

“He’s the best. I don’t know what we’d do without him,” Caitlin’s eyes go teary as she looks at her brother. “He saved us.”

“What do you mean?”

She sniffles. “The twins were born two months early and needed to be in the NICU. Shawn and I were so happy that our babies were okay and getting the care they needed, but the medical bills were insane. Insurance only covered a portion of it, so we were drowning in debt. We had no idea how we’d get out of it. We were going to sell our house after remodeling it, but it still wouldn’t have been enough. Weowed more than a million dollars for the twins’ medical care.”

“Oh my god.”

She sighs. “We considered filing for bankruptcy. When Sam found out, he insisted on taking care of it. I told him no countless times, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He paid for all of their medical bills.”

I gasp. I shouldn’t be surprised. Of course Sam would do that. He’s a sweetheart who would do anything for the people he cares about.

“I know it was just a drop in the bucket for him,” she says. “He’s a millionaire professional athlete. He makes way more than that every year. He didn’t have to do it though. He went out of his way to help my kids. To make sure that my family was taken care of.”

She blinks quickly, sniffling. I grab a tissue from the pocket of my jeans and hand it to her. She thanks me and dabs her eyes.

“Even when he wasn’t a rich professional athlete, he’d help me. He’s always been like that—a truly good person who would always step up if he saw something wrong happening.” She’s quiet for a second. “When I was a senior in high school, this guy harassed me for weeks because I rejected him when he asked me out. When Sam found out, he told the guy to back off. The guy called me a whore, so Sam cold-cocked him in front of the whole school in the middle of lunch.”

“He did?”

Caitlin nods. “He got suspended for a week for it, but he didn’t care. I was his sister, and he never hesitated to help me when he could, even if it meant that he’d get into trouble for it.”

Emotion surges up my chest just thinking about whatan incredible person Sam is. He’s like that on the ice, too. He defends and supports his teammates. When he plays, he’s never selfish. He never hogs the puck. He’s always willing to pass it to someone else so they can score. He never hesitates to help them, no matter what.

We glance over at Sam and the kids, who are at the far corner of the yard, looking at the hummingbird feeder.

She clears her throat and looks at me, her expression warm. “I know my little brother’s love life isn’t my business, but I can tell he’s always had a thing for you. I see it in the way he looks at you and how much he cares about you. He looks at you like you’re more than a friend.”

I let a flustered smile break free at how quickly she was able to figure us out. “You’re right. We’re dating.”

She beams.

“We’re keeping it quiet, though. His best friend—my brother—doesn’t know. He’d flip out if he ever found out. He’s really overprotective of me, and I don’t want to cause a rift between them. And after what happened with my ex, we both agreed to take things slow. I don’t want to rush into anything just yet.”

“Totally get it. I won’t say a word,” she says, still smiling.

She reaches over and squeezes my hand. “You make him so happy. The way he smiles at you. The way he talks about you. He’s crazy about you, Dakota.”

After a minute, the kids and Sam walk up to us. Liam is cupping his hands around something. He walks over to his mom and shows him an orange butterfly.

“Uncle Sammy says I have to be careful because I’m so much bigger than this little butterfly,” Liam says. “And when you’re bigger and stronger, you should always try to be nice and help. Right, Uncle Sammy?”

My chest tightens. It’s so sweet seeing Sam teach his nephew to be gentle and kind like him.

Sam grins down at Liam. “That’s right, buddy. Why don’t you set him on the railing of the deck? You’ll help him fly so high if you do that.”

Liam does what Sam says and sets the butterfly on the railing. A second later, it flies away.

“Say bye, butterfly. Have a nice flight,” Sam says.

Liam and Layla wave goodbye to the butterfly.

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