“We’d love that,” Wren said.
The baby -Izzy- looked at me and reached for my camera.
“Do you want to take a picture?” I playfully asked.
Izzy just wanted to smack the camera and smile.
“See that left hand?” Abel asked. “She’s going to be a hockey fighter someday.”
“My little girl is not going to be fighting people on ice,” Wren said.
“We talked about this,” Abel said. “She’s going to change the world.”
“How about you just change her diaper?” Wren asked.
I smiled at Wren. “Crack that whip. I like it.”
“Oh, he knows,” Wren said. “At the end of the day if thismamais too tired, then nothing fun is going to happen.”
“See what I deal with?” Abel asked.
Before I could laugh or respond, Abel leaned down toward me.
“Hey,” he whispered. “Mav is here. Ten feet behind you. Is this all good?”
I swallowed hard. “So he told everyone?”
“We all know how to keep our mouths shut,” Abel whispered. “But I’ve never seen him like this before.”
Izzy let out a cry and Abel winked at me before walking away.
I slowly turned and there was Maverick.
Standing with Lay, Reid, and Matias.
He looked at me.
I lifted my camera and gave half a smile.
He then said something to the guys and they all looked my way.
I took a couple pictures, then moved on.
I spotted Maverick watching me.
I had a feeling he was going to come up and talk to me so I went to the opposite end of the room.
That’s when I heard a little buzz of feedback from a microphone.
“Sorry about that,” Coach’s voice said. “Hey there. Thanks for showing up today.”
Everyone applauded and whistled for Coach.
He waved his hands and everyone fell silent.
“We know why we’re here,” Coach said. “We’re here because the love of my life demanded we all be here. And when she talks, we listen. I’m not the coach today. She is. She’s the coach every day. She’s the woman who makes me who I am. She’s an amazing mother. She’s a beautiful person with a soul that we all don’t deserve to be near. And she’s stubborn.”
Everyone laughed.