Mandy knitted her eyebrows together. "Full time? With you lot? God, no."
"What about moving here so you could see more games?"
"I'll take that under consideration."
Corey smiled wider, leaving Mandy to wonder if that was possible. "Go little Kippy."
Mandy shook her head. "Just keep it on the down lo, there, sporty."
"Come on, Cole here needs a little brother."
"Okay, time for me to go," Mandy said.
"Well, if you decide to leave Kip you know where to find me. I have good genes." He looked at Colton, longingly. "And I love your kid." The poor guy really did, and he would make a great dad. He just couldn't seem to chase after the right kind of girl. He went after the puck bunnies who only wanted to brag that they'd nailed an NHL star.
"I'll get you to babysit some night then."
"Deal. Hey, it's the least I can for you guys. You're like my family now." They'd spent a lot of time together, especially since Corey had almost no family. Mandy felt part of this extended family now too. Something she'd been missing since Kip had gone, so many years ago.
"Hey don't look sad."
"Sorry, I was thinking about how nice it is to be friends with you all." It had to be hard too. It was like a family, but on the flip side, players were traded all the time. Sometimes by choice, sometimes without much warning. Kip had played on three different teams in his career, not counting his years in the minor league. She hugged Corey spontaneously.
He hugged her back briefly. "I can't hold you too long, Kip's already eying me."
"He knows better," Mandy said, pushing Corey's shoulder. "Don't take home any of those girls out there."
"It's just, it's been like a few weeks y'know, since I got laid." He mumbled it.
"You got nothin' on me," Mandy said, flashing a smile.
Corey tilted his head. "Yahuh, right. You can tell me that later."
He gave her a push and she found herself hitting solid human muscle. There were arms around her, trying to cushion the blow. She looked up to familiar eyes. "Hey babe."
"Is he giving you a hard time? Or stealing you away?"
"Neither," Mandy said, smiling up at Kip. She hoped the tears won't showing in her eyes. "We were just chatting."