SAMMY

Like I said earlier, Mitch and Bryce were famous in their own rights. They were used to the spotlight and the attention that came with being a professional athlete, but they didn't have the popularity Nash did. He was the face of several large companies, and he'd been on the covers of many famous magazines. But we found out once we got to the hockey arena that in Mitchell's small hometown in Michigan, he was their homegrown pride and joy, and it showed.

There were a couple of photos of him - one from high school, and one from when the Empires won the UAHL - on the wall next to his high school jersey as soon as you entered the arena.

"Wow, Mitch. Did you know about this?" I asked as I took in his surprised expression.

"No. I had no idea."

"That's pretty cool," Nash agreed as he pushed Ethan in the stroller straight towards the pictures.

"Looked good back then," Bryce teased as we all took in Mitchell's high school photo. He stood like a Marine, eyes straight ahead and his lips in a tight line. His hair, though, was a totally different matter. It was both lighter and longer than I'd ever seen it, and there was nothing neat about it. It was like he'd just taken his helmet off, run his hand through his hair and called it a day. The long blond hair flopped out by his ears and curled out in the back around his neck.

"You had typical hockey hair," Kennedy commented with a giggle. "How cute."

"Yeah, I rocked that hair." Mitch agreed sarcastically. He turned to me with a grin. "Should I let it grow again?"

"Um, no. I like it just the way is right now."

Nash chuckled. "You must have gotten an economy cut or something before you came to college. Your hair was super short."

Mitch nodded. "I did. Buzz cut."

"Yeah, don't get any ideas about that either," I warned him.

"What?" Mitch faked being insulted. "I call you my girlfriend, and that's it? I can't decide how I want to have my hair anymore?"

I rolled my eyes, while Kennedy, and Nash chuckled.

"Just wait until you're married," Bryce said, and tilted his head to me. He lowered his voice and whisper shouted "You'll be totally whipped, like that one," pointing towards Nash.

"I heard that," Nash responded. But he seemed to be completely okay with being called whipped, as long as he got to be with Kennedy and Ethan. And he really wasn't whipped, he just loved his family. Bryce knew that, but was just teasing.

I leaned in towards Mitch and whispered into his ear. "I like to have something to grab on to."

His posture changed, and darkened eyes snapped my way. "I like that too," he whispered back, and bent down so he could press a soft kiss on my lips.

"Oh, come on now," Bryce groaned as he threw his hands up in the air. "Aren't we here for hockey? Enough of this cuddle shit."

Kennedy laughed as Bryce continued to mumble something about being stupid and alone with two couples.

"Lead the way there, homeboy," Kennedy said to Mitch and grabbed a hold of the stroller.

"Alright, follow me."

Mitch took us through the corridors until we got down to the ice. The entire time, he had my hand in his.

"Are you sure your coach is here?" I asked him.

"Yeah. He might as well sleep here, he's here so much."

"Think he'll recognize you?"

"I guess we're about to find out."

The game was in the middle of the second period and it surprised me to see that there were plenty of spectators in the stands.

An older custodian with thinning gray hair was leaning against the wall near the side of the rink. The second he spotted Mitch, his face split it up into a huge grin.

"I'd be damned if it isn't Mitchell Evans in the flesh," he grinned, displaying tobacco-stained teeth.

It took Mitch a couple of second but then he let go of my hand and held it out to the man. "How are you, Danny? I can't believe you're still running this place."

"Oh, you better believe it," the man said and eagerly shook Mitch's hand. "It's good to see you, boy. Been a few years."

"That it has."

Mitchell turned toward us and introduced us to Danny. "I used to do some work around here with Danny, after school," he explained.

"Sure did," Danny nodded. "Rushed through the work as fast as you could just to get some free time on that ice."

"I guess it's a good thing that paid off," Mitch grinned. "I probably wouldn't have made for a very good custodian."

"Eh, you weren't too bad," Danny chuckled.

We all laughed.

"I'm sorry about your dad," Danny said, his tone much more serious. "Is that why you're in town?"

Mitch's posture shifted immediately from relaxed to a much more stiff posture.

"Yeah, thank you."

Danny nodded and rubbed his chin as his eyes glanced over at Ethan in the stroller. "There are some good seats on the floor on the other side," he said and gestured towards the opposite side of the rink. "You'd be able to sit there with the stroller."

"Oh, thank you. That's great," Kennedy responded.

"See you after, Danny." Mitchell gave the old man's shoulder a quick squeeze as we headed for the seats.

We got some curious looks as we settled in on the first row and caught the last few minutes of the second period, but nobody approached us. I found out pretty quickly that high school hockey was very different from the games Kennedy and I watched in the Garden, but it was still exciting, and I got into it.

My favorite part was watching the game with Mitch, and get to hear him explain what all the calls were for. That was usually Kennedy's job. I still wasn't that familiar with all the terms. I heard them all the time; slashing, hooking, checking, but I didn't really know what they meant. It didn't stop me from enjoying the game, though.

"Ohhhh," Nash sighed when one player from the other team broke free and took a shot at the goal, which the goalie caught.

"That goalie is pretty good," Mitch agreed.

Nash nodded in agreement, but kept his eyes on the game. "Do you know who he is?"

"No, but I'm sure I can find out."

Nash chuckled.

"Kid's got potential for sure," Bryce added.

It was obvious that not only had the audience realized that there were Empire players present, and especially Mitch based on the whispers, but so had the high school players. The reception Mitch got was just short of amazing. As soon as the game ended, with Mitchell's old high school taking the win, the players took off their gloves and helmets and skated straight towards us.

"Oh, boy. Here they come," Kennedy stage whispered.

There were whistles and shouts, and every single player had a smile on their face. But Mitchell's old coach had the biggest smile of all. It could've lit up an entire city. I knew he'd been the one that encouraged Mitch to apply to college and give the United American Hockey League a real shot. We all know how well that worked out.

The coach had tears in his eyes as he hugged Mitch, and I watched in awe how the entire arena got to their feet and cheered for their homeboy. It got a bit crazy after that. Everyone wanted pictures and autographs.

Mitch quickly introduced his old coach as Ryan Laughlin to each and everyone of us, before he, Nash and Bryce spent the better part of an hour interacting with fans, signing autographs and taking pictures.

I watched Kennedy wipe a tear out of the corner of her eye before she took Ethan out of the stroller. The emotions of it all were getting to both of us.

"This is something..." I said to nobody in particular, but it was coach Laughlin that responded. "It's a special thing what he is doing, spending some time with the kids. They'll remember this for the rest of their lives."

I turned towards him and tried to keep my emotions under check, but it was difficult. It had been a few very emotional days and seeing Mitch in the middle of all the smile and cheers tugged on my heartstrings.

"I meant that it was something special for Mitch."

"That too," he agreed with a knowing smile, "but he's an idol to many of these kids. They all dream of making it the way he did."

That did it. I started to sniffle and blinked furiously to keep from breaking down. Kennedy said nothing. She just pulled a tissue out of Ethan's diaper bag and handed it to me, which made me smile despite the tears filling my eyes. She had this whole mom thing down pat already.

"Mr. Evans," one kid called. "Can you skate with us?"

"Yeah," another one joined in. "And you too," he said, and looked at Nash and Bryce.

"I... I don't have any gear or skates," Mitch responded in what sounded like a bit of a disappointment.

"We don't either," Nash added.

"Oh, come on," one of the kids groaned.

"Hey coach," the goalie called out. "Don't we have some extra skates and stuff in the back?"

Coach Laughlin scratched his head as he nodded. "We do, but it's stuff for next season."

Mitch stepped over to Nash and Bryce and whispered something. Nash and Bryce seemed to be immediately on board with whatever it was he suggested.

"Let's go check it out, coach," Mitch suggested. "If it fits us, we'll play for a little bit, and I'll donate the cost of the gear."

"Me too," Nash and Bryce added simultaneously.

Kennedy turned towards me. "It looks like we'll be here for a while. I need to feed and change Ethan. Can you go ask Danny if there's a room I can use?"

"Of course. I'll be right back."

As I went to find Danny, Mitch, Bryce and Nash followed the overexcited teenagers while the coach urged the spectators to leave the arena.

Kennedy and Ethan got set up in Coach Laughlin's office while I joined him in the booth. Mitch, Nash and Bryce appeared on the ice decked out in borrowed gear a few minutes later. I couldn't keep myself from laughing, especially at Bryce. At 6'5, he looked ridiculous in the way too small outfit, but he was a good sport about it.

The teenage boys flocked around the Empire players. Despite having already played a game, they were dying to get some practice time in with the famous players.

"You can handle this practice right, Mitch?" Coach Laughlin called from the booth.

"Sure," Mitchell shrugged his shoulders. "We're just going to play around a little."

"Good, because I'm gong to go check on Mrs. Reed and that cute baby." He turned to me. "I'm not sure she knows her way back. So I better help her."

"We appreciate that. Thank you."

Danny came over and stood by me as we watched the players skate around with their sticks in hand, lazily passing a puck back and forth. Once Mitch deemed himself, Nash and Bryce warm enough, he gathered all the players and they setup some kind of scrimmage.

I could hear all around laughter and the smiles on the kids' faces were of pure joy. I noticed that what I assumed were a few parents had found their way in and were watching the practice.

It wasn't long before Coach Laughlin returned with Kennedy and Ethan. Nash skated over to the booth and made sure they were all right and then turned the coach.

"Hey, coach, do you mind if we do some drills with your goalie?"

"Ugh... no." It was clear he hadn't expected that. "Not at all." He turned to the ice and yelled, "Soderstrom, come over here!"

The goalie stopped what he was doing and immediately scared over towards the booth. "Yeah, coach?" He asked as soon as he got there.

"Go get set up in the goal, son. We're gonna see how you hold up against these UAHL players."

"No way!" The kid's eyes looked like they were about to bulge out of his head.

"Yeah way," the coach responded with a grin. "Unless you don't want to."

"Oh no, I do," he yelled halfway to the goal.

Mitch came over too and reached for a bottle of water. "He's good," he said to the coach, nudging his head towards the goalie.

"Sonny Soderstrom," coach Laughlin answered with a slight nod. "He's a junior, and I agree he has potential. Needs to focus a bit more on school and less on the ladies and he can go far."

Nash chuckled, and Mitch gave him a gentle shove. "I'll give him a pep talk once we finish."

"Appreciate that, son."

For the next twenty minutes, they all took turns to shoot at the goal. Mitch, Nash and Bryce corrected and commented on the players' techniques and forms. But it was when Nash, Mitch and Bryce lined up and started taking their own shots that the kids exploded in shouts. There were "ooh's," "wow," holy shit," and "damn," all over the place.

Coach Laughlin chuckled next to me, and Danny's mouth fell open. I knew Mitch, Nash and Bryce were holding back, but it was still impressive to see what professional hockey players could do with that little black puck.

When we finally called it a day, the kids were disappointed that it was over, but beyond excited that they'd gotten the opportunity to play with a few of their idols. But I think Mitch was the most excited one out of all of them.

It had been the absolute perfect day. Mitch was back to normal and everything felt good, but I couldn't help but worry about the morning.