“Dinner?” I asked.
“We need to go out and celebrate, obviously,” she explained as Owen and I loaded our bags in her trunk. “How do you feel about pizza?”
I knew I should probably go home and face my dad, but I was somewhat terrified by the prospect. It didn’t sound nearly as fun as dinner with my friend.
“I love pizza,” I said.
“Excellent. We know the perfect place.”
I smiled. My dad could be mad at me later.
Jaz and Owen took me to a pizza bar called Nino’s. The food was amazing, and I was glad she’d convinced me to celebrate a little. It was also a good opportunity to spend time with Owen. He seemed like a really sweet guy, and now that I was semi-officially a Ransom Devil, it couldn’t hurt to get to know someplayers on the team other than Seth and Parker.
After a couple of hours loading up on pizza and ice cream and laughing with Jaz and her brother, my worries felt like a distant memory. Until the moment I got home.
As soon as I opened the front door and stepped inside, my dad looked out into the hallway from his office. “Get in here, Mackenzie. Now.”
I grimaced and quietly shut the door behind me, slowly making my way down the hallway. My sisters were already in bed, and Tessa was nowhere to be seen. There was no one to save me. Not even Mitts. But I’d got myself into this mess. With a deep breath, I stepped into the office.
My dad stood up from his desk when I entered the room, pressing his fists onto the tabletop as he leaned toward me. “What the hell were you thinking, Mackenzie? You deliberately deceived me, in front of all my players and the assistant coach. Don’t you understand the difficult position you’ve put me in?”
“I’m sorry, Dad, but—”
“You’resorry? You know this isn’t what I want for you,” he continued. “You gave me no choice but to allow you onto the team.”
“What about what I want?” I’d never really understood his reasons for being so resolutely against me playing hockey, and maybe I never would. But he was sorely mistaken if he thought I was just going to roll over and quit the team.
“It’s not about what you want, or what I want, it’s…” My dad paused, and his eyes fell to the desk as he shook his head. “You just shouldn’t have been out there today.”
“Why not?” I released a humorless laugh. “Seriously, whatis so wrong with me playing hockey?”
His eyes still avoided mine. “I’m just trying to protect you.”
“I’m not afraid of getting injured.”
“That’s not…” His voice trailed off.
“That’s not, what?” I demanded. When he stayed silent, I carried on. “You have three daughters, Dad. I would’ve thought you’d want the best for us. That you’d think we could do anything.”
“Youcando anything. Anything but hockey.”
“Well, it’s too late. I’m on the team now. You’ve given me three games to prove myself and that’s what I plan to do. I’m not fourteen anymore. I won’t let you take this away from me again.”
I turned to the door.
“We’re not done here, Mackenzie—”
But I’d already heard enough. I left without another word, my insides taut with frustration, disappointment, and anger. My dad had never been this annoyed with me before. Yet he still hadn’t told me I couldn’t play. He probably thought I’d drop out after one game, but I was ready to prove him wrong. Playing today had been everything I’d ever wanted, and now that I’d had a taste of being on a team, he’d have to drag me away from it kicking and screaming.
Chapter 14Mackenzie
I had one practice with the Ransom Devils before my first game.One.And it didn’t go well. I hadn’t played with my brother since last winter, so I was noticeably rusty. The guys on the team did little to help me shake off the cobwebs. Most of them seemed hesitant to shoot against me, which was a stark contrast from the way they had played in tryouts, before they knew I was a girl. Between that and the fact that I was the head coach’s daughter, I understood why they were acting that way. But it was incredibly frustrating.
On top of everything, my dad was refusing to talk to me. At practice he pretended like I wasn’t there. I’d been hoping to get just a little bit of direction; maybe some tips on how to improve or “keep up” as he had demanded. But the few words of advice I did receive were from Coach Rainer, and even he seemed more focused on Anderson. It was like they wanted me to fail.
I was actually shocked to hear my name when my dad announced the starting lineup for the game on Saturday night. A part of me had assumed he’d just let Anderson play. But then I wondered, was he genuinely giving me an opportunity to prove myself, or throwing me in at the deep end to watch me drown?
Our away game against the Suffolk High Sharks was a short bus ride from Ransom, at a rink a few towns over. The boysblasted music on the bus and the energy was high, but I was a nervous mess by the time we arrived, struggling to ignore the deep-seeded feeling that I wasn’t ready. That I needed more time. Training this week had left my body aching in places I didn’t know existed. And I’d tossed and turned the whole night before, picturing today’s game and the group of angry boys with hockey sticks who would be skating toward me hellbent on taking me down.
