Six months after the Christmas I’d spent with Anthony and my parents, I was there when Dad passed away. All through the funeral, with Anthony by my side, even my grief couldn’t chase away the bone-deep gratitude. I’d come so close to missing one last Christmas and some precious time with my father before he was gone. As hard as it was to watch my dad fade away and to grieve him, I didn’t want to imagine the immovable regret and crushing loss of not having that time with him before he was gone forever.

  If Anthony had never come into my life…

  Well. That wasn’t something I wanted to think about for a lot of reasons. I was just grateful he had, and that I’d been lucky enough to land with the most incredible human being I’d ever met.

  Surprisingly, Simon and Anthony had reconnected this past off season. I’d been a little wary of that, since I wasn’t crazy about Simon, but it turned out the guy had found a therapist in his new city. He’d worked through some things, and he’d realized that Anthony was right—the pressure the Bobcats had put on them had doomed their relationship. Like Anthony, he now had a boyfriend he was dating openly, and between that relationship and his therapy, he’d seen the light. So, he’d apologized to Anthony, and also to me. We’d even met up with him and his new boyfriend over the summer when they were in Seattle.

  “Do you think you’re going to stay friends with him?” I’d asked on the way home.

  Anthony had shrugged. “I think we’ll stay friendly. We’re still playing in the same league and all that. But I think this was closure for me.” He’d taken my hand and smiled. “Feels like I’m finally letting him go.”

  Thank God for that. Anthony deserved better than Simon’s bullshit. Being better than Simon seemed like a low bar, so I focused on trying every day to be better than what Anthony deserved. He seemed happy, so hopefully I was succeeding?

  As time had gone by, I’d started joining Anthony and the cats on their hikes. Even some of the slightly steeper ones. Thanks to having regular access to food, not to mention a home gym, I was in much better physical condition than I’d been when we’d met. The VA wasn’t all that helpful with my prosthetic, but the Bobcats’ medical staff had hooked me up with an orthopedist who specialized in both sports medicine and amputees. Anthony had been a saint and covered the bills for a more state-of-the-art prosthetic. It was way more comfortable, and it also had more stability on uneven terrain. Suddenly the world was more open to me than it had been before, and I could be active in ways I’d thought I wouldn’t be again.

  So, hiking through the gorgeous Pacific Northwest landscape with my boyfriend, my dog, and the cats was now not only something I could do, it was something I did regularly. My orthopedist really wanted me using hiking poles out there for stability and to support my other leg, but I needed a hand free for Lily’s leash, so we’d compromised on using one pole. Of course, that meant my hands were full, but Moose was really good at not pulling on his leash, so I could loop it around my wrist and hold the hiking pole with my hand.

  Then we’d just have to stop every few minutes while I pretended to be exasperated that Anthony and Bear were so slow. Anthony always rolled his eyes, but even he thought it was funny. And Bear was starting to pick up the pace on hikes, too, mostly because he liked to be hot on Lily’s heels. So our little motley crew of hikers made pretty decent time these days, and I loved every last minute of it.

  Of course, there was only so much time for hiking. Anthony’s training and travel schedule was brutal, but mine was suddenly packed tight as well. With some seed money from Anthony, I’d started the Housing Veterans of King County Project, an organization to help disabled and homeless veterans in the greater Seattle area. We focused mostly in helping veterans find safe and stable housing, and we were also working on setting up a legal advocacy group for those fighting for their VA benefits (including me, since that battle was still ongoing). That part would take some time to get off the ground, and hopefully in the future we’d also expand everything to other counties. For right now, though, we were off to a damn good start. Eventually, I might even be able to hire some paid employees instead of relying on volunteers, but we’d get there.

  The Seattle Bobcats had gotten onboard with it, too. Starting this season, the Veterans Day game raised money specifically for my organization. The players wore military-themed warmup jerseys, then signed them, and the jerseys were auctioned off along with themed and autographed sticks and pucks.

  Tonight was the annual charity Casino Night. Every year, the team selected a different charity to benefit, and I’d been blown away when I’d learned that the organization they’d be raising money for this year was… mine.

  “Your boyfriend made a hell of a case,” the team’s general manager had told me during a meeting about the event. “And he got his teammates onboard, so how could we say no?”

  Jesus, I loved Anthony.

  And speaking of my amazing boyfriend, he was clearly having a good time tonight. Like most of the Bobcats, he was dealing blackjack for thrilled fans. I stopped by his table to watch briefly, but I didn’t want to distract him. Not when there was math involved; God knew I couldn’t have counted to twenty-one with him nearby.

  I did steal a kiss, though, which made him blush, much to the delight of the fans at his table. Then I left him to it and continued to wander with Lily by my side. True to the organizers’ word, the aisles were kept clear so people could move around easily. There were small crowds around each table, especially where the star players were dealing, but the walkways were wide open and security guards kept exits clear.

  There had also been an announcement at the beginning that a few people in attendance had service dogs.

  “As a reminder,” the organizer had said, “the service dogs are working animals, and their handlers request that people not pet them or get their attention.”

  A few people had certainly glanced at Lily, and some had even taken her photo, but no one spoke to her or tried to pet her. Two of my volunteers—Charli and Pedro—also had their dogs with them, and when I checked in with them, they confirmed that no one had bothered them.

  Despite the open walkways, being in the middle of the room with this many people did start to get to me at one point. I hadn’t even realized it until Lily nudged my hand, and I noticed I’d started sweating and my heart had started racing. So I moved to the edge of the ballroom. There were some games and booths over here, plus refreshment stations, and a much thinner crowd. With more space and fewer people between me and two different exits, my pulse came down a little.

  “Good girl,” I told Lily, and slipped her a treat from my pocket.

  We stayed at the edge of the room for a while so I could breathe, but I was hardly standing against the wall with nothing to do. In fact, all along one end of the enormous room, dozens upon dozens of items had been donated to a silent auction. Original artwork. Autographed memorabilia, including from other teams in the league as well as the women’s league. Vacations. Bottles of wine from the local wineries. Player meet-and-greets. Spa treatments. There was a little of everything, and people weren’t shy about bidding.

  It was mind-blowing to see the whole event unfold. I’d been so absolutely convinced that no one gave a shit about people living on the streets, veterans or otherwise, but this room was packed with evidence to the contrary. Every single attendee had coughed up at least five hundred dollars apiece just for their tickets. They were each given about twenty bucks in complimentary chips, but there were people sitting down at tables with enormous stacks of chips, all of which would be cashed in for raffle tickets at the end of the night. Every penny they paid to buy casino chips, drinks, or auction items went straight to the organization.

  To my organization. I still couldn’t quite believe it, but here we were.

  “Wyatt!” a woman’s voice turned my head, and I smiled when I saw Monica. She was, like the other wives and girlfriends, dressed to the nines—in her case, a glittering sequined blue dress.

  “Hey!” We shared a quick hug and spent a few minutes catching up. We’d gotten to know each other more since that first Thanksgiving when Lily had helped with her fear of dogs, and we’d become good friends. When I’d started going to games, she’d invited me to the suite where spouses and partners sat. The first few times, the noise and lights had gotten to me, and Monica had stepped out into the hallway with me when I’d needed to calm down. The box was great because it was easy to escape into a quieter, less crowded area. If a game got too overwhelming, I could get away without much fuss.

  Over time, I’d gotten used to it all and didn’t need to step out as often—which helped me handle being at tonight’s event—and she’d played a big role in that.

  “Oh!” She took her phone out of her purse. “Look what we brought home for the kids!” She showed me the screen, and on it was their three daughters, all huge smiles as they fawned over a Golden Retriever puppy.

  “Wow, you guys finally dropped the hammer?”

  Smiling broadly, she nodded. “The kids are thrilled.”

  “I bet they are.” I had a feeling she was, too. It turned out that on the way home from the Thanksgiving where she’d met Lily, Monica had told her husband she wanted to get some therapy. The whole family wanted a dog, and especially after her interactions with Lily, she’d decided it was time to stop letting her fear rule her life. Dogs were everywhere, and enough was enough. The therapy had worked wonders, too. This past Thanksgiving, D’Angelo had hosted, and his two enormous Bull Mastiffs had happily roamed the house. There was even a photo on Monica’s Instagram of her petting the bigger of the two while he rested his giant head in her lap.

  And now, much to the delight of Young and the kids, the family had a fuzzy yellow addition.

  I chatted with Monica some more, then continued wandering around the event, just trying to take it all in and comprehend that everyone was here to help my organization. I did get a little overwhelmed again at one point and stepped outside for a few minutes with Lily, but otherwise, I was all right. Maybe going to all those games had really helped after all.

  At the end of the night, Anthony found me and said they wanted me up on stage for the closing remarks. He took my hand. “Come on. They won’t make you speak—I promise.”

  “They’d better not,” I muttered. “I’m still a soldier, so I might swear.”

  He just chuckled and we continued onto the stage with Lily beside me.

  Clark got up to thank everyone for coming, and he also told them a little about the organization. Then he gestured at me.

  “I’d like to introduce Staff Sergeant Wyatt Miller. He served for twelve years and was discharged after being wounded during his third combat tour. He’s here with his boyfriend, Anthony Austin, and his service dog, Lily.” More applause, and I reached down to pat Lily, who was wagging her tail beside me. Clark went on, “Staff Sergeant Miller is the founder of the organization that the Seattle Bobcats are proud to support tonight.”

  The applause was even louder this time, and it made my throat tight.

  When the noise had died down, he continued. “After tallying up the generous donations and the silent auction…” He glanced at the piece of paper in his hand, then smiled as he told the room, “Thanks to each and every one of you, the Seattle Bobcats have raised over $400,000 for the Housing Veterans of King County Project tonight.”

  All the air rushed out of me, and I leaned against Anthony. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and kissed my temple. “Well done, baby.”

  $400,000. Holy shit.

  Before I’d even started to make sense of that, Clark handed the microphone to Anthony, and I did a double take. Since when was he going to speak in front of a crowd?

  Anthony smiled and winked at me.

  Oh, fuck. He wasn’t proposing, was he? I’d told him after another player had proposed at a game that I hated public proposals. He’d listened, right? God, tell me he’d listened.

  Unaware of my mental spinout, he cleared his throat and faced the crowd. “We all know this project and this issue are near and dear to my heart. My teammates are also passionate about helping out, and we had a meeting before the event started.”

  Clark looked as surprised as I felt, eyeing Anthony as if he had no idea where this was going.

  Anthony grinned. “Each member of the Seattle Bobcats has pledged an additional $10,000 toward the cause.”

  The roar of applause drowned out whatever he said after that. I quickly did the math. Twenty-three-man roster. $10,000 apiece.

  My heart jumped into my throat. $230,000. On top of the…

  Oh my God. All told, this night had raised $630,000 for my organization.

  $630,000.

  My mind was suddenly full of spreadsheets and calculations, budget sheets and wish lists. There were so many things the organization wanted to do that had been out of our reach, but now…

  When Anthony returned to where I was standing, I threw my arms around him.

  “Thank you,” I murmured against his neck. “You are amazing.”

  “You’re welcome, baby.” He kissed my temple.

  No, he hadn’t proposed (thank God), but this was even better. He’d not only helped me get the organization off the ground and onto the radar of the Casino Night organizers, he’d spearheaded a donation of almost a quarter of a million dollars from his teammates.

  Hell, after that, aversion to public proposals be damned—I’d have said yes if he asked right here and now.

  He didn’t, though, and after some more speeches and thank-yous, the event came to a close. We wandered through the crowd, thanking more people and shaking hands, before we were finally free to call it a night.

  As much as I’d enjoyed the noise and chaos tonight, the quiet of our room was a relief. I was about as overstimulated as I could get without Lily needing to intervene. In a good way, of course, but overstimulated nonetheless.

  As soon as we were behind closed doors, I took off Lily’s vest, and she wandered over to her food and water bowls.

  Anthony wrapped his arms around me. “You’re going to change a lot of lives with that money.”

  I smiled, trying not to get choked up. “I can’t wait to see what we can do with it.” I touched his face. “And, um… Consider that paying it forward for you changing my life.”

  He cupped my face and kissed my forehead. “You say that like you haven’t changed mine, too.”

  “Still. You didn’t have to pick me up off the streets when you did, and you sure as hell didn’t have to get your teammates to donate tonight.” I put a finger to his mouth to stop his protests. “You didn’t have to, but thank you.”

  Then I kissed him, and whatever stubborn arguments he might’ve been considering seemed to die away.

  As I drew back, I chuckled. “Not gonna lie—I panicked for a second when you took the mic. I thought you were going to propose or something.”

  Anthony laughed. “No, you said you didn’t like big public proposals.” Then he took my hand, and while his smile held on, the humor faded. “That’s why I was waiting until we got back to the room.”

  “Waiting—” My teeth snapped shut. “I was kidding. Just so we’re clear.”

  “I know. But I’m not.”

  And then, the kindest, sweetest, most incredible human being I’d ever encountered went to one knee right there in our hotel room.

  “I love you, Wyatt,” he said, his voice a little thick and unsteady. “I mean it when I say you’ve changed my life for the better. And I want us both to keep making each other’s lives better.” He squeezed my hand as he took something out of his pocket. Holding up a gold band, he softly asked, “Marry me?”

  I was speechless, so all I could do was nod. Maybe I couldn’t remember how to speak, but I sure as hell knew what my answer was.

  The smile that broke out across his face almost melted me to my knees. Then he was on his feet, arms around me and lips against mine, and I wrapped my arms around his neck as I tried to fit all this into my mind.

  We were getting married. We were in it for the long haul. After being so afraid for so long that I wasn’t worthy of basic kindness, never mind love, Anthony wanted me with him for the rest of our lives.

  He touched his forehead to mine. “I’m assuming that’s a yes?”

  I held him tight. “It’s a yes. You’re stuck with me now.”

  His laughter made the whole world a little brighter. “Stuck with you sounds perfect to me.”

  Yeah, stuck with him sounded perfect to me, too.

  And as we celebrated our engagement in that luxury hotel room…

  As I was overwhelmed with love and more hope and stability than I’d thought I’d ever have again…

  I thanked God for the millionth time that I’d walked into that vet clinic two incredible years ago.

  The Games We Play

  Don’t miss this new multi-author minor league hockey series! Coming June 2024.

  Red Line

  Even Strength (written with Cari Z)

  * * *

  The Games We Play

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