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“Well, then, we really should start celebrating now,” he says, backing me up until I hit the wall.

“Ah, no time for that now,” I tease. “The boys have planned a whole thing for you.”

“Is that right?” he asks, taking my hand and looking back at them.

“Yep, come and see what we’ve done.”

They lead the way, and we follow, still hand in hand.

“Oh wow, you guys have been busy,” Cooper comments when he sees all the posters pinned to the walls.

“Yep, we even made a menu. Look,” Huxley says as Ryker hands it over. “All your favorites.”

Cooper scans through it. “Aw, thanks, guys. This is incredible,” he says, pulling them in for a group hug. “I love coming home to you all. Best part of my day.

“They’re going to be okay,” I whisper as we lead Huxley and Ryker toward their new school.

“I know,” Cooper whispers.

“They’ll barely get settled in and summer will start,” I point out.

We had discussed not letting them start until after the summer, but in the end, we decided that routine was key, and doing this now will mean they can hit the ground running when the new school year comes around.

We stand at the gates, watching as the other kids make their way in.

I’m nervous. Stupidly so.

I just want them to fit in and be happy here. I’m sure they will; it’s a fantastic school. I’m just having attachment issues. Crazy, considering it hasn’t been all that long. I can only imagine how parents feel dropping their little ones off for the first time.

Suddenly, I’m pulled from my thoughts when a little whirlwind races toward us.

“Finally,” Sutton huffs. “I’ve been waiting forever to meet you.”

A little overdramatic, seeing as it hasn’t even been two weeks since Huxley and Ryker moved to LA.

“Sutton, this is Huxley; he’s going to be in your class. And this is Ryker; he’s a year younger.”

“Yeah, I know,” she says, swishing her ponytail over her shoulder.

“So,” she starts, her hands on her hips. “I heard you’re good at hockey. There are other kids at this school who also think that, and I had to be sure you were telling the truth before I decided if we could be friends or not. So I got Cooper to send me some of your game footage.”

My eyes widen in surprise as Kodie finally catches up to his daughter, his face full of embarrassment and apology.

“Oo-kay,” Huxley says, equally amused and concerned by this. “And?”

A smile pulls at Sutton’s lips, her shoulders relaxing. “And I’m pleased to say that you passed the test. You’re both excellent.” She moves closer and drops her voice a little. “You see that kid over there,” she says, jerking her chin across the playground to where another kid stands with his dad. “That’s Adrian Scott. He thinks he’s a good hockey player. Let me save you some time. He’s not.”

“Sutton,” Kodie chastises.

“What? You know I’m telling the truth.”

Jesus, the sass on this girl.

Kodie’s lips part to respond, but he quickly changes his mind.

“Stick with me, boys,” Sutton announces, stepping between them and hooking her arms through theirs. “We’ve got a school to rule.”

And just like that, Huxley and Ryker are quite literally dragged into their new school, hopefully to make some friends and not just enemies with Adrian Scott.