Page 133 of The Risk

Another grunt.

Swallowing a sigh, I enter the room and sit on the other end of the couch. Dad watches me warily but doesn’t say a word. He’s clearly waiting for me to start, so I do.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was seeing Jake Connelly.” I shrug awkwardly. “If it helps, I didn’t tell anyone.”

His jaw ticks. “Daryl Pedersen seemed to know.”

“He saw us together at Harvard once.”

Anger sharpens Dad’s features. “You’ve been around Pedersen?”

“Yes. I mean, no. Just one time, one conversation.”

My father goes silent for a long, tense moment. I can’t read his expression anymore, and I have no idea what’s going through his mind.

“I want you to stay away from that man,” he finally mutters.

“Dad—”

“I mean it, Brenna!” He raises his voice, and now his expression is easy to decode—bitter, cold, and disapproving. But what else is new? “Daryl Pedersen is a selfish prick. He was a dirty player, now he’s a dirty coach, and he has no honor, on or off the ice. Stay away from him.”

I shake my head in exasperation. “Dad. I don’t care about your stupid feud with Coach Pedersen, okay? I. Don’t. Care. It has nothing to do with me, and if you’re worried I’m hanging out with him in my spare time, I can assure you I’m not. Why would I? As for Jake—”

“Stay away from him, too,” Dad growls.

“Come on.” I exhale slowly. “Jake’s a good guy. What’s wrong with me seeing him?”

“I’m not doing this with you again.” He locks his gaze to mine. “I willnotwatch this happen again. We already did it with Eric—”

“Jake is not Eric. And our relationship is nothing like my relationship with Eric was. I wasfifteenwhen we started dating. And I was sixteen when—”

“We’re not going through it again!” he booms. “Do you hear me?”

“I hear you. But you’re not hearingme.” I rake my fingers through my hair, agitation rising inside me. “Jake is nothing like Eric. He’s smart, he’s disciplined, he doesn’t party. I swear, this guy is a generational talent, Dad. People will be talking about his career for decades to come. And he’s a good guy. He was with me the night I went to help Eric—”

“So that’s the friend you spent the night with?” Dad’s lips tighten. “And I suppose he’s the one you keep going to Boston to see? Is this why the HockeyNet internship fell through? Because your mind’s been so wrapped up in this guy that you didn’t properly prepare for your interviews?” He laughs humorlessly. “And you’re telling me this is nothing like it was with Eric?”

My jaw drops. “Is that a joke? I absolutely prepared for those interviews. I didn’t get the job because the man in charge thinks my sports knowledge iscute.” Anger heats my throat. “And yes, I stayed at Jake’s place that night, and I’m not apologizing for that.”

“Fine, then maybe you should go and spend a few more nights there,” Dad snaps back.

A second ticks by. Two. Three.

“Are you kicking me out?” I ask in amazement.

“No.” He shakes his head. “Actually, yes. If you’re determined to revert back to this bullshit high school behavior, where you stay out all night and throw your life away for another hockey player—”

“I’m not throwing my life away. Not only are you overreacting, but you’re being ridiculously irrational right now.”

“Irrational? You have no idea what it’s like to almost lose your child,” he spits out. “You have no idea, Brenna. And forgive me if I’m not feeling optimistic about this relationship with Connelly. You have a track record of making terrible decisions.”

I feel like I’ve been struck. My heart beats double time as I try to collect my thoughts. As I try to put into words why his accusations are such a slap in the face.

“Despite what you think, I’ve actually been making solid decisions,” I say bitterly. “I turned a miserable high school transcript around by going to community college, where I excelled. So much so that I was able to get into an Ivy League university, without you pulling strings, without anyone else’s help. How’s that for terrible decisions? But no, you refuse to acknowledge that I’ve grown up or matured. You want to keep thinking of me as the selfish teenager who lost her head over a guy? Then fine, keeping doing that.” I stand up on stiff legs. “I’ll get my stuff and leave.”

32

JAKE

---