Page 37 of A Little Puck Luck

That got the lady backing up and heading for her car. “I’m sorry. I thought this was a friend’s house. I’ll leave right now.”

It unsettled me. As I unlocked the door, I realized I should have taken down her license plate or asked more questions, but that was that.

Trying to forget the woman, I made myself a cup of tea. I was grateful I didn’t have that many dog walks today. I could just wait until it was time to pick Eric up from school.

Dinner was a simple affair since I was still shaken up by that woman showing up at Terry’s door, so I made shrimp tacos. It was something that would be nutritious for the two boys.

As I pulled out the shrimp from the broiler, Terry came in.

He gently pulled me from behind for a hug and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “How was your day, my love?”

“Eh,” I said with a shrug as I put the tray down on the stove.

He frowned. “What’s wrong?”

It was nice that Terry actually cared about my day, and I was allowed to talk about my feelings and emotions. But there was still a nugget in the back of my mind saying that I should have asked Terry about his day first.

“Someone showed up at the door today. It was weird.”

Looking over at Eric, who was coloring at the island, I shook my head because I didn’t want to get into my feelings in front of him. It was something better to do behind closed doors. Besides, I was being dumb. But with Luke being released from prison and knowing Siobhan had a stalker, anyone showing up unannounced just freaked me out.

“Oh, let me check the ring camera,” he said before he looked at the camera for a little bit. Then, he frowned. “Hmm, I think I recognize her from the puck bunny scene. Weird that she would show up here. I never took anyone to this home. That was only something I did back in Cleveland.”

He seemed so nonchalant about it. Like it was something he had dealt with before.

Natalie’s warning to me rang out in my head. Terry was a playboy, and he loved sex. But it always felt so far-fetched until now.

“Are you sure?” I muttered.

He held my hand. “Absolutely, and I’m sorry. I hope it’s the last of them showing up, but you never know. Most people don’t know I live here. Only the ex-maids and dog sitters know, but I always change the code each time.”

I did one of those uncomfortable giggles. It was just too weird, and I was a little freaked out. For some reason, I thought it might tie back to my ex.

“As long as you swear you know her, and it wasn’t You-Know-Who.”

It was the first time I used his silly nickname for my ex, but it seemed appropriate. If I had known he would smile like a lunatic and get so excited by me using the same nickname, I would have used it sooner.

He gasped. “I’m not the only one calling him Lord Voldemort?”

I swatted at him, but this time, my giggle wasn’t out of discomfort but out of his childish humor.

I gave him the mom look.

He held his hands up and gave me a patented look that said, “I’m innocent,” but it was about as believable as Eddie Haskell fromLeave It To Beaver.

He came to me for one more hug. “I swear. If a girl showed up that I didn’t know, I’d go into protective dad mode so quickly that you wouldn’t know what happened. Don’t worry. We’re safe.”

That was the most reassuring thing to hear. He was one of the best dads out there, except when he plied Eric with buckets of sugar.

Chapter 29

Scuba

Ikeptlookingatmy watch while Eric took shots on the net. Every once in a while, I would say good shot or give him a tip so he wouldn’t think I was ignoring him, but my mind was elsewhere.

Tonight was the first time I was playing the Sound here in Vancouver. The last game was a loss, which sucked balls, but tonight, we would get revenge. It was late in the season, and games were ever more important in the standings. We were the two best teams in the league, and people were calling tonight’s game an early Stanley Cup matchup.

The game’s hype wasn’t what had me looking at my watch.

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