The Brick Wall

Chapter 91

Curtis POV

  We came back to Dallas with one loss and one win.  Our first night in Anaheim, I rode the bench. We lost, again. So, no one but myself was surprised when I was put in for our game against Vegas. 

  I didn't get a shut out, instead only letting one goal in with five minutes left in the third period. Thankfully, we were too far up with five points on the board that there wasn't a way for the Knights to come back and win the game. 

  We need just three more wins and our spot in the playoffs is solid. However, we only have five games left in the season. 

  My cell lit up early on Wednesday morning, our only day off for the entire week, with a text from Reese.  Be ready. 

  They were benching their number one.  

  I guess it may not be too much of a surprise to most considering he's lost every game since I've come to the team. But, it still feels like I'm skating onto someone else's ice. I haven't earned my place yet.

  Have I?

  A quiet 'sh, sh, sh,' comes from the room next to mine which happens to Lennox's.  I'd given Collins the primary, with the main bathroom, much to her arguing. She went on and on about how she's upset I'm not letting her pay for anything, that it should be a partnership since we're living together.

  During our date tonight, I'm hopeful she'll drop the whole 'partnership' aspect and finally see exactly what we are, a family. One that will include a diamond sitting on her left ring finger.

  And sooner rather than later, a band around my own.

  Maybe we'd make it all the way to the Stanley Cup final, win and celebrate with a wedding right away.  Or, we could not even make it into the playoffs and still manage to have a spring wedding rather than a summer. 

  At this point, as much as I want to hold that cup over my head with fans screaming at the top of their lungs, I want Collins as my wife so much more.

  With my sweatpants on, I step quietly over to Lennox's room, pushing the door further open to see her sitting in the middle of her crib.  She see's me, smiles, but continues on with her own rendition of The Wheels on the Bus even as I lean onto the edge of her bed. 

  "Dada!" she squeals when she finishes rolling her arms over each other to signify the bus wheels.  

  I'd gotten in late last night. Walking in I just had to stop and take it all in.  There was nothing spectacular, nothing out of place. It was just pure perfection.

  The lights were off with the exception of the television glowing from the classical music station that had been left playing.  Collins was in the recliner, Lennox laid out across her chest the same way on the night that I met her.  

  This time, I didn't cuss her out or demand she pass my daughter over. This time, after giving myself a few moments to just watch the two of them, I walked over quietly and pulled Len up into my arms and took her straight to her crib.  She didn't really even stir, except when I laid her down her little lips puckered much like they did when she was a baby. 

  Next was Collins, who was also out like a light.  She had told me earlier in the day that she thought Len might've been cutting another tooth. Said her appetite hadn't been the greatest but she was still drinking so probably nothing to really worry about although the only way she'd been able to get any sleep since I left was if they were both in the recliner together.

  If I had to guess, I'd say Len liked hearing the beat of Collins heart. It brought her peace and maybe even reminded her of that night just a few months ago.