Page 6 of A Little Puck Luck

Hell, if anything, wouldn’t it be better and easier to just say, “Yeah, that kid is yours.” She got pregnant right as I got drafted, and since I went in the first round, we both knew I was going to be playing sooner rather than later. Which meant I would be able to support our kid.

I attempted to make contact so many damn times. Why didn’t her dad tell me the truth?

No, he would just say he hadn’t heard from her. But that part I still believed since he would always ask what I heard and always sounded as heartbroken as I was.

“Enough of the lies. You and your parents told me that you lost the kid, so I’m trying to figure out what the hell is going on and why my kid is living with a teammate.”

There, I said it, and it came out a little bit more angry than I ever thought I would be when I reconnected with Annie. Over the last seven years, there were so many different things I was going to say to her. But realizing that we had a son together and she didn’t tell me trumped any proclamations of love.

Annie didn’t even try to look me in the eyes. Nope, she looked away and said in a broken voice, “Because I thought it was easier this way.”

There was a part of me that wanted to point out that if things were easier, then why the hell was she lying in a hospital room? I paced since I needed to calm myself before I said something stupid. This wasn’t a normal thing.

“How can I get to know my son? You already took six years away from me. Does he even know about me? Do I need to get my lawyer involved?”

It was a barrage of questions, but they all seemed fair. For as pissed as I was, I was pretty levelheaded.

Chapter 5

Annette

Itwasweirdhearingthe nickname Annie again. Terry and my dad were the only people who called me Annie. Everyone else used my full name.

Terry asked so many questions all at once, and it was clear he wasn’t going to take no as an answer to anything.

When he mentioned his lawyer, that scared me shitless. Even though I had no plans to go back to Luke, his place was my last known residence. That’s where they would serve the papers, and Luke might come and try to find me. Besides, we both knew the truth. Eric was his kid.

“Please, no lawyers.”

My voice sounded so pathetic, but the very idea of paying for lawyers on top of everything else right now was too much to bear. I hoped that I could reach through to him.

He stopped pacing and sat next to me, but his eyes never left mine.

“So how do I get to properly know my kid? Do I get to be called Dad?”

Terry might act like he didn’t have a care in the world, but he was selective with his language. The fact that he didn’t ask about meeting Eric meant they likely met earlier.

“When did you meet Eric?”

He slammed his fist onto the chair, making me jump.

I chided myself for reacting.

Not everyone is out to get you. You can’t jump at everything.

But you’re broken right now; it’s okay to have a fear response.

It must have been a bigger jump than I meant since he immediately touched my leg. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you jump. But please just be straight with me and don’t try to switch the topic all the time.”

His touch was electric. The chemistry we had when we were kids was still there, which was crazy, especially since he was justifiably angry with me.

I took in a couple of breaths and tried to focus, but my headache and the nerves of being in front of Terry made it nearly impossible.

“How much do you want to be in Eric’s life, and do you still need a dog walker?”

His answers would dictate everything. I might be shooting a really long shot, but if he wanted to be in our lives…

“A dog walker?”

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