True Love and Other Disasters Read Online Free PDF Page A

she walked into the room. She recognized most of the men sitting at the long table from Virgil’s funeral. “Hello,” she said as she made her way to a vacant chair in the middle. “I hope I haven’t kept you all waiting,” she added, even though she knew she was right on time.
    “Not at all.” General manager Darby Hogue stood and offered his hand across the table. His brown eyes were as warm as his palm. “How are you doing?”
    “Better.” Which wasn’t necessarily true. She missed Virgil every day, and there was a large hole in her heart. “Thank you for asking.”
    Darby reintroduced everyone in the room, starting with executive management, continuing around the table to include the hockey operations staff and concluding with the big captain of the Chinooks sitting at the far end of the table. Roughly eight men and her. Some of them more rough than others. Or rather, one more rough than the others.
    The last time she’d seen Ty Savage, he’d appeared more civilized, in his designer suit. Todayhis volatile blue-on-blue eyes looked across at her from beneath his black brows, and he didn’t look civilized at all. His arms were folded across his muscular chest covered in a white T-shirt. The words “Chinooks Hockey” were printed in black up one of the long sleeves. It was just after noon and he already sported a five-o’clock shadow. “Hello, Mr. Savage.” Why the captain of the team needed to be in on the meeting, she didn’t know. Although she supposed it didn’t matter.
    One corner of his mouth lifted, like she’d amused him. “Mrs. Duffy.”
    She set her clutch on the table and took off her coat. One of the coaches rose and helped her. “Thank you,” she said as he hung it on the back of her chair. She pulled down the long sleeves of her cream angora sweater to cover her wrists and directed her attention to the faces around her. “My late husband loved this organization. He loved hockey and used to talk about trades and averages against and front-end deals. I’d listen to him for hours, but I never had any idea what he was talking about.”
    She smoothed the back of her skirt and sat. “That’s why I’ve decided to sell the team to someone who has the same passion for the game as Virgil.” A lump formed in her throat and she wondered yet again if she was doing the right thing. She wished she were certain. “A half hourago, Landon Duffy signed a letter of intent to buy the franchise.” She expected applause. Something. She looked across at the table for some sign of relief, but oddly, she didn’t see any. “When the sale is final, we’ll hold a press conference.”
    “When will that be?” Coach Nystrom asked.
    “A few weeks.” She folded her hands on the table in front of her. “Landon assures us that nothing will change.”
    Someone farther down the table said, “We heard he’s thinking of moving the team.”
    Faith had not heard that. If it happened, Virgil would roll over in his grave. “When did you hear this?”
    “I got a call this morning from Sports Center asking to confirm it.”
    “He didn’t mention it, so I assume he plans to leave the team here in Seattle.” She shook her head. “Why would he move the team?”
    “Money,” Darby explained. “We’re still recovering from the lockout, and another city might offer him a new stadium with better concession deals and lower labor costs. A new city might give him more lucrative television contracts and better tax incentives.”
    A frown creased Faith’s forehead and she sat back in her chair. She knew about the 2004–2005 NHL lockout. She and Virgil had been married a short time, and she remembered him flying offto meet with the players union, and the impasse that had resulted in the cancellation of the entire hockey season. She remembered a lot of swearing. Much worse than she’d ever heard in any strip club.
    The door to the conference room opened and Landon entered, followed by two lawyers. She wasn’t all