Sticking her phone in her bag, Laura made a decision. She had to let Jack go. His life was where he was playing, and she still had a lot to do. There was high school, and finding a college… Laura thought she might want to be a doctor. She had to take care of herself, and that meant her heart couldn’t be in Vancouver.

Adorable Dan from Psych was walking towards the table and Laura took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Dan smiled, and Laura found it wasn’t too hard to smile back.

He was nice, smart, and really cute… and he was here.

*

For David, saying goodbye to teammates who’d been traded over the years was the most difficult part of his job. But nothing quite prepared him for saying goodbye to Jack Nelson. He’d become a good friend over the past year, and David often thought if he had a brother, he’d want him to be like Jack.

He figured Laura would be upset when she found out, but she wasn’t as bad as he expected. She even had a date on Friday night, and then Sunday, Laura and Kate were hitting the road to do some college visits. He was amazed at the way the two of them slipped into the mother-daughter roles so easily after such a long time of alienation. It was like Laura wanted it so badly that when the opportunity to have her mother back presented itself, she grabbed on with both hands. Kate was just being Kate, doing all the things that made him fall in love with her.

David looked out the kitchen window. It was one of those winters—perpetually gray and cold. A light snow had started to fall, and he knew he should leave before the roads got too slick. He had a morning skate and he needed to get some sleep. But he had to talk to her first. He had to lay the groundwork for their lives.

Jack’s trade brought the fact home that anything could happen, and he wanted Kate to know that wherever he was, he wanted her with him. No matter where his life in the NHL took him, he wanted to make a family with her, Laura, and hopefully one or two of their own.

The soft padding of her footsteps made him look up. She was wearing a pair of red pajama pants and an old Harvard sweatshirt. The fuzzy slippers made her an irresistible package.

She sat on the couch and he moved, sitting on the ottoman facing her. He took her hands and thought carefully, because David knew these could be the most important words he ever spoke.

“Get any work done?” he asked.

“Some.” She shrugged.

“Is she asleep?”

“No, she’s on the phone with Dan,” she said.

He smiled and shook his head. He wondered how things would go for her with a guy her own age? As he got to know Laura better, David could see she was a lot like her mother, but time would tell. Kate sat on the couch with her legs pulled up, chewing on those gorgeous lips, and every inch of him responded. Yup. A goner for sure.

“We need to talk.” They said it together, and both of them smiled.

“You first,” she said.

He took a deep breath. “Okay. Jack’s trade scared the shit out of me. He was supposed to be the centerpiece of the club for years, and then, boom… he’s gone.”

“Are you worried that you could be dealt?”

“I’m very well protected, and I signed a long term contract last summer, but anything can happen. We need to think about our future, about our life together, as a family.”

She didn’t say anything, but looked down at their joined hands.

“Kate, I know I want to marry you. I think I’ve known it since we had dinner together in California.”

She tried to speak, but stopped, nodding at his words.

“I need to know that if I get sent to Phoenix, you’ll be there.” He paused again, thinking about what he wanted to say. “I know this is your home, but…”

“Shhh,” she finally said. “A home is about people, about family. Without you here, this is a house, that’s all. If you get traded, I promise you, we’ll work it out.”

“Like I said, I don’t foresee anything happening, but…” He stood, fished around in his pocket and pulled out the small velvet box. Her eyes locked on it as he held it out for her to accept.

“Oh, David.” Her breath caught as she took the box from him and opened it. It was a simple ring, a solitary, round diamond set in a diamond encrusted platinum band. Beautiful and perfect. “I can’t believe you did this.”

Knowing what she meant, he told Kate a truth that was going to shock her a little.

“I bought the ring in November.”

“What? November? But—”

“After the whole mess with the article in the paper, before we knew you were pregnant, through all my screw-ups, I knew if I got you back I wasn’t letting you go again.” He took her face in his hands and saw her eyes fill with tears. “I wanted to ask you someplace romantic, make a big show of it, and I remembered that’s not what we’re about.” He brushed away the tear that spilled onto her cheek. “We’re about family dinners, nights on the couch, playing in the snow, and flannel pajamas.” He tugged on her pants as he watched Kate dissolve. “I love you. I love you with all my heart. Marry me, Kate. Be my home.”

She nodded her response and let the tears flow—happy tears, finally. He’d seen her cry too many times for other reasons, but these were good tears.

“Thank you for not giving up on me,” she said. Her free hand covered one of his and she kissed him. “Thank you for being stubborn and competitive and for taking that silly bet.”

“I’m not religious, but if I were ever going to believe in divine intervention, it was when I saw you in California. It was my lightning strike. I love you more than I ever thought possible.” Kate handed him the box and extended her left hand. David took the ring from the box and slipped onto her finger. It fit perfectly.

“I love you, David.”

The kiss she pressed to his lips was light. She wrapped her arms around him, holding tight, and David couldn’t believe he was this damn lucky.

Chapter 31

‡

Dan Martin gave Laura the perfect date. He came to the door when he picked her up, met her mom, and paid for everything, from the movie to the ice cream they got afterwards. He even asked before he held her hand in the movies, and Laura had to say when he touched her, she felt warm inside. It wasn’t the same burn she felt with Jack, but it was warm and comfortable and safe. Dan was sweet and safe.

She liked talking to him, too. He wanted to be a pilot, and if everything fell into place for him, he would go to Annapolis. He had the grades, he was a star football player, and he was, without a doubt, someone who always did the right thing. Mom called guys like him ‘Dudley Do-Right’, and that was Dan to a tee.

“So, what colleges are you seeing next week?”

Laura thought for a minute and grinned. It was going to be a great trip. Not only were they seeing colleges, but Mom promised her some shopping in Boston. “Um, Cornell, Boston College, Boston University, Harvard, and Holy Cross.”

“Harvard, huh?”

“My mom went to Harvard, so I’m a legacy, but I don’t think I’ll get in. B-C’s my favorite anyway.”

“Yeah? They have a great hockey team.” Dan said, knowing Laura was a big hockey fan. He didn’t know the half of it.

“I know. My mom’s fiancée played for them. He and my grandfather both went there.”

“That’s cool. Is your mom’s fiancée nice?”

“Yeah, he’s awesome. It was a little weird at first, because he’s a lot younger than her, but he’s great. He makes her really happy.”

“I’m sorry… your mom’s a cougar?”

Laura laughed. “Yup, I guess she is.”

She saw him smile in the dark of the car, and her heart tripped a little. He was really cute. “So is he around a lot?”

“David? Mmm hmm. When he’s not on the road.”

“He travels?”

Laura bit her lip. It wasn’t a secret, so she didn’t know why it was so hard to say, but finally she blurted it out. “Yup. He plays for the Flyers.”