Chasing the Puck (Sin Bin Stories, #2)

by Lyssa Lemire

“Yes, Daddy?” I answer. But there’s just silence on the other end. Until, after about two beats, I hear a sharp breath. Even though it’s just a breath, it doesn’t sound like my dad. “Hello?” I ask into the phone. There’s a cough on the other end. This time, I pick up a hint of the voice, and my chest catches as I seem to recognize it. Dread pools in my stomach, thinking that surely it can’t be … “Sorry. I just … I need a minute.”

My stomach drops. There’s no mistaking the voice. No mistaking who I’m on the phone with. I just called Tuck McCoy daddy. He takes another deep breath and lets it out in a long, drawn-out sigh. “Still need a minute here. To recover. I just didn’t think … I didn’t think we were at that point in our relationship yet.” I roll my eyes and groan. “Tuck, I …” “No, no,” he interrupts. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining. I’m really not complaining.” “I didn’t know it was you on the phone.” There’s another beat of silence. When he finally speaks again, his voice is low, rough and gravelly, with a sharp edge to it. “Who else are you calling daddy?” There’s an unmistakable undercurrent of jealousy in his voice—real jealousy. For some reason I’d rather not examine, it makes me feel a tingle low in my center. “Uh, my actual father,” I answer.

In case you were wondering, I haven’t stopped loving you since I wrote that first note this morning. In fact, I love you more. See the drawing below for proof. This time there are three hearts drawn below the message. The first one has this morning written under it. The second heart is bigger and has now written under it. The third is even bigger and has tomorrow written under it.

“Did you know that the human eye can see more shades of green than any other color?” he asks. “No,” I shake my head. “That fact feels like a gift from the universe to me. No matter what color your eyes were, I’d never get tired of looking at them. But the fact that every time I look in your eyes, I’ll see more shades, more specks of color, than I would in anyone else’s, that just feels like fate winking at me for falling for the right girl.”