Slap Shot Surprise Bonus Scene
The back door slammed and Joe appeared in the kitchen a moment later, his cheeks and nose red from the cold. His grin stretched ear to ear. “It’s perfect.”
“Yeah?” Taking my attention away from the toddler refusing to finish her breakfast, I glanced out the window into the backyard. When our realtor had first shown us this property last summer, my husband’s eyes had lit up like fireworks at the expansive lawn. Since he’d recently retired from professional hockey, I thought maybe he was planning to put in a pool and take up swimming, but no—he was envisioning where he’d put his backyard hockey rink every winter. I turned toward him again. “The ice is all frozen?”
“Wouldn’t be ice if it wasn’t,” Joe teased. He yanked off his gloves and wool hat, tossing them onto the island.
“Daddy!” Our daughter Celia shouted her favorite word and waved her arms in the air. “Outside?”
“Hi, sweet pea.” Joe dropped a kiss on her head and ruffled her soft brown curls. “You want to come outside and watch while I teach your big brother how to play hockey?”
“Yes!” She looked up at him with adoring blue eyes. My dad and brothers said she was the spitting image of me at age two.
“But only if you finish your breakfast,” I warned.
“You heard Mommy. Eat your waffle, and you can come out.”
Celia started shoveling the cut-up bites of blueberry waffle into her mouth as fast as she could, even though she’d adamantly refused to eat for me a minute ago.
She was Daddy’s girl through and through . . . not that I blamed her. My heart still skittered when he entered the room and his eyes found mine. He’d give me that slow, secret smile, and I melted every time.
He unzipped his coat, then hung it on the back of a counter stool. “Where’s Nicky? Is he done eating?”
I nodded. “He already went up to his room to get dressed. He’s all excited. Pretty sure he thinks there’s going to be a hockey game like on TV, and he says he’s going to win it.”
Joe laughed. “Already competitive at age three.”
“Can’t imagine where he gets that from,” I murmured, reaching up to run my fingers through Joe’s hat-mussed hair.
“Me neither.” He looped his arms around my lower back and pulled me in close—well, as close as my very pregnant belly would allow. It had not been the plan to have another baby while Celia was still in diapers, but Joe’s knack for putting the puck in the net hadn’t diminished since he’d hung up his skates.
When we’d found out about surprise baby number three, he’d asked me if I wanted him to get snipped. When I asked if that’s what he wanted, he said if he was being honest, no. He’d love to have a big family.
But in the meantime, we were going to invest in some seriously durable condoms.
His hands gently kneaded the sore muscles on either side of my spine. “How’s my cupcake this morning?”
“She’s okay. That feels good.” Closing my eyes I swayed into his chest.
“I’ll give you a better massage later,” he said, lowering his lips to my ear. “After the kids go to bed. Full body. Scented oil. Candles and shit.”
I laughed. “Very romantic.”
“I’m just so happy to be around more often.” He pressed a kiss to my shoulder. “Retirement is the best decision I ever made.”
“The best?” I leaned back and looked up at him with mock accusation in my eyes.
“The second best,” he clarified. “The first was asking you to come up to my room the night of Footsie’s wedding.”
I laughed. “Bet you didn’t think that back then. I still remember the look on your face when I told you I was pregnant.”
“Maybe it took a minute to sink in. But once it did, cupcake, it sank in deep.” He tipped up my chin. “You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And this family is the greatest thing I’ve ever done. Everything else pales in comparison.”
“You don’t miss the game?”
“Babe, I’ve got the game right in my backyard. I’m about to show our three-year-old son how to be an elite athlete on the ice. Maybe he can’t tie his skates yet, but he’s going to be a badass someday.”
Laughing, I rose up on tiptoes to kiss his lips. “Just like his old man.”
“Hey.” He pinched my ass. “Watch who you’re calling old, cupcake. I can still score.”
* * *
Half an hour later, I grinned as I watched Joe Lupo, Stanley Cup Champion, former superstar of the NHL, inch down the length of the ice behind his lookalike son, who was doing his wobbly best to stay upright. Nearby, Celia lay on her back making angels in the snow as flurries drifted down from a soft gray sky. Love and gratitude made fists around my heart.
I whipped off my glove and pulled out my phone to take a video of my guys.
Joe’s body was bent forward as they struggled along, his huge gloves enclosed around Nicky’s mittened hands. His helmet tipped down and up repeatedly as he went from watching his feet shuffle along the ice to looking up at his dad’s face with excitement.
“Am I doing it?” His little voice rang out with hope. “Am I skating, Dad?”
“You sure are, buddy. One foot, two foot, just like I showed you, remember? Right, then left.”
“I dunno right and left.”
“That’s okay. You just want to use both feet when you skate. Push off on both sides. One, two. One, two.”
“’Kay.”
My heart thumped happy beats as I watched them reach the edge of the rink and carefully turn around to come back my way.
“You’re doing great,” Joe’s deep voice was full of pride and encouragement. “Want to try it on your own?”
“Yes!”
“On the count of three, I’m going to let go and you keep going, okay?”
“Okay.”
Joe let go of Nicky’s hands, and I held my breath as our son took his first few shaky strides, arms straight out from his sides. He made it about two feet before his little skates went out from under him and he flopped onto his belly. Thankfully, he wore tons of padding and thick winter gear, so he didn’t get hurt.
“Good job, champ! You did it!” Joe scooped him off the ice in one easy motion and set him back on his skates. “Want to try again?”
“I want to use the stick and shoot the puck!”
Joe laughed. “Okay. Stay right there.” Skating over to the side of the rink with long, graceful strides—I missed watching Joe skate, he was so beautiful on the ice—he grabbed two orange cones and set them up about ten feet away from Nicky. Then he hustled over to where I stood and scooped up the tiny stick and foam puck near my feet. He snuck a quick kiss on my lips before gliding away again, his cold nose rubbing mine for a moment.
Handing the stick to Nicky, Joe set the puck on the ice in front of him. “Now, you remember what we practiced on the driveway? The slap shot?”
“Yeah. I ‘member.” Nicky listened to his dad explain where to put his hands. “Like this?”
“Just like that. Good job, you’re all lined up. Now take the shot.”
I stifled a laugh as Nicky’s tongue poked out of his mouth, his body twisting as he wound up. When he shot, he missed the puck completely, and he’d swung the stick with so much momentum that he whirled around and fell flat on his butt.
“Did I score?” he asked warily.
“Not quite,” Joe said, chuckling as he helped his son onto his feet. “Let’s try that again.”
They lined up the shot once more. This time, Joe removed his gloves, dropped them onto the ice, and placed his hands over Nicky’s. The sight of those long bare fingers caused a hitch in my breath.
“Ready, champ?” Joe asked.
“Ready, Daddy.”
“One, two, three!”
Together, they slapped at the puck. It shot forward, sliding right between the two orange cones.
“Score!” Joe shouted.
“I won!” Nicky dropped the stick and pumped his fists in the air, and Joe scooped him up for a victory lap around the rink. Celia, covered in snow, waddled over to where I stood and lifted her arms to be picked up.
“Skate!” She called out, wanting her turn on the ice with her dad.
“Daddy will take you out in a minute,” I promised, setting her on my hip.
I watched as her dad and brother looped back around toward us. Nicky’s face was alive with joy and Joe was beaming with pride.
This is the win, I thought, my heart growing bigger in my chest. This moment. This family. This life.
I tipped my head against my daughter’s and smiled.
***
Thank you so much for reading SLAP SHOT SURPRISE! If you haven’t read the other books in the series, you can find them all here!