Page 7 of Coyotes Ever After

“Order whatever you want,” I tell Marlowe as the players leave the ice after warm-ups.

Jack climbs into my lap and lays his head on my shoulder. The past few weeks of playoffs have been an absolute schedule buster for me. The kids travel with me for road games sometimes, but Charlie being in school makes it tough. Henry and Claire have been helping me get Charlie to and from school and keeping Sierra and Jack when needed.

When the team made the championship round, Beau and I told Charlie he could miss the school days he needed to so he could be at every game. No one is prouder of their dad than my blue-eyed, dark-haired son, who looks exactly like Beau.

When the lights dim for the pregame show, the entire row of our family jumps up with the rest of the crowd. I feel a tap on my shoulder and I look over and see Asher pointing down the row of people past him.

I lean forward to look and see my father-in-law pointing at me and then making a rocking motion with his arms.

He’s offering to hold Jack. God, I struck the lottery with my in-laws. My stomach is in nervous knots over this game and I’d love to be able to give it my full attention, even for a few minutes.

I mouth “thank you” and pass my youngest son to Asher, who passes him to Henry. Jack looks up, sees his grandpa’s face, and immediately puts his head on Henry’s chest to rest some more.

Beau skates out when his name is called and I join in the loud cheering for him. Charlie is jumping up and down with Anderson, both of them doing double fist pumps.

This city knows that my husband is their native son. He was born and raised in Denver, and everywhere we go, people want to shake his hand, buy him drinks and get pictures with him. I often hear people telling him how proud he makes his city, not just because he’s a great hockey player but because of who he is.

How did I get so lucky? It was reckless of me to ask a stranger to donate his sperm so I could become a mom. That could havegone badly, but instead, Beau broke down my walls and we fell in love.

We started out very yin and yang. Him usually smiling. Me, with a permanent worry wrinkle between my brows. But over our years together, we’ve rubbed off on each other. I find more joy in small things. He shares my worries about the ugly parts of the world dulling the sparkle of our children.

The energy in the arena is electric. I’ve never seen a crowd like this at any of the games I’ve been to since meeting Beau. The Coyotes fans want this win so badly, and their team wants to give it to them.

“Daddy!” Sierra spots Beau smiling up at us and she waves.

My heart still flutters every time I see that confident, happy smile of his. And when he’s having tea parties with Sierra or telling our sons what it means to be a good man, I melt.

Marlowe is still at it with her Cliterally Speaking podcast, and she recently did an episode about the sex lives of long-term couples. I’m not willing to discuss my sex life with the world, but if I’d been on that episode, I would have been on Team It Just Keeps Getting Better.

Beau is a pleaser in every sense of the word. He works at keeping our sex life fresh and exciting, and he tells me all I need to do to be his perfect partner is show up and surprise him with sexy lingerie every now and then.

And honestly, with three kids, my husband considers a matching satin bra and panties lingerie. He’s unfailingly eager. We’ve gotten very good at pleasing each other, and we’re having more sex than ever.

Marlowe wraps her arms around me in a quick hug and I squeeze her back. She knows me well, and the championship series has been exciting and fun, but I’m also a giant, fraying ball of anxiety.

Beau didn’t want to talk much about how nervous he was about this game, but I’ve been able to feel the anticipation coming off him in waves since the Coyotes made the championship.

If we don’t win tonight, the final game will be in Boston. A championship win is a win on any ice, but our whole family won’t be able to make it to Boston for the final game.

“Let’s go, Dad!” Charlie screams as the ref holds the puck in the air, looking at the players positioned to fight for it.

It takes no time and forever all at once. He drops the puck and the game starts.

CHAPTER FOUR

Beau

Colby passesthe puck to me. I’m in position to receive it and take a quick shot when a massive brick wall barrels into me instead, boarding me so hard it takes me a second to catch my breath.

Trevor Morris knocks me back to the ground as soon as I get up, grunting and punching his chest like a pissed-off primate.

I scored the game-winning goal for my team last night, and our opponents are punishing me for it. Trevor’s always been a beast, but during his first two years in the big league, he’s gotten leaner and faster.

The refs aren’t calling many penalties so far. We prefer it that way in high-stakes games, as long as they’re doing it to both teams. Just let us brawl it out and see who’s stronger and better.

The tang of blood runs down my lips and touches my tongue, making me realize I’ve got a bloody nose. I ignore it until line change.

As soon as I climb over the wall, our trainer passes me a towel to clean up with. Ford glances at my face as I wipe away the blood.

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