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Chapter 5

Annette

I t was weird hearing the 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?”

Maybe that call was a prank. No, it couldn’t be since Natalie said she only recommended me because I was good with dogs. Natalie wouldn’t prank me like that.

“You called me last week about needing a dog walker, but I was too afraid to call back. I’m hoping the job is still available since I need every penny possible to find a new place to live. I can take care of your dog, and you can get to know our son.”

I wanted to ask him for a place to stay, but I was too chicken. Maybe he could still read between the lines?

He looked at me.

“So that really was you. Nat didn’t give me a last name, but I hoped it might have been you.”

He was up and pacing again, but that was Terry. Always on the move and always doing something. As a kid, he swore he thought better when he was moving.

He shook his head and said, “I need to focus. Before I can even think about having you walk Walter, there needs to be a level of trust, and getting to know Eric would be the only way that could happen.”

That seemed fair, but I was still scared. What if I could never earn that trust?

Not that Eric wouldn’t react well. He had been dying to meet his real dad.

Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad of an idea, but part of me was scared of Luke’s reaction. Although, it was unlikely anything bad could happen since there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest, and the cops were holding him in jail.

“I understand. Admittedly, Eric would love it. He really looks up to you. You’re his favorite player, although that varies by the day.”

That stopped Terry’s fidgeting, hearing he was his kid’s favorite player most of the time. But it also meant asking the obvious question. “Is it because he knows I’m his real dad, or is it because I play for the Legacy?”

That was the million-dollar question for me most days. While hockey was always pretty off-limits and had to be done in secret, I wasn’t sure if Eric had put two and two together that Scuba was his dad, thanks to Luke’s temper tantrums.

“Mostly because you play hockey and score goals, but I think he suspects you might be his dad since things took a turn for the worse with my ex the moment you signed with the Legacy.”

Terry sucked on his bottom lip. It was an old habit of his whenever he was unsure of something, and I wanted to tell him to spit it out, but I was afraid to do so. So much could have changed since we talked six years ago.

That’s not the only reason you’re afraid.

It was going to take a long time before Luke and his angry reactions would stop living rent-free in my head.

Terry finally opened up again. “How do you want me to meet with Eric, and if it’s not too personal, what are you doing after you get out of here?”

A few minutes ago, I hoped that we could talk about my living situation since I was sure he would help me. But now that we were talking about it, I just felt ashamed. Because what was I thinking, going from one guy to another? My rushing things was how I got into this mess in the first place.

“I’m cool with anything. If you want to hang out with Eric since he’s with Spencer, you can. If you want to introduce yourself as Eric’s dad, that’s okay too. He knew my ex wasn’t his real dad. But as for after the hospital, I don’t know what Eric and I are going to do. I can’t go back to my ex’s place.”

“Well, you better not if he did that to you.”

Much to my surprise, he didn’t actually ask me to live with him.

I guess it showed how much trust I’d truly broken with him.

There was a cricket sound coming from Terry’s pocket, but he just silenced it and said, “Well, I better let you rest. I’ll be in contact soon.”