“Why doesn’t Mommy ever go with us?” Hailey asked me.

“Mom likes to skate,” Heath added. I might be imagining things, but I thought I heard a note of accusation in his voice.

“I know. She’s busy with school and all, but, yeah, she’s a good skater.” I put my arm around both their shoulders and guided them onto the ice.

“You’ve seen her skate?” Heath narrowed his eyes and studied me closely.

“I, uh, yeah, long time ago. I’ve known her since high school.”

Heath was appeased by my answer and I blew out a relieved breath.

“I wish she was here.” Hailey pouted and stomped her blades on the ice. I tamped down my panic. I wasn’t sure how to diffuse Hailey if she went into full tantrum mode.

I didn’t respond but began to skate with smooth, easy strokes of my blades on the ice. Heath pulled away as a couple other little boys raced by and gave chase. Hailey, usually outgoing, hung back.

“What’s wrong, honey?”

“Daddy used to skate with us.” She sniffled and looked away from me, staring into the distance at something I couldn’t see. My heart constricted, not only because of the depth of her loss, but also for more selfish reasons. Would they ever call me Daddy? I didn’t want to erase their memories of Mark but for them to create new memories with me. This was so hard, not knowing if I was doing or saying the right thing.

“I’m so sorry. I know it hurts.” My words were lame, but what else did a guy say under these circumstances? I glanced around for a distraction and spotted our goalie Brick’s little girl practicing spins at center ice. “Would you like to join Macy?” I pointed toward the pretty little girl who was Brick’s pride and joy.

Hailey nodded, and I skated out to center ice with her. I introduced her to Macy and the two of them hit it off immediately. Before I knew it, I was left alone while my kids were skating all over the place.

“They’re damn good on those blades,” Ice said in my ear. I hadn’t heard him skate up to me.

“Yeah, they are.”

Someone had broken out the hockey sticks, and my son had grabbed one. He was big for his age and held his own with the older boys as they scrambled up and down the ice in an impromptu game. You couldn’t get a bunch of hockey players together on the ice without someone finding sticks and a puck. Obviously, the same was true of our children.

“You’re a lucky guy. Where’s Caro?” He clapped me on the back and grinned at me. His own pregnant wife sat in the stands talking with some of the other WAGs.

“She didn’t want to come. We’re not on the best of terms.” I met his gaze, and I wasn’t fooling him.

“She’ll come around, E. Or you can nudge her a little. Never hurts to say you’re sorry. It might damage your pride a bit, but it’s worth it.”