Status Updates From Holding Hailey (Alaska Bliz...

“Thank you for your friendship and your service.”

Gage inclines his head. “You’re very welcome. Both are my honor.”

dad got to me and it was me letting my mouth work faster than my brain.

I have some experience with screwing up a good thing over something that shouldn’t have been an issue in the first place.

It takes a long time to get back here from the lower forty-eight, and most cities only have one or two flights a day.

She gave me something beyond hockey to care about, and though I still worry about my career, I’m beginning to see why guys like Sergei are so happy.

She might be strong and independent on the inside, but her body has other ideas now that it’s incubating two tiny lives.

I have a big appetite and often put on weight in the summer because I’m not as strict with my diet, but with Hailey cooking and baking fresh alternatives to the junk I usually eat, it hasn’t happened this summer.

Renovating a house will be almost like building it new, but for a better price and probably a lot faster.

“I think I have PMS or something. Some of your hormones have somehow crossed over to me.”

“Must be all that sex we’re having. Every time you’re inside me, crazy pregnancy hormones come out and burrow their way into your skin, right through your dick.”

“Lucky for you, I’m too much of a horn dog to let something like that bother me. Wanna go home and fuck?”

“Absolutely.”

I know I’m not a gold-digger or a bimbo, so I don’t care about that, but knowing they think so little of their son is hard. I put up with a lot of that kind of thing from my stepmother and stepsisters, but they’re jealous of me and I know it.

“For what they’re paying me, I should be performing better than I am, no matter what else is going on.”

“If decide current roster isn’t worth saving, they’ll start dumping big names & expensive contracts so can sign young guys. They’ll cut losses and build for future. Look @ Toronto, Winnipeg…lots of teams doing it.”

“This is part of life,” Dave interjects. “Any can get traded any time.”

“Twins, Sergei. I’m fucking having twins.”

“I’m so jealous. I wish they were mine.”

“Dude, you’re a mess.”

“I’m fucking in love with my wife and want to make beautiful babies with her—what’s wrong with that?”

For a moment, I’m stunned into silence. Then I smile. “Not a goddamn thing. Thanks, man.”

“Not sure what I did, but you’re welcome!”

Though Hailey brushed off my concern that our child might inherit my learning disability, now that there are two of them, I’m twice as worried. Dyslexia has marked my life from the time I began school and made me feel stupid, inadequate.

for the first time since I’ve been in Alaska, I get a feel for the scenery. So much green and blue, between the sloping countryside and the bright sky. They chose a place on the outskirts of Anchorage, opting to do the ceremony outdoors, where guests can appreciate the view of the mountains,

“I could lose a few pounds too, but whatever—this is Dani’s day. I don’t care if I’m fat.”

“Honestly, if they can’t fix the dress, we’ll buy you something off the rack. I really don’t care that much. You’re far more important to me than matching bridesmaids’ dresses.”

Hailey is one of those lucky women whose bodies don’t pop right away. It’s rare to be this far along without showing, but it does happen. Especially with athletes. Your body is in such good shape, Hailey,

So what if you don’t read a lot? My stepmother doesn’t have any excuses and she’s probably never read a book in her life. Who cares? You’re amazing, so strong and caring—I would never be embarrassed to have you at my side.

Not because I’m pregnant, not because the sex is phenomenal, but because you are. You’re the whole package. Good looking, kind, athletic, rich… What more could anyone ask for?

“Did that whole thing freak you out?”

He’s truly a mind reader sometimes. I give a tiny shrug. “Not as much as it should have. I was more freaked out by everyone else’s reaction. When you’re the one going through it, whether it’s labor or surgery or a broken bone, you’re too busy to think about anyone else, you know?”

I know I’m pregnant and eating for two, but it went from a slightly bigger appetite a week ago to wanting a side of beef at each meal.

I know I’m pregnant and eating for two, but it went from a slightly bigger appetite a week ago to wanting a side of beef at each meal.

Living with them gives me a front row seat to the life of a happy couple who also have a child. Dani loves Sergei’s son from his late wife like he’s her own, and the three of them are extremely close. Even when they argue, there’s an intimacy I don’t yet feel with Kane,

“Oh, lighten up—you and I are having a baby. If I don’t want your money, what makes you think I’d want his?”

“I guess you got me there.”

I tend to be impulsive about things, and while it serves me well in hockey, it’s detrimental in most other areas of my life.

“There’s nothing easy about an unplanned pregnancy, but it doesn’t have to be hard either.”

I’m not particularly old-fashioned, but I don’t ever want my child to feel unwanted. If the marriage doesn’t work out, I’ll be able to say we tried. I let out an involuntary sigh, thinking about divorcing her before we even decide to be a real couple is outlandish and cynical as hell.

He’s right, though.

Right about? That you haven’t scored hat tricks in AK? You weren’t drafted to score hat tricks, you were drafted to play. You didn’t start hat trick stuff until three or four years in?

Yeah, but sucks that I lost mojo for it now that I’m in AK.

What I said to kid still applies—new team w/disparate players. Even though some teams gel right away, obviously you guys need more time.

she turns to me with those big blue eyes and I get lost in them. Framed by thick, dark lashes, she’s the only woman I’d ever met whose lashes looked no different whether she wears makeup or not.

“what do you think love is?” Nancy presses lightly. “Friendship that crosses over into sex and lust and companionship. When people are friends, they’re usually not interested in sex with each other. When you hook up with someone for casual sex and there isn’t much beyond the bedroom, you don’t even want to be friends. But when you have both, it’s special.”

“I need to be able to make it on my own.”

“Why?” Nancy cocks her head slightly. “You’ve been doing that all along, so you know you can… Now that there’s a child involved, what’s so hard about accepting help from someone who loves you?”