Page 47 of A Little Puck Luck

That got both me and Terry giggling. I stepped in and gave him a hug and a kiss. “Sleep well.”

Next, Terry stepped to the side of the Zamboni-style bed and gave his son a tight hug and a kiss on the forehead before he tucked the blankets tightly around him. “Night.”

We walked out of Eric’s bedroom, and when I got downstairs, I felt like I could finally let my mask down. The plastered-on smile I kept on all night could finally fall.

I collapsed on the floor, wanting to cry, but the tears weren’t coming out. Instead, I just held my head in my hands and tried to control the rising panic attack. I had no idea how the hell to handle Luke trying to sue for custody and how the hell Terry knew about the lawsuit so quickly.

I couldn’t afford a lawyer, and I was scared shitless.

Terry scooped me into his embrace and let me dry heave on his chest. He held me tight, and it felt like home.

“It’s going to be okay, my love,” he said soothingly.

But it didn’t feel like it was going to be okay. I couldn’t lose my son. It was too much. Even worse than any beating Luke could have given me.

When I continued to heave, he added, “We’re going to fight this.”

I looked up at him. I had to put all these complex feelings whirling around my brain into words.

After a couple of moments, I finally said, “I don’t want to use your money. I need to stop treating you as my savior. You even knew about the lawsuit before I did.”

“That’s because I talked to my lawyer earlier today when I realized that girl showed up on the porch again. He was able to figure out that they were trying to serve papers.” He lifted my chin slightly, and his eyes softened some when he said, “You and Eric are the loves of my life. I will do anything for the two of you, and that means fighting bullshit lawsuits that will get tossed.”

It made me feel slightly better.

He squeezed me tighter and continued, “I hate to add more pressure on you, but I want to tell the world that Eric’s my kid. It’s only a matter of time before one of the sites breaks the news about the lawsuit and Eric. And I would rather control the narrative as much as I can. That way, I can protect both of you.”

Oh shit.

Everything was going to come out. We’ve been in the perfect bubble all this while, but I understood where he was coming from.

“Can I stay private? I’m still scared Luke will physically come after me, especially if we beat him in a court.”

“Of course,” Terry replied comfortingly.

Chapter 37

Scuba

Ilookedintotherearview mirror to get a glimpse of Eric’s expression. Everything about today’s plans depended on Eric’s reaction to my idea. Okay, not everything. The trip to get pancakes would still happen.

Pretending I wasn’t nervous, I kept my voice light. “How would you feel if we were to get your mom a ring?”

Eric’s face lit up. He was so damn expressive, and I loved it. Now that he was settling in, it was seldom that I didn’t have a clue what was going on in his mind.

“Are you going to propose to her for real?” Eric asked excitedly.

I was so glad he knew exactly what I meant by getting a ring, but I was distracted by his statement.

My brow arched up. What was he talking about?

“What do you mean by propose for real?”

Eric looked toward the roadside, and I didn’t have a clear view of his face, but he sighed heavily. “When my mom was in the hospital, I helped Mr. Spencer pick out a ring for Miss Natalie, but she wouldn’t allow him to propose until next year.”

I chuckled. I had no clue that he wasn’t allowed to propose. Sure, they were absolutely besotted with each other, but they had just started to hook up. I loved hearing how she was a hard ass for him too.

After all these years, I had no intention of waiting to propose. Hell, I had no intention of really taking the time to be engaged. If I had it my way, by the end of the season, I’d be married.

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