Her expression was impossible to decipher as she considered me, but then she started to smile. “Well, I guess you’re going to lose.”
And with that, she walked away, taking all my hopes of a successful season with her.
Chapter 11Mackenzie
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Parker wanted me to be the Ransom Devils’ new goaltender. Fate had a messed-up sense of humor, considering he was a big part of the reason I was banned from playing hockey in the first place.
The idea was still circling endlessly in my head when I got home that afternoon. It was crazy, right? The thought of me playing for a boys’ team. Max had always told me I could have held my own on his teams. And he knew better than anyone, seeing as I’d practiced with him for countless hours over the years. But suiting up for the reigning state champions in a competitive game was a little different than one-on-one pond hockey with your older brother.
I knew if I told Max about Parker’s suggestion, he’d tell me to go for it. But unfortunately, even if I wanted to consider it, I couldn’t. Not when my dad refused to let me play, and he was the one running the team.
Maybe that was for the best. It would make it easier to forget the whole thing. It didn’t matter what I wanted; it could never happen.
“Tessa, I’m home,” I called at our front door. Despite my traumatic experience with school transport before the science trip today, I’d taken the bus home.
“Hi, Kenzie. How was school?”
I followed my stepmom’s voice to the living room andfound her peeking out from inside a blanket fort she’d built with my little sisters.
“Boring,” I said with a laugh. “You’ve clearly been having much more fun here.” I dropped my bag on the floor and knelt to look inside the fort. Both my sisters were huddled together under the blanket, along with almost every doll and stuffed toy they’d brought with us to Ransom.
“We’re hiding from the dragon,” Skye said in her most serious tone.
“It tried to eat my toes,” Daisy cried.
“See, it hasn’t been all fun and games,” Tessa added with a smile. “I need to start dinner. Can you take over for me? I’m guarding the entrance.”
I laughed and nodded before taking her place just inside the makeshift door of the fort.
“Be careful!” Daisy squealed at her mom.
“I will!” she called back.
I made myself as comfortable as I could on one of the cushions under the tent-like structure, which was pretty much just a blanket stretched over two chairs. It sagged in the middle, so I had to crouch low to stop my head from hitting the roof. One wrong move and I was sure it would all come crashing down.
“Did you see the dragon out there, Kenzie?” Skye asked.
“No, but perhaps he’s hiding somewhere else. Like his lair.”
“What about at school?” Skye continued. “Is there a dragon there?”
“Kind of.” I leaned in close. “His name is Parker. He’s big and scary and breathes fire if you look at him the wrong way.”
My sisters both gasped, their mouths hanging open, and I wondered if I’d scared them too much.
“Was he there today?”
“He was.”
“And did you run away from him?”
“No.” As if I’d give him the satisfaction.
“Why not?”
“Because being brave means standing your ground and refusing to let the dragon scare you off. Besides, I’m a Foster, and we’re not afraid of anything. The dragons should be scared of us.”
The girls’ eyes lit up, like they were little soldiers and I’d just delivered a rousing battle cry.
