"My touch is her temptation, her kiss is my salvation. She's sweet, I'm wild, we're dangerous, cowboys and angels..."


“My friend’s getting married. We picked out her dress today and everything,” Kennedy leaned over the bar and spoke directly to the bartender. It was the first time she could pull this out, and it proved to work as the bartender congratulated Cassidy and pushed a round of shots towards them. “Can you believe it Knoxious? Just about a year ago, Tyler was hitting on you and we were celebrating your twenty-first birthday. Now Jamie’s hitched you and we’re celebrating your twenty-second birthday.”

“I’m still twenty-one for another week. The good news is Jamie will be in town for my birthday, but after that, he’s pretty much on the road. I was thinking maybe we could road trip to New Orleans at the end of the month; spend three or four days there if you can get off work.” Cassidy slid the glass that had been handed to her, over to Kennedy..

The game was on several TVs throughout the bar, and so despite Cassidy and Kennedy being deep in conversation, Cassidy kept flicking her eyes to the action on the widescreen television in front of her, keeping track of the score.

“That would be so much fun! I think I’m gonna quit my job, so I’ll be free.” Kennedy smiled at the bartender so he’d make her another drink, and then she caught Cassidy’s judging stare. “Calm yourself, I’ll look for another job. I’m just tired of being harassed at the club, seeing people I don’t want to see… It’s time for me to move on,”

Before Cassidy could form a response, she glanced up at the TV and clutched onto Kennedy’s arm, digging her fingertips into her skin. Kennedy fought back but then followed Cassidy’s gaze up to the TV screen, where Jamie was now the center of attention, wincing and squeezing one eye shut. Blood lined his upper eyelid, and when he reached his hand up to touch it, it smeared to his lower eyelid.

“Why is there no penalty?” Kennedy whispered, gently loosening Cassidy’s fingers from around her arm.

Cassidy continued to stare at the screen. It didn’t even matter now if she looked like a crazy fan, obsessing over a man she’d never meet. She watched Jamie climb over the boards and onto the bench, where he thrust a towel against his eye, patting away the blood. A trainer went up to him, checked out the laceration and handed him a towel, and then walked away without giving him any real medical attention.

“I think I want to go home,”

“Knoxious, c’mon! He’s okay. Jamie’s tough, he didn’t even cry.” Kennedy tried to make light of the situation, obviously being able to tell that Cassidy was rattled by it.

Although she had never directly come out and told Jamie to wear a visor, the topic had been brought up in passing. Why didn’t he wear one when so many of his teammates did? She’d never been one to force much when it came to his career; after all he was the professional, and she was the recent fan. But this had to be some sort of wake up call for him.

---

“Happy birthday darling,”

Cassidy twisted in bed and opened her eyes to see Jamie coming at her with a tray. On it sat a cup of coffee, a bouquet of dogwood flowers, and a plate with peanut butter toast on it. She smiled at his effort and sat up in bed, readjusting the pillows behind her.

“Thank you Jame,” she reached up and pecked his lips before lifting the flowers to her nose to smell them.

“To think just a year ago I met you at a bar, and let Tyler on the dance floor with you… what was I thinking?”

She laughed and threw her head back, “you drove me home, and then weeks later, found me at the university. Because that wasn’t weird and creepy at all.”

“You had me hooked… infatuated… invested… what was I going to do? Hope you attended another hockey game?” Jamie smiled, “you doing anything today?”

Cassidy shrugged and shook her head, “you have practice?”

“Yeah, and then I have to pick up your present,”

“Pick it up? Where is it?”

“Hidden at Tyler’s house. That way you wouldn’t be tempted to go looking for it,” Jamie walked into the bathroom, looking at his hair as he pushed his hands through it, obviously dissatisfied with the length. When he walked back into the bedroom, he dug through the closet to grab his gear, “the house is being painted this week. We can start moving stuff in by next week, and then towards the end of March I have a three game home stand, and I think we should be pretty much moved in by then.”

“It’s going to be so nice to have our own home,” Cassidy moaned and stretched her arms up above her head. “And are you going to be able to go to my ten week appointment with me? It’s scheduled for March 4th.”

“I think that’s an off day, but we’re out of town. I’ll figure it out… I’ll be there,” he smiled and leaned over the bed with his gear over one shoulder. After kissing Cassidy’s lips slowly, he took a deep breath, “I love you, happy birthday, I’ll be back in a few hours.”

Cassidy looked down at the toast once she was left alone. These next few months were going to be rough considering so much was happening in such a short amount of time. This next appointment with the doctor was going to be very telling. They’d be able to hear the baby’s heartbeat for the first time, and see it for what it really was; a child. It would actually look like a human by early March, not some half rat, half puppy mix. And if Jamie were to miss that, well Cassidy just figured that’d be the first of many milestones he’d miss.

She took a bite and regretted it as it slid down her throat, leaving her with a heavy feeling. She hadn’t had this feeling for awhile, but as it continued to threaten her, Cassidy flew out of bed and ran to the bathroom, bending over the toilet and gagging into it. No, Jamie’s cooking wasn’t that bad. Today’s morning sickness was just making up for all the days she felt fine.

After spilling the contents of her stomach into the toilet, Cassidy began to cry as she clutched onto the white porcelain. It was her twenty-second birthday, not even hungover, and all she wanted to do was have a good time. People weren’t supposed to puke on their birthdays; that was considered a party foul.

But now all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and wish away the nausea. And the more she thought about things, the worse she felt. By tomorrow night, Jamie and the team would be going on the road for two games, then coming back for two, then leaving again for two… boy did the NHL really know how to move a team around. They wouldn’t be together on Valentine’s Day this year, which wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t the total end of the world. Cassidy would be spending the majority of that day with the seamstress, altering the dress to fit her properly. After that, she figured she’d catch the Colorado game on TV and spend a quiet night in. Kennedy was planning on going on these short road trips as well, so she wouldn’t be here to help entertain Cassidy.

Thankfully there was a distraction by trying to figure out what Jamie had gotten her for her birthday. All she had asked for was a quiet night in, just to spend time with each other. And since he said he had hidden it at Tyler’s, Cassidy knew it was something tangible, not like reservations to a fancy restaurant. Which if that were the case, at this moment in time, she’d probably have to decline considering how she felt. But something she could touch? Something she could pick up? She couldn’t fathom what it could be. He had already gotten her a diamond ring, which she would’ve probably asked for if he hadn’t already popped the question.

Even after she had begun to feel less nauseous, Cassidy decided to stay in her position on the bathroom floor. She wasn’t particularly uncomfortable, although her ribs were beginning to ache. And she didn’t know how soon she’d need to be back in the bathroom, so she decided to stick it out and wait for Jamie to arrive back home.

If she didn’t know any better, she would’ve guessed it took him longer than usual to get home. It felt like an eternity since her ribs had gone numb, and she had resorted to sliding her index finger over the lines in the hardwood floor to entertain herself. The bedroom door opened and Cassidy twisted on the ground to look up at it, catching Jamie’s glance as he stared at her, half concerned and half confused.

“What’re you doing?” Jamie stepped further into the room, standing by the bathroom door, and cocked his head to the side to get a better angle at Cassidy.

“Just lying around,”

“Is there any particular reason you’re in the bathroom?”

“I threw up,”

He held back a small smile, probably because he knew that her being sick meant that she was still carrying his child. “You feeling better now,”

Cassidy pushed herself up into a sitting position and shrugged, but still nodded her head slightly.

“Well enough to get your present?”

She jumped up and beamed, leaning forward to push past him to get downstairs.

“No no. Close your eyes, I’ll give you a piggy-back ride downstairs.” Jamie turned around and put his arms back, waiting for Cassidy to jump onto his back. And when she did, he clutched his arms around the back of her knees, reveling in the way her arms clung around his shoulders.

“Where is it?” Cassidy asked as she felt Jamie setting her down in the living room. With her eyes still shut, she felt around, not feeling the couch anywhere near her, so she sat down on the floor.

“With Jordie in the garage, hold on.”

The temptation to peek was real, and she was about to, but then she heard the door to the garage open and shut again, so she squeezed her eyes tighter. She could hear Jamie giggling as he walked back into the room, and to let him know she was growing impatient, she let out a long sigh.

“Oh hush,” he joked. “Alright, hold out your hands,”

Cassidy did as she was told, while she could sense that Jamie had taken a seat beside her. Then ever so gently, she was being handed her gift, which to her surprise, was not staying still. Her fingertips ran over the coarse fur, and when she opened her eyes, the bundle of fur and happiness in her arms reached up to lick her chin.

“Puppies,” she gasped, bringing up the ridgeback puppy in her arms to squeeze it gently. Beside her, Jamie’s arms were full with another puppy. Quite obviously, they were the same puppies from the shelter that he had mentioned not to get too attached to. “You got the puppies that are gonna be humongous, and by the time of our honeymoon, we’re going to have to pawn them off on someone for two weeks.”

“I’m sure Tyler won’t object… or my parents,” Jamie locked eyes with the puppy, and roused the fur on top of its head. “So which one’s which?”

“Truman’s the one with the chunk bit out of his ear. He’s seen some shit. Shiloh’s ears are in tact.”

Jamie glanced at her as if she were insane, but sure enough, as he looked down at the puppy in his lap, a small piece on the tip of his ear was missing. So with the names of each dog sorted out, he reached into the plastic bag next to him and pulled out two black, leather collars, both already with the dogs’ names and contact information. He handed one to Cassidy, and she took it from him, smiling as the bone shaped pendant read Shiloh.

“You know, I don’t think I should trust you when you say you’re not going to buy something. It’s just your trick to convince me not to think about it. But with the Nashville house, and the new house, and now the puppies, I know that’s really your way of lying. It took me a year, but I’ve figured you out Jamie Benn.” Cassidy let Shiloh go, and chuckled as he ran to his brother, trying to antagonize him, and then they both went off to explore their new territory, which for now, only consisted of the living room as they still wanted to stay as close to Jamie and Cassidy as possible. “Thank you, I love you,”

“I love you too, gorgeous.” Jamie leaned over and kissed her temple. “I’ll pick up some food tonight. What do you want?”

Cassidy pursed her lips, “Pizza. And ice cream. Oh, and if you go to the store, get some pickles… the kind in the jar with the stork on it.”

He laughed heartily and looked over at her, “God I love you. You’re like the easiest person on the planet.”

“Well obviously, that’s how you got me pregnant.” She stuck her tongue out at him playfully and then flicked her eyes to the puppies, who were now taking part in a round of wrestling. “Truman! Shiloh!” Cassidy squeaked out, getting their attention back on her. She patted her legs excitedly to have them both bounding towards her.

“How’d you come up with those names, Cass?” Jamie reached over and picked up Shiloh. Although he was only eight weeks old, he was heavier and expected, and Jamie struggled to keep him down.

“My dad and I used to take trips down to the Shiloh river. That’s where he taught me to fish… only the river’s more like a creek, and there aren’t any fish in the creek.” Cassidy leaned into Jamie and rested her head against his shoulder, “I’m not too sure where Truman came from. I suppose I could sound smart and say Truman Capote, but I’m not so sure that’d be the truth.”

Jamie turned his head to kiss her temple, “and do you realize two months from tomorrow, we will be in the process of being wed?”

“I’m surprised you remember. I am the one making all the arrangements, and you’ve got the easy part; all you have to do is show up.”

“That’s the hard part. I might just not show up,”

“Your mother would kill you,” Cassidy deadpanned, knowing Jamie was just joking after all. “But before that, I’d castrate you.”

Notes

This chapter is titled after "Cowboys And Angels" by Dustin Lynch.