I had just about finished scrubbing the egg pan when Sophia and Fred came in the kitchen.

“Good morning!” Sophia said cheerfully.

“Hey! You guys just missed eggs and bacon.”

“No problem. We’ll make something in a little bit. Kacie leave already?”

“Yep, a little while ago. She was in a hurry and didn’t make her lunch, so I thought the girls and I would drive up there and surprise her, if that’s okay with you?”

“Of course it is.” Sophia walked up and lightly cupped my face. “You’re a good man, Brody.”

“It’s my mom’s fault.” I winked at her.

An hour or so later I was showered, dressed, and ready to walk out the door of my guest room when my cell phone chirped. It was Viper.

V: HEY SHIT-FOR-BRAINS. WHERE ARE YOU?

WHAT’S UP, NUMBNUTS? I’M AT KACIE’S.

V: I FIGURED. WENT BY YOUR HOUSE AND YOU WEREN’T THERE. YOU EVER COMING HOME OR WHAT? GONNA WORK AT THE INN FULL TIME AS THE NEW COOK? SHOULD I BUY YOU A PINK APRON?

SHUT IT, ASSHOLE. I’LL BE HOME SOON, AND I’LL BE READY TO GO ON OPENING DAY.

V: YOU BETTER BE. YOUR CONTRACT IS UP THIS YEAR. IF YOU PLAY LIKE YOU LEFT YOUR BRAIN, AND YOUR DICK, UP THERE YOUR ASS IS GONNA GET TRADED AND SHIPPED OUT OF STATE.

AWWW, VIPER. DO YOU CARE ABOUT ME?

V: FUCK OFF. GET IN SHAPE. WIN US GAMES.

LOVE YOU TOO, PUMPKIN.

There was truth to what Viper was saying. It was an important year for me. I had pushed it from my brain for as long as I could, but I couldn’t ignore it any longer. My current contract was up and if I wanted to stay in Minnesota, I needed to be on the ball this year.

No mistakes.

No fuck-ups.

I also needed to work on finding a new agent. That thought sat in my stomach like a lead weight. Sighing, I shoved my phone in my back pocket and headed out the door.

Lucy and Piper were fidgeting excitedly on the bench by the front door when I got to the bottom of the stairs.

“You girls listen to Brody and don’t act up. Got it?”

They listened closely and nodded as Sophia lectured them on behaving. I couldn’t help myself. I walked up behind Sophia, making silly faces and hand gestures as she continued. Lucy and Piper covered their mouths and tried hard not to giggle, but they weren’t successful. Sophia spun around and caught me with my tongue hanging out of my mouth.

She shook her head and smiled at me. “Maybe I should be giving you the lecture.”

“Oh, trust me, I’ve heard it hundreds of times. It’s never helped before.” I grinned at her as I walked over and opened the front door for the girls. I grabbed the booster seats that were waiting for me there, the girls hugged Sophia good-bye, and we were off.

We pulled up to the hospital and I turned and peeked at the girls in the backseat. They stared at the big white building in complete awe. People hustled in and out of the main entrance. A man wheeled a woman out the front door as she held their new baby in her arms. An ambulance quickly pulled up to sliding doors in the side driveway, which I assumed led to the ER.

“Have you guys ever been to this hospital before?”

Lucy shook her head.

“I’ve only been to that one when that man hit me in the lake,” Piper said.

Her innocent comment made my chest tight. When I thought back to that day, to her laying on the ground and all that blood around her, to Kacie’s face as she knelt over her, to her tiny body lying motionless in that big hospital bed… I still wanted to punch things. Preferably that asshole’s face. Hard.

“This one is much bigger. Pretty cool that your mom works here, huh? You guys gonna be nurses like her when you grow up?”

Lucy nodded while Piper twisted her little face, thinking.

“I want to be a hockey player like you,” she said proudly with a big, toothy grin on her face.

“You do? That’s awesome. I can put in a good word for you. I know some people.” I laughed back. “Come on, guys, let’s go find your mom. She’s gonna be so surprised to see us.”

They hopped out of my truck and each grabbed one of my hands as we went inside.

We followed the red signs that led us to the ER.

“Hi there, can I help you?” asked an overly cheery woman with a big smile.

“Uh, hi.” I walked over and leaned on the counter she was sitting behind. “We’re looking for Kacie Jensen.”

Her eyes grew wide as she bit the corner of her lip, trying to keep her smile in check. “Hang on, I’ll page her for you.” She turned and said something into the phone before turning back to us. “You guys can sit over there if you want. She’ll be right out.”

I stared at her curiously for a second before Lucy tugged my hand, pulling me over to the waiting area.

Before we even sat down, Kacie rushed around the corner with a concerned look on her face.

Holy shit, does she look hot in her light blue scrubs. Maybe I can get her to give me an exam later.

“What’s going on? Is everything okay?” Her eyes scanned Lucy and Piper top to bottom before she turned to me.

“Yeah, we’re fine.” I reached over and squeezed her shaky hand. “We just thought we’d surprise you for lunch.”

Her brows were furrowed in confusion as her green eyes searched my face, trying to process what I’d just said.

“Surprise?” I held my hands up and shrugged my shoulders, not sure she was happy to see us.

“Are you mad?” Lucy asked nervously.

Kacie’s head snapped over to Lucy and her face instantly relaxed. “No, no, baby. Not mad at all, just shocked. I thought something was wrong. You just scared me, that’s all.” She pulled Lucy and Piper in for a big hug. “I’m so glad you guys are here. Thank you.” She looked up at me and smiled, but it didn’t quite meet her eyes.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yep, fine. I’m ready for a break anyway. Let’s get out of here for a while, okay?” She looked around nervously and led us toward a long hallway. “I’ll be back in a bit, okay, Darla?”

The woman behind the desk smirked and nodded, still staring at me.

“Where are we going?” Piper asked after a minute.

“The cafeteria. Is that okay? Mommy needs coffee, bad.” Kacie smiled as she slipped her tiny hand in mine.

Once we were in the cafeteria, Kacie seemed back to her normal, happy self. Lucy and Piper had chicken noodle soup while Kacie and I sat and talked.

“You sure you’re not hungry at all?”

“Nope. I’m good.” She lifted her coffee cup to her face and closed her eyes as she inhaled. “This is perfect.”

“Sorry about the food. We were going to stop and get you something, but two little people I know kept asking me to stop the truck so they could pee.” I cocked an eyebrow at Lucy and Piper.

“Uh oh, they do that. I should’ve warned you.” Kacie gave each of them the “mom look.”

“It’s okay.” I winked at the girls. “I just feel bad that you aren’t eating.”

“Oh, don’t worry about me. Darla always has extra food. I’ll steal something from her in a bit.”

“Is that who was sitting at the desk just now?”