Page 17 of A Little Puck Luck

But he was strictly off-limits.

Chapter 12

Scuba

Cominghome,Iwentstraight up to my room and pushed the button to get the shades to close. I loved blackout curtains for my game-day nap.

Right when I collapsed on my bed with a faceplant, there was a knock on my door.

I groaned into my pillow. Didn’t they realize how important a pre-game nap was to a hockey player?

But I had to make sure everything was okay, so I forced myself out of bed.

Going to the door, I saw my mini-me on the other side while Annie was in the hallway with a shattered look on her face. “Eric, he’s trying to sleep,” she said warily.

It was sweet that Annie—no, it should be Annette, but it was so damn hard to think of her as anything other than Annie—was trying to shoo Eric away, but the damage was already done. It was a good thing I was just about to try and crash rather than being woken up.

I hated how she would tense up and was always so afraid of danger. When would she learn I wasn’t the enemy in this situation? The only person who could be a bit of a villain was her.

Instead of thinking about Annette, I knelt down so Eric wouldn’t have to look up to me.

“What’s up, my little dude?”

Eric bit his bottom lip and shifted his weight as he looked between me and his mom. He was clearly torn on what he wanted to do next. I pushed the door open and let him step inside my private domain.

I was still coming to terms with the life they had before coming to live with me. It killed me how often Annette and even Eric would tense up if I was anything but happy-go-lucky. I wanted to get them help, but I didn’t know how to. Annette was so damn guarded, and who in their right mind would tell a six-year-old that he needed to convince his mom to let me pay for therapy. So we pretended everything was normal.

“I wanted to ask you a question,” Eric said.

Annette shook her head and turned on that “mom” voice. “Eric…”

I didn’t know why, but hearing her get stern and serious was always such a turn-on for me. I shifted my position since I could feel a semi forming.

Figuring it would be better for Eric to ask me his question without having Annette overhear him, I ushered him in. Besides, I needed to get away from her since the last thing my game needed was for me to have blue balls because my kid’s mom was just being a mom.

“It’s fine. Come on in so we can talk.”

Eric practically pranced into my room and flopped onto the sofa that I kept in the corner. It seemed like he caught himself and went from a slouch to a straight back as he clasped his hands together. “So, I need a favor, Mr. Scuba.”

I shook my head.

Every day, I kept hoping Eric would call me his dad. But so far, he had been ever polite, always calling me Mr. Scuba. I just wanted to be seen as the kid’s dad.

I kept giving him the world and would continue to. Spoiling him wouldn’t ever make up for our lost time, but I wanted the kid to know I loved him and would have been there if I knew about his existence. I never would have let him or his mom get abused.

“Can you drop the mister part? I’m either Scuba or Dad.” I waved my hand since I knew that part was moot, but I had to know what Eric needed. “What’s the deal?”

“Can you come to my class and talk about your job? You have such a cool job.”

I chuckled. I did have a cool job.

Maybe I was getting a step closer to being seen as the kid’s parent. Schools didn’t let anyone in anymore unless it was for an official purpose.

“As long as I’m in town, I will be happy to do it. Anything else?”

“Nah. I just wanted you there for Bring Your Parent to School day,” he replied happily.

I held out my fist to do a fist bump. It seemed like the best way to celebrate the win since Eric was starting to see me as his father, even if he wouldn’t call me dad. It wasn’t just a word being tossed around because we shared the same DNA.

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