Change of Heart Read Online Free PDF Page A

smile—Morgan has that effect on guys, even old ones.
    â€œHi, Wayne,” Morgan said breezily. “This is my friend Robyn.”
    Wayne nodded curtly at me.
    â€œThe guys are in the locker room, and that’s off-limits,” she said as she led me down a long corridor. “We’ll catch up with Sean after the game. I can’t wait to introduce you.” Her eyes gleamed with excitement. I remembered when her eyes used to sparkle like that at the thought of seeing Billy, and I felt sorry for him all over again.
    I hadn’t been inside the arena since elementary school, when I had taken skating lessons. The place sure looked different now. It was cleaner, less run-down. And it looked as if more improvements were planned. Scaffolding and construction materials were piled along one of the outer walls. But the people bustling in, pulling off hats and scarves and gloves, didn’t seem to care. Morgan was right about how good our seats were. We were in the first row, right near the center. Colin and Kevin Sloane had the seats next to us.
    While we waited for the game to begin, Morgan talked nonstop about Sean—how much fun he was, what a great hockey player he was, how smart he was, how his mom insisted that he keep up his grades in addition to playing hockey.
    â€œThat’s why he’s planning on going to college, even though he’s good enough to go pro,” Morgan said with obvious approval. “His mom made him promise that he would get an education. She doesn’t want him to be another dumb jock with nothing to fall back on if hockey doesn’t work out for him.”
    I glanced at Sean’s brothers. Colin was still trying to get enough credits to graduate. And Morgan had told me that Kevin had barely made it through high school. He was an assistant coach with a junior hockey team and worked part-time as a mechanic. They must have heard what Morgan said—quiet was not Morgan’s style—but neither of them appeared to take any offense.
    Morgan jumped to her feet and cheered when Sean and his team skated onto the ice. She waved at him, but he didn’t wave back. He was too busy fussing with his helmet.
    â€œIf you ask me, someone’s trying to sabotage the game,” Kevin Sloane muttered.
    â€œWhat do you mean?” Morgan said, alarmed.
    â€œSean’s helmet is missing. He looked everywhere for it.”
    â€œWhat’s wrong with the one he has on now?” Morgan said.
    â€œIt’s not his, that’s what’s wrong with it. You can see he doesn’t like it. A guy needs his own gear. You hand someone a piece of replacement equipment right before a game and it can throw him off. Someone stole Sean’s helmet. Someone’s trying to sabotage the game by sabotaging Sean.”
    The players took their positions on the ice. The referee dropped the puck, and the game started. And you know what? It turns out that even if you’re not a hockey enthusiast—and I’m not—it’s still exciting to be sitting up close and personal in an arena packed with diehard fans who are screaming for their team in a play-off game. Even I could see how good Sean was. He seemed to be wherever the puck was a split second before it got there. Of course, that meant he was constantly dogged, blocked, and checked by the players on the opposing team. But by the end of the first period the score was 2–0 for Sean’s team, and Sean had scored both goals.
    When the period ended, he yanked off his helmet. He looked angry. Colin and Kevin both muttered under their breath.
    Sean thrust the helmet at the referee. The ref handed it back. He and Sean got into an argument. Sean’s coach intervened, and Sean said something to him. The coach spoke to yet another guy, who then made his way toward the locker room. The ref crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for something. He was looking directly at Sean. Sean scowled at the replacement