At one time Devon Canton and his two brothers were the talk of the NHL. Set to become the next superstars of the sport, they had lucrative contracts and numerous endorsements within their reach. Then the bottom fell out of their world and everything changed. Now struggling to make ends meet, they have been reduced to playing in the minor leagues. To make matters worse they all end up playing for the same dead-end team, the Battle Creek Hawks. Not only hasn’t the team won a game in three years, but their arena is falling down around them and in danger of being condemned. Then Devon and his brothers hit a new low when they get thrown out of their first game for getting into a knockdown, drag out brawl…with each other.
Battle Creek Times sports reporter, Saul Davis, knows the instant he see the three brothers beating the snot out of each other that he has a story. It only takes a little digging to find out how far the once promising hockey players have fallen. Intrigued, Saul tries to pin down Devon for an interview, only to be rudely rebuked. Unfortunately, for Devon, that only makes Saul more determined to get to the bottom of the story.
Then Saul finds out a shocking revelation about the brooding hockey player that could not only destroy the man’s reputation, but also ruin any chance of him ever playing on the professional level again. Saul knows he should go ahead and run the story, but as he finds himself growing closer to Devon, he discovers that his feelings for the other man are too strong to ignore. Then when a rival reporter finds out Devon’s secret, Saul realizes that he may have to make the most painful decision of all—his own journalism career or Devon.
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Offside Pass
Copyright © 2011 Stephani Hecht
ISBN: 978-1-55487-761-4
Cover art by Angela Waters
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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Smashwords Edition
Offside Pass
Blue Line Hockey Book One
By
Stephani Hecht
Dedication
To all the brave teens out there who aren’t afraid to stand up for the right to be themselves.
Chapter One
There could be no other way to look at it—Bran Flake arena was the worst pit he’d even laid eyes on. Since Devon suffered a lot of pits, that didn’t bode well for his new hockey career.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Chad exclaimed from the passenger seat.
Devon could pretend not to hear the question. Lord knows the situation would be believable given the engine on the ten-year old Ford truck sounded louder than a jet engine. Devon just knew that would mean he’d have to listen to Chad’s yammering later on though, so he decided they may as well rip the band aid off the wound and get it over with.
“Nope, this is it.”
Chad took off his knit hat, his brown hair spiking up in unruly cowlicks. He made a haphazard attempt to tame them as he blinked stupidly at the dump that housed their new team. He swallowed hard before glancing back at Devon. “This is bad. I mean really, really bad. Honestly, how much lower can we sink?”
Devon nodded, agreeing with his twin. They’d definitely hit rock bottom, then had somehow managed to dig down even deeper. The arena—and even calling that was a stretch—looked as if it’d been constructed in the fifties and never had any maintenance since.
The bleak gray exterior melted into the equally dreary winter Battle Creek skyline. The parking lot appeared to have been plowed with a halfhearted attempt, resulting in big piles of dirty snow littering the cracked asphalt. Several of the parking lot lights were broken.
The sign, naming the arena, was only half-lit, making it look as if the name were really AKEREN. One of the Es flickered widely, making it a real possibility the sign would soon read, AK REN.
Devon sighed. This is so not how he’d imagined his life going. He parked the car, then turned around and hit the lump perched on the narrow backseat of the truck. “Wake up. We’re here.”
Trey sat up, the coat he’d been using as a blanket falling. “Where?”
Devon and Chad exchanged eye rolls. Sometimes their younger brother acted every part of his blond hair, blue eyes. Devon forced down his irritation and patiently explained the maddeningly obvious. “We’re at our new arena.”