“No daddy, he didn’t ask me to marry him, um, but we are moving in together.”

It was like everything stopped as Michael and Bryan zeroed in on Elli, Michael’s eyes narrowing as Bryan’s face turned red.

“You’re moving in with him?” Michael asked.

“And y’all aren’t married?” Bryan added.

“Now, I moved in with Justin,” Elli said in her defense, “and these aren’t the old days. These are modern times, people move in together before they are married all the time.”

“I don’t care about other people, I care about you!” Michael yelled, “And I don’t want my little girl living with some man that she is not married to!”

“I lived with Justin for a year before we got engaged and he was a dick. Shea is a good man, I care for him a lot, and he loves me. I’m moving in with him,” she said with a more confidence than she felt, “I just thought I would let you know. Y’all can be mad at me, but I’m living my life. Don’t you want me to be happy? Because Shea makes me happy.”

Michael and Bryan just stood there staring at her like she grew two extra heads. Elli swallowed loudly. But then, to her surprise, a smile came across Michael’s face, as Bryan shook his head.

“You’re 28 years old, Eleanor, who am I tell you what to do? If you want to live with Shea, live with him, but I’m not happy about it,” Michael said, shrugging his shoulders.

“And if you come up pregnant before you’re married, I swear, Eleanor, we’ll kill him.”

Elli grinned, letting out the breath she was holding.

“Won’t happen.”

Michael leaned over, kissing her softly on her forehead, “Alright, honey, go on down there, the boys are about to come out and warm up.”

“Okay, thanks Daddy, Papa. I love you both.”

Bryan kissed her cheek, smiling. “Love you too, darling.”

Well that was easier than she thought it would be.

Elli felt like the world had been lifted off her shoulders as she watched Shea warm up. She couldn’t wait to tell him that everything went fine with her daddy and uncle. He would be so relieved, since he was as nervous as she was when she told him she was going to tell them. He flashed her a grin as he passed by, moving the puck back and forth with his stick. He was so skillful, so stinkin’ hot! He rallied the guys, starting a drill as all the fans looked on, cheering the guys on with their signs and their chants.

God, she loved hockey.

They were playing the Vancouver Canucks and Elli wasn’t a fan since the guys played dirty. But so did the Assassins, so it was bound to be a great game. When the warm-up ended, Shea looked over at Elli before getting off the ice. She gave him her regular wave. He smiled in return and then headed off the ice as the clock counted down to game time. Elli stood up, looking for the beer guy. When she found him, she ordered her beer and hot dog of the game.

As she ate, she looked around at all the fans since she didn’t have anyone to talk to. She couldn’t wait for Jakob to start playing again so Harper would be there. She only had a couple more weeks. She was just as excited as Shea and Jakob were about Jakob’s return. Elli was ready to have her hockey buddy back. Mark had said when he was in town he would love to sit with Elli again, and she obliged. Harper would have to go sit up in Jakob’s box or with her Papa when Mark was in town, since Elli would never go back on her word, and Elli was sure Harper wouldn’t mind.

When the lights went out, Elli scooted to the edge of her seat, ready for the game to start. The guys came out as the ice girls danced and the fans cheered. Elli was so engrossed in the game once it started, and loved watching the different plays. She loved watching the whole team, not just Shea. They were incredible, and like Elli thought, the Canucks came ready for a fight. Elli noticed that one of the Canucks’ guys, Ryan Kesler, was messing with Shea extra hard.

She wasn’t even surprised when the gloves came off and Shea squared up, laying a good solid punch into Kelser’s nose before they both locked each other up, falling to the ice. Shea got put in the box, right along with Kelser. He gave her a sheepish grin and she just shook her head, but she couldn’t be mad. He was playing the game. But then, after a minute, Vancouver scored. Shea shook his head and Elli knew he was just as pissed as she was. The guys hit the ice again when the penalty was over and Kesler was still getting cheap hits on Shea. Elli didn’t know what the hell the guy’s problem was, but with every cheap shot that the officials didn’t see, Elli became more nervous. Something was bound to happen.

It was the third period and Kesler was on Shea like white on rice. She was pretty sure he was trying to get Shea to retaliate and get put in the box, but Shea wasn’t having it. He wasn’t even fooling with Kesler, he was ignoring him. Elli knew it was because Shea got his ass reamed for getting put in the box because Vancouver had scored. Vancouver was winning because of that goal and the Assassins were working hard, trying to score since there were only three minutes left.

Shea came back on the ice after a short break and skated towards the blue line, waiting for the next play. Elli watched as he watched the puck, his eyes moving back and forth. When the puck came to him, he set up to send it over to Welch, but out of nowhere came Kesler. He threw his elbow up, hitting Shea square in the shoulder, clipping him hard to where Shea spun in a complete circle before hitting the ice, hard.

Elli stood up quickly, along with the rest of the Assassins fans in the stands.