Home Ice.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Avery

Today's the day our bookstore opens.

I can't believe it. It feels like just yesterday that Finn brought me here with a small golden key. I never thought I'd actually be able to make something of it... But I did.

Now it's late May and I am standing at the front of my store with anxious energy and two babies kicking the shit out of me. Everything is set. The coffee cart, the cart of fresh flowers from the florist down the road, and hundreds of books.

It was hard deciding on a name for this place but one word kept coming to mind, the name that Finn always calls me.

Bookworms.

Is it the most original? No, definitely not. I don't care, though. It feels right because it's a piece of Finn and I.

I chose today because it's a Tuesday, which may seem random unless you're a bookworm and know that all new book releases happen on Tuesdays. Felt fitting to to have the store open on the same day.

Additionally to that, it's smack between the end of the Western Conference Final and the Stanley Cup Final, which Finn will be playing in in two days time.

The Seattle Kraken made it to the Stanley Cup Final after winning the WCF in five games. Five.

They were flying. There's no other way to put it. There was no catching up to them. They only lost the fourth game of the series because of a slew of minor injuries that happened back-to-back midgame, but even those didn't last long and they all played like brand new the next game.

I've never had a team I love play in the Cup Final. When I was in New York and the Islanders weren't terrible, I was able to experience a couple of Eastern Conference Final years but they always ended in disappointment.

This is different though. On so many levels. Not only am I a bigger Kraken fan than I am an Islanders fan at this point, the person I love more than anyone in this world is just four wins away from achieving his lifelong dream. I can feel it. They're going to win it all.

The goal that sent them to the Final was an overtime goal that Finn and Casey were on the ice for and, fuck. I almost went into labor when it happened.

It was an away game so I was with Grace at their house and we both screamed so loud, it triggered a symphony of barks from the dogs while Kenny screamed and cheered along with us despite not having any fucking idea what as happening.

That was two days ago and they've had a couple of days of rest before they're back on the ice again for practice tomorrow. The NHL season is a grind of epic proportions. I've always known that as a fan, it always feels like a million years long, but experiencing it with Finn is another level.

Seeing the work it puts on their bodies, both him and Casey's, always worries me a little bit. It's different this year considering this is the longest they've played in a single season but although he crashes like the dead at night and walks in after practice or games with his feet dragging, Finn is at his peak. He's so happy, I wouldn't be surprised if he started shitting rainbows.

I don't blame him. There's nothing to not be over the damn moon about right now. Our babies are healthy, we're free from the man who terrorized us for years, and his dream is actively coming true.

In the past, it's always felt like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. I've never been truly comfortable, even with Mason behind bars. Knowing he was out there and the gut feeling that it wasn't over made it hard to be fully relaxed besides in the comfort of my home with Finn.