Confused, I frowned up at Brody. “My View-Master?”
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. “Look at it.”
I handed him the box to hold as I raised the View-Master to my eyes, aiming toward the lanterns for backlight. Blinking for a second so my eyes could adjust, the first picture I saw was of Lucy, Piper, and I in our matching Wild jerseys from his first home game.
“Oh my God!” I peeked over the top at him. “How did you do this?”
“Keep going.” He laughed.
I pulled the orange tab down. The next picture was of Brody and me walking the red carpet on our way into the Wild Kids charity event last year.
“Holy shit! This is so awesome,” I said, pulling the tab down again.
Picture number three was taken last fall, right in the exact spot we were standing in. It was one of my favorite pictures ever. The sky was painted pink and purple and the sun was setting perfectly right behind my mom and Fred as they exchanged wedding vows.
I anxiously blinked a couple times to clear the tears from my eyes so I could go to the next picture.
This one was taken at Brody’s parents’ house. It was of Brody, me, his mom and dad, Shae, and her new fiancé, Ricky. The picture was a little crooked because we had Lucy take it, but you could clearly see Shae showing off her new engagement ring. Brody’s fear had come true—his sister was going to be Shae May.
“This is just the coolest thing ever, Brody. I want to do this with all my pictures.” I sniffed, pulling the tab again.
Picture five was of Viper, Brody, and the girls from the first time they taught them how to ice skate. Not many kids could say that the first time they ice skated was on a professional hockey rink with two professional hockey players as teachers. The smiles on their faces were priceless, just like this gift.
The next one was from my graduation ceremony several months back. I was grinning at the camera and holding up my certificate while Brody kissed the side of my head. One of my proudest achievements.
I pulled the tab for the next picture and my breath caught. I remembered taking it on Christmas morning. The girls woke us up super early to open their presents. After we were done, I was making monkey bread in the kitchen while Lucy, Piper, and Brody sat on the couch watching Charlie Brown’s Christmas. I’d noticed it had grown pretty quiet in that room and tiptoed over to see what they were doing. Brody and the girls were lying down, sound asleep. Lucy and Piper were each tucked up under his arms with their little heads on his chest.
Picture eight was another favorite of mine, taken the weekend we spent at his house after his first game. The girls were grinning ear to ear, playing blissfully in the fort Brody had made them in his living room the night before. Diesel liked the fort too.
The next picture was of me, Brody, the girls, and Zach. It was taken last Halloween when we all went trick-or-treating together. It was the first time we all hung out together for the girls’ sake. There had been many of those occasions since then, but that one would always be special.
I pulled the tab again.
“What picture are you at?” Brody asked.
I moved the View-Master down just enough to look at him as I answered. “The one of you and Andy from the night you were awarded the William M. Jennings trophy. You looked so hot in your suit.”
Picture number eleven was from just a couple weeks ago when we got another big rainstorm and Brody ran out and bought hot pink rain boots for the girls so they could jump in puddles with him. This picture was the most breathtaking shot of Lucy’s and Piper’s ecstatic faces just as they hit the ground and the water sprayed up around them.
The next one was another recent picture. It was a big group shot of me, Brody, the girls, Derek, Alexa, Tommy, Lauren, and their new son, Max. Tommy had his arm proudly around Brody’s shoulders and the way Alexa was standing, you could really see her pregnant belly starting to pop. I had a five by seven of this one in my bedroom. I would never get sick of looking at it.
Picture thirteen was of a Ferris wheel. I sighed. Our first kiss.
I pulled the tab again and immediately recognized the barn from Brody’s parents’ property. I squinted my eyes to look closer and gasped when I realized that Brody was standing next to it, pointing up at red letters painted on the side that read:
My knees suddenly felt like Jell-o and my hands started shaking.
“What is this last pict—” I lowered the View-Master and froze.
Brody was down on one knee, staring up at me as he held a black ring box open. He hadn’t even said a word yet, but tears started streaming down my cheeks faster than they ever had.
“Kacie, I’ve thought about what I wanted to say for a long time now, and I know I’m probably gonna mess it up, but here goes.” He took a deep breath. “I love you. I love you so damn much it scares me. But what scares me more is the thought of ever losing you. I have no idea what the future holds, or where my career will take me, but I do know that none of it is worth looking forward to if you’re not by my side. Please, let me love you forever. You and the girls. Will you marry me?”