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Right there in the front was a pink-haired bombshell jumping up and down and getting the crowd amped up. Elias whistled low under his breath.
Tate groaned and looked at us.
"She's ours."
Hell yes she is.
"Knew you'd agree," I said with a laugh. "Let’s get out there and show her what winners look like. Best shot of the night gets to ask her out first."
"I'll kill you," Coach Slade's voice hissed behind us.
We didn't bother to look back, cracking up as we moved into position and started the game.
I'd be winning this one.
There was no way I wasn't ending this night without a date with the coach's daughter, consequences be damned.
ChapterFour
Macy
The entire house smelled like a bakery when I walked in, Mom's humming filtering down the hall before the mixer kicked on.
"Cookies or cake?" I questioned as I walked in. She turned to me, wooden spoon in hand, and started belting out the chorus to “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” before answering.
"Neither. I found a recipe for apple pie bars and I'm testing it out," she said. On Saturdays, she ran a booth at the Haven's Crossing Farmers Market. She didn't do it for money but the love of baking. It gave her some extra spending money and Dad didn't mind helping her lug all the bins of baked goods to the market at the crack of dawn.
"Well, your taste tester is here, reporting for duty," I said, giving her a mock salute. Mom chuckled and rolled her sky-blue eyes.
"Better than your dad. I've single-handedly raised his blood pressure." She snorted as she stopped the mixer and scraped the sides of the bowl. The scent of brown sugar and cinnamon filled the air and I was already salivating.
"Did you know he hung that picture of me in the rink?" I demanded. She looked at me with an evil grin then cackled like a witch. "Ugh, Mom, why?!"
"It's so cute! Dad loves it and so do I," she protested, waving her spoon at me as if daring me to argue. "Make yourself useful and work on the crumble."
A bowl was shoved unceremoniously at me before she danced away, working on the apples bubbling on the stove. Soft footsteps sounded and I watched as Dad crept in while her back was turned, grabbing a drink from the fridge and sending me a wink before backing away.
She had a new victim to torture and he was taking full advantage of it.
"Now, how is working with the team?" she asked. "You doing alright, sweetie?"
Her forehead crinkled as she looked at me. Oh god, she was in full ‘mother hen’ mode now.
"It's great. The guys seem like fun to be around and the work isn't bad at all. I'm enjoying it," I admitted. "The guys don't bother me. They're not like him."
"Fuck him," Mom seethed. "I can't believe he did all that."
They never liked him. I knew that from the beginning but you can't convince someone their new love is a shit human.
"I feel so stupid. It's my fault for letting it get to that point. He would say terrible stuff when we fought then he'd make it up to me and I'd convince myself he was just mad, he didn't mean it. Then I realized it was all about control. He saw me as his possession, not a person."
Mom dropped her spoon and came around the breakfast bar to stand next to me. I turned and she dropped her hands onto my shoulders, meeting my gaze.
"Macy Slade, your father and I raised you to be a confident, strong woman. And that is exactly what you are. You did get out and you don't plan to go back. You now get to start over, figure out how to proceed at your pace. Don't you dare blame yourself for his toxic behavior," she said vehemently.
"You're right, Mom," I agreed, a single tear tracking down my cheek. That was all it took for her to sniffle and hold me close, squeezing me in only a way a mom could. When she pulled away she hurried back to her baking and we both took a moment to recover.
A large hand landed on my shoulder and I looked behind me at my dad.
