Cruz’s lips folded inward under the mass of his beard. “Do what you want, man, but remember, sometimes you don’t get that second chance.”
This was about the woman he’d mentioned when we flew out to San Jose.Definitelysomething going on with him. He lifted his shaggy head, met my gaze, and gave a tiny shake.Not now, his eyes pleaded. Oh, I was getting to the bottom of Cruz’s issue. Most assuredly. But if he was that keen to keep it private, I’d respect his choice. For now.
“Good game,” Coach said as he breezed in. “Naese, your statistics tonight are top of the league. Very impressive. Your parents are in the office. They said they need to speak to you.”
My shoulders slumped. “Thanks, Coach.”
His eyes swept over me. “You have twenty minutes to get cleaned up and talk before I’ll need you for the presser.”
I nodded, giving him a thankful glance. He moved over to our goalies, who had huddled with Adam, our former goalie turned coach.
With a heaviness I shouldn’t feel after such a highlight reel of a game, I cleaned up. Then, feeling like each step brought me closer to doom, I headed toward the small guest coach’s office. As I entered, my mother jumped out of her chair and hugged me with an exclamation of joy. I patted her back once before I let my hands fall. She stepped back, her expression hurt.
“I told you I didn’t want to see you,” I said to my father.
My mother gasped, her hands to her chest. “You don’t mean that, Pax,” she cried.
“I do. Thanks to your meddling, I lost the best part of my life. Hana was hurt, nearly died.”
“And she doesn’t want you back,” my dad said with satisfaction as he leaned back in his chair.
I glared at him. “Is that why you’re here? To fish for information?”
I looked over at my mother, whose eyes were wide with shock. Clearly, she hadn’t been part of my father’s scheme.
That was something. Maybe.
“You horrible, piece of…” I pulled in a breath as Dad straightened, his mouth slack and eyes burning. I pinned him with my glare. “Don’t you dare involve yourself in my life. Ever. Again. As far as I’m concerned, you’re dead to me.”
My mother’s pained cry barely registered as my father rose. “You’d do that—pick that, that girl over your family?” he asked.
“You ceased to be my family when you created a vendetta against the only woman I’ll ever love. When you decided not to tell me Hana had been hurt, that Hana lost our baby, when you took away my choice to be there for her, to grieve with her. You took away my choices and pretended it was for my own good. Except you didn’t care that when you hurt her, you were hurting me, too. You knew that, and youstilldid this to us,” I hissed.
“Pax—”
“No, Mom. I don’t need a peacemaker. I need someone who actually cares about my feelings, my future.”
“I do,” Dad insisted. “That’s why I want you to steer clear of the Sato girl.”
I shook my head. “If you loved me, you’d want me to be happy. You’d want me to make my choices and live my life in the way that best suited me.” I turned to my mother. I took her hand and squeezed her trembling fingers. “Goodbye.”
I walked from the office with my head high.
“There are reasons you needed to break it off with her,” Dad called after me. I kept walking. “She’s not good for you, son.”
“Is he really spoutingthatsteaming pile?” Stolly asked as I joined him in the hallway. He took one look at my face, placed his hand on my shoulder, and squeezed. Then he moved forward into the office doorway. With a firm click, the door shut behind him, and Stol rained his riot act on my father’s head.
The guys surrounded me as if I were a wounded member of the pack.
“Thanks,” I said. “But I’m fine. Really.”
“Thought you might want to see this,” Maxim said. He started a video on his phone. Ida Jane, Millie, Keelie, Naomi, and Hana, all waved at the screen, yelling, “Go, Wildcatters!”
“She’s at the watch party,” Cormac said. He bumped my shoulder, offering the support I hadn’t realized I needed.
“Ida Jane just sent this one, too,” Maxim said. The next video popped up, and he handed me the phone.
“Tell me, truthfully now,” Naomi coaxed. She sipped from her margarita glass. “What do you want?”
