Page 115 of Of Pucking Course

“I can imagine.”

She steps over to Sam and hugs him. Even though she’s tall, she’s swallowed up by Sam’s broad, muscled build.

She turns back to me, smiling. She has the same eyes as Sam: green-blue and glittery like gemstones.

“Your kids are adorable, by the way,” I say. “They’re both your minis.”

She chuckles and tightens her ponytail. Her hair is a shade lighter than Sam’s, but she has the same straight nose and full mouth that he does.

“Shawn always teases me that they look more like him, so it’s nice to hear someone say they look like me.”

We follow her through the main area of the modern-style house into the kitchen. It’s an open-concept space that flows from the kitchen to the dining area to the living room, where Liam and Layla are playing. The whole far side of the house is all floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of the Rocky Mountains in the distance. Natural light flows into the entire home, and there are skylights in the ceiling.

Shawn waves at us from the deck as he cooks steaks and chicken on the grill.

“Your house is stunning,” I say to Caitlin.

“Thank you.” She walks over to the kitchen island,where there’s a small charcuterie board. “Shawn and I bought this place right before I found out I was pregnant with the twins. You should have seen it then.”

“It was a dump,” Sam says before popping an olive in his mouth.

Caitlin rolls her eyes at her brother. “It wasn’t a dump. It was a fixer-upper.”

Sam looks at her. “The ceiling collapsed on top of Shawn when he was demo-ing the living room, it was so rotted through.”

“It was a fixer-upper,” she says, unmoved. She looks at me. “And it was only a portion of the roof. Shawn was fine.”

The sliding glass door opens, and in walks Shawn with an aluminum tray of grilled meats. Sam walks over and grabs the tray from him.

Shawn kisses Caitlin on the cheek. “You’re right, honey. I am mighty fine.”

Caitlin chuckles and shakes her head.

“Hope you guys are hungry,” Shawn says. “We grilled a ton of food.” He removes the cover from the tray, revealing cuts of steak, chicken, and grilled veggies.

Shawn pats Sam on the shoulder. “I know this guy needs all the protein and veggies for the playoffs.”

Sam smiles. “Thanks, man.”

“Kids, it’s time to eat,” Shawn says. Layla and Liam run over to the small two-person kids’ table that’s set up right next to their dining table.

Shawn finishes dishing up some chicken and veggies for the kids, along with apple sauce, sliced strawberries, and Goldfish crackers.

“We’ll see if any of this chicken and veggies make it into their mouths,” Shawn jokes.

I chuckle. “Picky eaters?”

Caitlin groans and nods. “These two would live on apple sauce, fruit snacks, and Goldfish crackers if we let them.”

“That’s what most of my students like to eat too,” I say.

Shawn drops off the plates for the kids. Liam immediately frowns at his plate. “Daddy, I don’t like the green stuff.” He points to the asparagus.

“You have to try one bite,” Shawn says.

Liam sticks out his bottom lip and shakes his head, instead digging into the crackers and strawberry slices.

Sam pats Shawn on the shoulder as he passes him on his way to the dining table. Caitlin grabs an iPad and pulls up a kids show on YouTube. She sets it up on Layla and Liam’s table to watch as they eat.

---