Page 17 of No Pucks Given
Then I drove home.
I immediately went up to the guest room. I placed all the plushies on the bed in a mini mountain next to the pillows. Fromthere, I placed the bedding sets on the bed in a line in front of the plushies so Stephanie could choose the one that she liked best.
I stole the bulb from the old lamp on the nightstand, and it went straight into the new lamp, which I plugged in. Then I stuck the old lamp in the closet.
I went into the en suite bathroom and put the bath organizer next to the sink after removing the plastic wrapping. I wasn’t sure what to do with the extra soap container, so I just left it empty since it matched everything else. I placed the unicorn soap next to the set and smiled.
Everything was perfect for Stephanie. I went downstairs to the living room to relax until I got Siobhan’s call.
Chapter 17
Siobhan
Picking Stephanie up the next morning, I was freaked out. The headache from drinking too much didn’t help things. But after hiding the fact that I’ve been dating Carter for so long, it was time to introduce them to each other.
As much as I wanted to act like everything was fine and normal, it wasn’t.
Carter reached over and put his hand on my thigh as I parked the car in the driveway. He squeezed it lightly as he said, “It’s going to be okay."
I forced a smile. He was right. Everything would be okay in the long term. It just felt weird and scary. The police hadn’t been able to do much about the stalker, but we were told it was okay to remove the paint late last night.
At least Carter was beside me and was okay with meeting Stephanie under these circumstances. Hell, he demanded to come with me today. Who knew one little attack by a stalker would bring out the protector in him?
I hopped out of the SUV while Carter stayed by the car, doing his best impression of a bodyguard. As I neared the door, Stephanie skipped out with her backpack on.
As soon as she noticed Carter, she stopped dead in her tracks. “Who are you?”
Carter looked at me and gave me a subtle nod to encourage me. We decided we would be open and tell her the truth about everything. But we still had to get her ready for school, so I opened the car door while saying, “This is my boyfriend, Carter.”
Stephanie tilted her head as she looked him up and down. I couldn’t tell what she thought of the idea that I was dating someone.
Finally, Stephanie said, “You have a boyfriend? Why didn’t you tell me that you had a boyfriend? I’ve met Daddy’s girlfriend. She’s nice.”
I shook my head. This wasn’t a conversation I really wanted to have. Besides, she still had to go to school, and she was stalling. “Get buckled up. You’re going to be late.”
Ushering Stephanie into the car felt like a monumental task since she was firmly planted, staring at Carter. I was about to give her a push into the car when Carter got into the passenger seat, but left the car door open. “It’s nice to meet you, Stephanie. Your mom always brags about how smart you are and how much you love school. Let’s listen to your mom and get in the car. There will be so much time for us to get to know each other.”
Stephanie had the widest smile as she tossed her book bag into the space between the seats. She hopped into the car and started to buckle herself up. I was relieved that Carter intervened.
I got into the SUV. Once I started the car, Stephanie asked, “Did you get the mean words off our house?”
“Not yet,” I said with some sadness. I hated that she clocked how vile being called a slut and a whore was.
Thanks to the girls’ night, we hadn’t had time to work on fixing the house. Unfortunately, after dropping Stephanie off at school, I had to go to hair and makeup. There was no time to do it, and I dreaded going back to the house to even clean it off.
Carter reached over and squeezed my thigh. He must have known how upset I was about going back home, even if it was just to grab some of my belongings, and that simple touch felt so reassuring. Then, he opened up his mouth “Don’t worry. I’ve already talked to the fellas. A few of my teammates are going to help with the removal after we get you dropped off.”
That was news to me, but I appreciated the gesture. I wanted to tell him that he didn’t have to do it. But it needed to be removed sooner rather than later.
Stephanie spoke up from the backseat, “You’re dropping Mom off at work?”
“Yes. Until the police find out who wrote those nasty messages, I’m going to be around quite a bit. Plus, I’m hoping that you will stay at my place. That way, both of you stay nice and safe.” He turned around in the car seat and probably gave her one of his Captain America smiles. “Is that okay with you?”
That was not the way I expected to have the chat with Stephanie about everything. But it wasn’t the worst way either. Hopefully, it didn’t freak Stephanie out.
“Yeah. Does that mean we get to go to your games? Mom loves watching you play.”
A blush climbed up my neck. I hated that Stephanie was coming on so strongly and outing my love of hockey to one of my favorite hockey players. Carter knew I liked hockey, but not that I liked him before we met. Thankfully, he didn’t say anythingabout the blushing. Instead, he said, “Sure, but only if your mom says it’s okay. She’s the boss."
