Page 8 of A Little Puck Luck

“Yeah, but we gotta talk after the video session.”

I just hoped he knew I meant just the two of us.

My focus was awful. Thankfully, the guys only gave me a little bit of shit about it.

As much as we hated to admit it, we all had off days. Today was mine.

The important thing was it had to be my last bad day. I could not let this turn into a streak of terrible play and focus. Thankfully, I should be able to fix everything. The sooner I connected with Eric, the sooner I could get my focus back.

I wasn’t able to talk to Spencer at practice since he never left Carter’s side.

As soon as I sat in the car and saw my phone was connected to the Bluetooth, I said, “Call Jetski.”

The car did its magic by ringing up my teammate and son’s current guardian.

My son’s current guardian. How fucked up was that?

I was living in the same fucking city, yet I didn’t even know about my son or have custody over him.

“Yo. What’s up?”

The nerves built up, and I figured the best thing to do was to come straight out with it. “Can I stop by your house today?”

I tapped the steering wheel. He couldn’t answer me soon enough. Not like I wasn’t already driving his way. But I had no clue what I would do if he didn’t let me come over.

“Sure, but I have company.”

As if we didn’t all know that. Hell, I didn’t even care if he slept with our personal assistant while I was over. I just wanted to see Eric and try to get to know my kid.

“I know. It’s him that I want to talk to. Hopefully, Annie might have warned you that I would be calling.”

“Sure, come on over. I’m glad that you know. I’ve been wanting to tell you since shit went down.”

How much did he know, and why hadn’t he told me? Why would he hide my own kid from me? I could forgive him if he did it because he was trying to protect the kid.

I scoffed. “What the hell happened? She didn’t tell me much other than that Eric is my son and that he likes hockey.”

Spencer chuckled. “Dude, you have no idea. Get ready for some mini sticks and to be peppered with questions.”

I wasn’t pissed that he focused on the last thing I said. He gave me more information about my kid, and at this point, I was desperate for any information. Hearing Eric was like me at that age made me realize I still had some influence on my kid even if I hadn’t been in his life.

I made the turn toward Spencer’s place. That’s when I saw his SUV a couple of car lengths ahead of mine.

“Hey, I have an idea. We won’t tell Nat, and it will make the kid’s day. Bring over a pizza. Maybe some ice cream.”

I snorted. There was something to be said about coming with gifts in hand. Especially when the food in question was totally kid-friendly and not on our diet plan. It was a great idea.

One night of greasy carbs wouldn’t completely fuck with our systems. It would be fine.

“Okay. What type of toppings do you suggest?”

I was pretty sure if this were my kid, he would adore something like fudge chocolate chip ice cream. The more decadent, the better. But the pizza toppings had me stumped since I didn’t think most kids liked a crap ton of meats, but plain cheese was so boring.

“Pretty much anything but anchovies, artichokes, and pineapple. But I vote for something like sausage or pepperoni.”

That was so damn random. Who would let a kid eat those three things on a pizza? Okay, maybe the pineapple, but the other two toppings were a hell no.

The way he said it, I had to ask, “Who the hell thought anchovies or artichokes would be good for a kid?”

---