Wild Darling

The third installment in the Darling Devils series, set in the hockey-obsessed town of Ransom, follows Parker Darling and Mackenzie Foster as their rivalry gives way to reluctant teamwork and, eventually, romance.

The novel opens with a flashback to the summer before freshman year. Mackenzie, the daughter of famous former National Hockey League (NHL) player and hockey coach Wade Foster, has spent years convincing her overprotective father to let her play hockey. Her older brother Max supports her, but their father has never watched her play. When Wade adds a girls' team to his elite summer camp, Mackenzie finally gets her chance as a goaltender. One evening, she sneaks onto the rink after hours and encounters Parker Darling, a fellow camper who is also skating illegally after failing to impress Coach Foster during the day's session. The two agree to a one-on-one shootout with a playful bet: If Parker scores, he stays; if Mackenzie stops him, he leaves. She saves his best shot, and when the rink lights shut off, they kiss in the darkness. Wade catches them, expels Parker from camp permanently, and uses the incident to ban Mackenzie from playing hockey, declaring her immature and unserious. Both blame the other, and they part on bitter terms.

Three years later, Parker is a senior at Ransom High and the star center of the Ransom Devils hockey team. His older brothers, Reed and Grayson, have graduated and now play college hockey at nearby Ryker University, where Parker has secured a spot to join them. At the final preseason practice, he learns Coach Ray is out for the season following back surgery. His replacement is Wade Foster. Foster remembers Parker, addresses him only by his old jersey number, refuses to name a captain, and privately warns Parker to stay away from his daughter. That evening, Parker chases a hooded figure in the parking lot to return a set of dropped keys. The figure is Mackenzie, who has just moved to Ransom. Believing she is being mugged, she punches Parker in the face. They recognize each other with mutual dismay.

Mackenzie's first day goes poorly. Parker's truck splashes her with gutter water, and she befriends Jaz Cleaver, a warm senior who serves as her student guide. Parker's best friend, Seth Walker, spreads a fabricated story to explain Parker's bruised nose, and when Mackenzie tells classmates the truth, she is dismissed. Meanwhile, starting goalie Elliot Ford arrives on crutches, and backup goalie Freddy Anderson proves hopelessly inept. The Devils lose their opener 7–2 despite Parker scoring both goals. After the game, Mackenzie steals Parker's clothes and gear from the locker room as revenge. Forced to walk through the crowded arena foyer in a pink scarf from his sister Cammie, Parker drops it upon spotting Mackenzie and walks out naked. A photo goes viral, but it only enhances his reputation.

On a school field trip, Parker throws a foam ball at Mackenzie from across a museum exhibit. She snatches it without looking, confirming his suspicion that she retains elite reflexes. He asks her to try out as the Devils' new goalie. She refuses, pointing out the bitter irony: He is the reason she was banned from playing. That night, Parker climbs the trellis to her bedroom window and argues that joining the team would let her prove her father wrong while saving the Devils' season. Mackenzie's young sisters, Daisy and Skye, burst in growling at "the dragon," a name Mackenzie had used to describe Parker to them. She reluctantly agrees to consider trying out.

Parker smuggles Mackenzie into the goalie tryouts under the alias "Ken Manly." She outperforms every candidate, even saving Parker's best shot. When Foster announces the new goalie, Mackenzie removes her helmet and reveals herself. Parker and several teammates, including Seth and Owen Cleaver, Jaz's younger brother, defend her right to play. Foster grudgingly allows her to join on a three-game probationary basis but confronts her at home, furious at her deception.

Mackenzie's first game, against the Suffolk High Sharks, exposes her inexperience. Opponents taunt her relentlessly, and she tires as the game progresses. The Devils lose 5–2. Foster reprimands Parker for overriding the defensive scheme and repeats his warning. At a party afterward, Parker proposes secret early-morning training sessions, and Mackenzie reluctantly agrees. Their sessions transform her game: Parker drills her on rebound control and composure under pressure while she opens up about her life, including her mother's death when she was a baby and her stepmom Tessa's steadying presence. Physical tension builds, though Mackenzie refuses to act on it.

In the second game, against the Chargers, Mackenzie plays far better and Parker scores two goals, tying the game late. However, when a Chargers forward slams into Mackenzie after the whistle, Parker tackles the player and draws a roughing penalty. The Chargers score on the resulting power play to win 3–2.

After a day of pond hockey with the Darling brothers and Max, followed by dinner at the Darlings' home where Parker's mother Amy praises Mackenzie's courage, the two grow closer. That evening, Parker climbs to Mackenzie's window again. While unpacking a mislabeled box, Mackenzie discovers her late mother's hockey jersey bearing the number 33, a goalie mitt, and a team photograph revealing that her mother, Abigail Hollis, played goalie on a boys' team. Shaken that this was hidden from her, Mackenzie hides with Parker in the closet when her father approaches. In the dark, Parker confesses he cannot think clearly around her. Mackenzie kisses him but calls it a one-time mistake.

Parker rallies the team through bonding activities, including shared meals and friendship bracelets. He gives Mackenzie a bracelet inscribed "RWYA," meaning "Ready When You Are," telling her he will wait. Team chemistry improves dramatically. Mackenzie finally confronts her father with the photograph of her mother's hockey team. Wade reveals that Abigail was bullied so badly on the boys' team that she quit, and before dying she made him promise to protect Mackenzie from the same fate. Mackenzie argues she needs his support, not his protection. At a team party, Parker and Mackenzie share a kiss by a frozen lake, treating it as a goodbye to what they cannot be.

Before the homecoming game, Parker presents Mackenzie with an official Devils jersey bearing her name and her mother's number, 33. In the locker room, Elliot arrives with a photograph of Parker and Mackenzie kissing at the party, declaring she earned her spot through her relationship with Parker. Parker stands and tells the entire team he is in love with Mackenzie. His teammates rally behind her. Foster dismisses Elliot and places him on probation for attempted blackmail. He then turns to Mackenzie and apologizes, telling her that her mother would be proud. He removes her probation, names her a permanent member of the team, and announces Parker as captain.

The homecoming game against the Sunshine Hills Saints is fiercely contested. The second period ends tied 2–2. In the final seconds, a Saints forward breaks away on Mackenzie. She makes a sprawling save, controls the rebound exactly as Parker trained her, and flicks the puck to him at the boards. Rather than shoot, Parker passes to Owen, who fires the winning goal as the siren sounds. After the celebration, Parker kisses Mackenzie at center ice in front of the packed arena. They skate off together, no longer enemies or reluctant friends, but openly a couple.