"And, Colton, maybe you should start charging these guys money for your comedy act," Kip said. He let go of Mandy and grabbed Colton's hood. "We gotta get going dude. Last joke." Her kid had become a side show. A much applauded one.
"Corey, I totally mean it. Don't do anything I wouldn't."
"I wouldn't do anyone you would, so that doesn't leave me many options."
She gave him her best Mom warning look. Colton sidled up to him, looking at Mandy. "She means business man."
Corey cracked up at it. "I'm not scared of her."
"You don't have to live with her." Everyone within earshot of those remarks laughed.
"All right," Mandy said in mock anger. "You're show is oh-ver." She winked at Colton, who giggled. And then he yawned. "Definitely over."
Kip put his hand on Mandy's shoulder. "I'll walk to you to your car."
She gave one last wave to her new friends, realizing for the first time how lucky Kip was to be in this tight knit group.
The drive to Kip's house was quiet. Colton was tired as the excitement of the game and the after-party wore off for him. Kip managed to arrive before them, not that it mattered he'd given Mandy a key in mid-February.
He was on his cell phone outside when they pulled up. "Yeah, I want to stay in Calgary." He held up a hand at her, telling her the call was important. Then he motioned her towards the house. "Tell them that, but don't look too eager. I still deserve to be paid like any other player."
Mandy couldn't hear anything as she got the bags out of her trunk. Colton was jumping on one foot in the driveway. Mandy opened the door for him and took him to his room, getting his pajamas on and tucking him into bed. He protested the change. "I wanna stay up. Talk to Kip about the game."
"You'll have time to do that tomorrow," Mandy said, pushing him to a prone position. "It's late, you need to get some sleep."
She put her bag in Kip's room, and then went back downstairs. He was standing in his entryway still on the phone. He sighed deeply. "Right, okay. Well, I need to know what's happening because I have more than just this team going on. Call me tomorrow." He closed the phone and Mandy watched him hang up his coat and put his shoes away in the closet.