Page 28 of Scoring Chance

I stood behind her and cheered him on. “You got this.”

She clapped her hands, regaining his attention. “Come on, Eli.”

His focus returned and he took wobbly, shuffled steps toward her, never taking his hands off the wall. In seconds, he was within reach and rotated so his arms went straight out to Amelia. She grabbed his hands and helped him balance the last few steps until he was in her arms.

“Good job!” She stood with him in her arms as he laughed and clapped with her.

I took his tiny fist and raised it so he mirrored my movements as I cheered for him. “Way to go, Eli!”

Bubbles formed under his tongue as he continued giggling while Amelia bounced him around.

“Were those his first steps?” I asked.

Her eyes widened. “Oh no. I hope not! He wanted to get down so I set him on the floor and he used the wall to stand up. I didn’t know if he could walk or not, but I tried to encourage him to and you saw the rest.”

She turned with a frown. “If that was the first time you have to promise not to tell Addi or Grant.”

Her concerned eyes latched onto mine, and I found myself agreeing. “Sure, but don’t you think they would be excited to know?”

She gaped. “If we witnessed his first steps and they didn’t they would never forgive us. That’s a huge deal!”

I shrugged. I wasn’t familiar with baby things so I listened to her. “Okay I won’t tell.”

She seemed to relax and headed back to the main hall.

“Elena mentioned you might need a ride to Olli and Emma’s.” I mentally shook myself. That wasn’t a question or an invitation. My nerves were making me overthink everything. The words hung there until I spoke again. “I was wondering if you’d like to come with me.”

Her eyes darted to mine. “Sure, thanks.”

After we dropped off Eli with Addi, we headed over to the house. Most events were hosted at the Letang’s house, and it seemed to be the center of activity. Although, now that Chloe and Reese moved into a large house not too far away, maybe they would share the burden.

Even though we left before most of the others, we weren’t the first to arrive. The driveway was almost halfway full with cars parked side by side so everyone could leave when they wanted.

“Thanks for the ride. I should have planned ahead and drove myself to the arena.”

I chuckled as we got out. “I’m pretty sure you live as close as any of the parking lots, plus I don’t mind.”

She shared a smile with me before heading to the front door. It was already noisy as we let ourselves in. Emma was leaning against the counter with Jackson facing out on her hip. Lucy and Kendall were arranging a dozen or so containers, and Madi was setting out plates and utensils.

Amelia jumped in ready to help. “What can I do?”

Emma pointed to one of the large, industrial sized fridges. “Drinks are in there if you want to set some out on the counter. Everyone knows where to find more.”

She nodded, but I was a step ahead of her. I pulled out the cases of soda and water and set them on the counter where Emma usually had them arranged.

Amelia caught my eye and smiled as she opened the closest one and set the cans out.

I loved everything about this house. The large kitchen had everything you could ever dream of, from a six-burner stove, double ovens, and not one but two enormous fridges. It was open to the attached living room making it ideal for large groups. I could tell they designed it with the team in mind. Even when everyone was over, with their families, it accommodated us. As grand as the house was, it managed to feel warm and comfortable at the same time. It was apparent that Emma had spent a lot of time and consideration into making it a home.

“How was the game, Derrek?” Madi asked from the other side of the island. I knew she wasn’t asking with malicious intent but it stung that another game passed without me playing.

“Good. The guys were having a little too much fun out there.” Once we were ahead by three points, I could tell they started to show off and mess around with each other.

She laughed and shook her head. They all knew the sport backward and forward, but they couldn’t always tell what the attitude was on the ice. The guys were good at never losing focus, even when the opponents didn’t present much of a challenge.

“Oh boy that means they’ll be on one tonight.” Emma groaned. “When they get like this at least one thing ends up broken.”

She pointed at me. “The pool is off limits, and no one goes in Olli’s office tonight.”