Page 103 of Pucked Together

"Is that right?" I say to her, and she giggles next to me.

"Ruth. Rowan. Let's go to the house,” she says. “I already have dinner going. You're going to love it."

Izzy lets go of me and grabs my mom's hand and leads her down the stairs. But before my mom follows her down, she stops in front of me and opens her arms. I take the frail woman into my arms, kiss the top of her head, and squeeze her gently. She all but melts into me and Rowan comes up next to me and hugs us both.

"I'm..." she chokes on her emotion-filled words. "I'm just so proud of the men you both are. I know it wasn't because of anything I did. You boys are just so good."

She cries into my chest, and Rowan squeezes tighter. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you,” she sobs. “To see you grow. To be present in your lives."

"It's not your fault, ma," Rowan says. He's the very figure of forgiveness as he steps back and assesses the woman. "And besides, you're here now."

"And just in time," Izzy adds. A hand fluttering to her stomach.

My heart swells. If I were the Grinch, this must be what he felt when his heart grew three sizes.

My mom's crying turns to a sniffle, and she backs away from me. Reaching for Izzy's hand again as my girl leads her down and out of the arena.

Rowan slaps my arm. "Ready to go home, big boy?"

I shrug, looking down at the ice before us, and to the net where I spend every game and practice.

"It should've been you down there," I tell him. "You taught me everything I know."

Rowan stands next to me and slips a hand into his pocket.

"We all get our moment, brother. For goodness. For light. This is yours. Don't waste it thinking of what could've been." He elbows my side. "But you're right...I'm a much better goalie," he laughs, following the women down the steps.

And it’s no wonder where I got the reputation of being such an ass from.

At, home, Izzy brings the lasagna out of the oven.

"When did you have time to cook?" I ask from my seat at the table where she insisted I stay.

"I have my sources," she winks at me.

I look around the table full of plates. "Are we expecting more people?"

She bites her lip and hides a grin.

"Wildfire..."

Ding-dong. The chime of the doorbell wails through the space.

"Maybe," she says, leaving the steaming dish on the table and rounding the corner outside of the dining room to answer the door.

I hear the cheers of a group in the foyer. Voices I know well and some that I can barely make out.

I rise from my chair as a gaggle of male and female voices intermingle and echo down the hall. I see the balloons first.

Welcome back.

I was suspended, not raised from the dead.

I see Hicks, Fergie, Zane and Sincaid first. They're followed by Rina, Aunt Ginny and my crutch-bearing best friend, Keelan.

"You guys. This is so unnecessary. Really," I say pointedly to Izzy.

Aunt Ginny pushes past the guys and walks over to me, taking my face into her hands and kissing both my cheeks. Peering into my eyes, she says, "Oh boy. He doesn't know, does he?"