Blazer Drive
Blazer Drive
Sigmund Brouwer
Orca Sports
Copyright © 2007 Sigmund Brouwer
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Brouwer, Sigmund, 1959-
Blazer drive / written by Sigmund Brouwer.
(Orca Sports)
Electronic Monograph
Issued also in print format.
ISBN 9781551437194 (pdf) -- ISBN 9781554695799 (epub)
1. Hockey stories, Canadian (English). 2. Ranch life--Juvenile fiction. I. Title.
PS8553.R68467B62 2007 jC813’.54 C2006-907032-6
Summary: When Josh, left-winger for the Kamloops Blazers, finds dead cattle on the family ranch, he might have more than a promising hockey career on the line.
First published in the United States, 2007
Library of Congress Control Number: 2006940590
Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program and the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.
Cover design: Doug McCaffry
Cover photography: Getty Images
Author photo: Bill Bilsley
In Canada:
Orca Book Publishers
PO Box 5626, Station B
Victoria, BC Canada
V8R 6S4
In the United States:
Orca Book Publishers
PO Box 468
Custer, WA USA
98240-0468
www.orcabook.com
010 09 08 07 • 4 3 2 1
More Orca Sports novels by Sigmund Brouwer:
All-Star Pride
Cobra Strike
Rebel Glory
Tiger Threat
Titan Clash
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
About the Author
Chapter One
Because of a cowgirl named Stephanie Becker, I ended up wondering which would kill me first—a charging bull or a man with a rifle. But that was on a cold moonlit night in the mountains, long after we first met.
All of it really began ten months earlier at the end of the hockey season, when I saw her at an awards dinner for the Kamloops Blazers hockey team. I’ll tell you right now, it wasn’t the way I wanted to meet a beautiful girl.
It was one of those dinners with about five hundred people in a big hotel room used for wedding dances. The lights were low except for the spotlight on the stage. The man behind the microphone started, “This year’s Most Valuable Player award goes to—”
The announcer wore a tuxedo that didn’t hide his big belly. He spoke in the kind of low voice that people use when you know they love to hear themselves talk. He dragged out the suspense.
“Yes, folks, it’s our final award of the evening. The one we’ve been waiting for. The award goes to—”
He tried to add more suspense. Not that I felt any. Everyone knew the best player on our team was Luke Zannetti. He’d scored 212 points and led us to the Memorial Cup championship. Nobody liked him, but he didn’t care. He didn’t need to care. He had already been drafted by the Montreal Canadiens, a team in the National Hockey League. That was one step up from our Tier One junior hockey team in the Western Hockey League. Of course being drafteddidn’t guarantee he’d make the team. But the way Luke had been scoring, everyone was sure he’d be playing for the Canadiens some day.
“Hey, Louie,” someone shouted from the crowd, “hurry up. Next season’s almost here.”
A bunch of people laughed.
Louie, whose face had the wrinkles of a bulldog, glared into the crowd. But the spotlight made it hard for him to see beyond the stage. As for me, I was watching a beautiful girl with long blond hair. She sat a few tables away, between me and the stage. I wondered who she was. Even though I didn’t know her name, I knew if she’d just look over and smile, I would ask her to marry me.
On the stage, Louie cleared his throat, hitched his pants and finished. “The MVP award goes to the left winger, number 17—”
Applause started as people heard the number. I frowned. That wasn’t Luke’s number. It was—”—yes, folks. Let’s hear it for seventeen-year-old Josh Ellroy!”
I knew that name. I couldn’t believe it. But I knew it. It was my name.
“Hey, goofball.” Gordie Penn, sitting beside me, elbowed my ribs. He elbows a lot of people but usually on the ice during hockey games. “Stand up. You’re a star.”
“Huh?” I’d won the M V P over Luke Zannetti?
He elbowed me again. “Come on, Cowboy. Stand up. People are staring.”
I stood. People were not only staring at me, they were clapping. Somehow, with all those eyes on me, I had to get to the stage without tripping.
“Cowboy!” Gordie said. “Your coat!”
My sports coat was still on my chair. I’d taken it off because it was too hot. I didn’t stop to put it on, though. I was too scared to think straight.
“Atta boy, Cowboy,” Dougie Metcalf called above the noise from another table. “You worked for it!”
Dougie was the center on my line. He’d helped me score 190 points. I tried to say something back to him, but my voice wouldn’t even squeak. Nervousness and a dry throat do that to a person.
I stepped toward the stage. It seemed like I was moving in another person’s body. A body with rubber legs. Up on the stage, I’d be standing in front of five hundred people. I’d have to speak in front of five hundred people.
The spotlight was on my face and chest as I walked ahead. It was so bright I could barely see a path. To pack everyone into the room, the round tables were squeezed close together with eight chairs around each. With the meals finished and people sitting back in their chairs, I had to turn sideways to get between the two tables ahead of me.
The clapping got louder. Sweat ran down my ribs from my armpits. This was a lot scarier than going into sudden-death overtime in a crowded arena.
I took another rubbery step. I’d have to squeeze between two more pairs of tables. At one sat the beautiful girl with long blond hair. Only in my dreams would I be able to say something cool to her as I walked by. Iwas so scared I’d barely be able to spit out my name.
More clapping. Some whistling. It hit me. Not only would I have to say something when I got the award, but there would also be a photographer from the newspaper. Did I look all right?
As I stumbled ahead, I smoothed my hair with my hands. I ran my tongue over my teeth checking for bits of food. I tightened my tie. There would be five hundred people watching
me.
Five hundred.
I turned sideways and slipped between the next two tables.
“Hey, Ellroy,” a man at one table said, “I voted for you.”
In my fear, I hadn’t noticed Pete Burrow, a sportswriter. In my fear, I didn’t even think to say thanks. I kept walking.
One last thing to check. My zipper. I hooked my thumbs in my belt and pretended to hitch up my pants. I hoped no one would notice that I reached with a finger for the top of my zipper to make sure it was there.
I nearly fainted. All I felt was air. My zipper was open, and I was about to face five hundred people. I didn’t even have a sports coat to cover myself up with.
But I couldn’t do a thing. The spotlight was all over me. I wasn’t going to stop in plain view of everyone and zip up.
I had an idea. The blond girl’s table was ahead of me. As I turned sideways to get past her table, I could turn my back to the spotlight. That way no one would see me quickly yank my zipper into place.
I could rush the length of the ice in under a second, but this trip to the stage was taking forever. Finally I reached the last set of tables—and the beautiful girl with long blond hair.
Her perfume reached my nose. So much for being a cool hero. Instead I was an idiot with an open fly.
I turned sideways, facing the back of her chair. The spotlight was finally off my face. I tried to time it right. I zipped quickly as I kept moving sideways. I stumbled a bit as I turned toward the spotlight again, almost tripping.I took another step. I heard a yelp behind me, but I couldn’t stop to see what had happened. Not with everyone staring at me. Maybe I’d stepped on someone’s foot and in my nervousness didn’t feel it. I hoped it wasn’t the girl’s foot.
Finally I reached the steps to the stage. The guy in the tuxedo grinned at me. A weird grin. Did he think I would trip as I walked up the steps? Somehow I made it up the steps. I moved across the stage and shook hands with Mr. Tuxedo. Then I faced the crowd. Just me, a microphone, and the MVP trophy in my right hand.
All I saw were the outlines and shadows of lots of people.
“This is a, um, big surprise,” I said. I stopped. I didn’t know what else to say.
“I’ll say it’s a surprise,” someone yelled. Probably the same guy who had yelled at the announcer earlier. “Look down!”
Laughter started from somewhere, like a little wave from the back. It grew louder.
I told myself I had zipped my fly. I took a quick peek down anyway. And nearly died.
All I could see was blond hair. The blond hair of a wig. Caught in my zipper in front of five hundred people.
Blond hair.
I looked over at the girl’s table. She wasn’t there. In the shadows at the back, I saw someone run out of the room holding a program over her head.
She had been wearing a wig? The wig that was now stuck in my zipper?
I tried to smile at the five hundred people. I couldn’t imagine how this could get worse.
I yanked at the wig. It didn’t budge. I yanked harder. I heard a rip that echoed across the room through the microphone.
It had just gotten worse. Not only was the wig still stuck, but now I had ripped the seam of my pants.
Finally someone had the sense to shut the spotlight off. I walked off the stage with laughter roaring all around me.
And that was only the beginning of my problems with Stephanie.
Chapter Two
For the next ten months, every time I looked at my MVP award I wanted to call her to say I was sorry. But I didn’t know her name. We had never met. We didn’t go to the same high school. And she probably hated me. I figured it would be crazy to call.
Besides, what would I say? Sorry I pulled your wig off in front of five hundred people? Sorry I let it hang from my zipper? And by the way, why were you wearing a stupid wig in the first place?
So, day after day, whenever I thought of the awards dinner, I tried to think of hockey instead.
That should have been easy.
At the end of last season, I’d been a draft pick for the Buffalo Sabres, a National Hockey League team. By drafting me, they had secured the rights to me as a player. But it didn’t mean I’d automatically make the team.
To improve my chances to play pro hockey, I wanted to be heavier and stronger. So each summer day after working on my dad’s cattle ranch, I pumped weights and dreamed about playing for the Sabres.
Training camp for the Kamloops Blazers started late in August. I moved back into town from the ranch to play hockey. After that came the regular season. We practiced or played hockey almost every day through the fall and winter. Toward the end of the season, the team was in a tight race for first place. I was also in a tight race for leading scorer in the league. Luke Zannetti, who was playing bad and had hardly scored in two months, wasn’t even in the race. What else was there to think about?
Some girl with blond hair who probably hated me, that’s what.
I mean, I tried to fool myself. I told myself I didn’t care. But it bugged me that I never had a chance to say I was sorry. I found myself looking for her in the places I went in Kamloops. If I saw someone with blond hair on the street or in a shopping mall, I’d hope it was her.
But in ten months, I never did find her.
She found me.
Chapter Three
It was during a hockey practice on an afternoon in February. Half the team played against the other half. Red jerseys against blue. There were ten minutes left in the game. I wore a red jersey. Skating along the boards, I tried to get the puck from my friend Gordie Penn, who wore blue.
He elbowed my head.
“Hey,” I said, pushing him against the boards. I mushed his head into the Plexiglas. “This is practice!”
“Just trying to look good,” he said. He grunted and pushed me off him. “There’s a babe watching us. Take a look.”
“Not now,” I said, pushing him back into the boards. “I’m busy.”
“Busy?” he panted.
“Yup. Busy making you look bad.” I kicked the puck away from him and chased it.
Gordie grabbed my sweater and hung on as I dragged him. It didn’t bother me. I’d added a lot of bulk from working out with weights all summer.
Ten steps ahead, Luke Zannetti was almost open for a pass. There was only one defenseman between us. Gordie was laughing as he hung on to my sweater. But I knew if I took one more big step, I’d be able to flick the puck into the air and put it just in front of Luke.
Which I did.
It was a perfect pass. It should have sent him in all alone for an easy goal. Except when the puck hit Luke’s stick, he tripped. The puck kept going and Luke slid on his stomach. It was the kind of sloppy hockey he’d been playing for the last couple of months.
Everyone on the ice laughed at him.
Coach Price blew the whistle and told us to take a breather.
It took Luke a few minutes to get up.
I skated over to him, taking off my helmet to get some fresh air.
“Next time,” I said, “I’ll slow my pass down. Hate to knock you over like that.”
I was joking. I thought Zannetti could tell I was joking. We weren’t friends or anything. Luke didn’t have any friends. Still, because I was smiling, I thought he could see I was just kidding.
Instead of laughing, he dropped his gloves and swung at me.
His fist hit me solidly on the side of my face. I fell to my knees. He jumped on my back and started pounding my head. It had happened so fast I didn’t have a chance.
It seemed like he pounded me for a long time before someone dragged him off of me.
I slowly got back to my feet. A couple of guys were holding him back. A couple of guys held me too. I wasn’t going to fight, though. Hockey is a team sport.
“What is going through your head?” I shouted. I could taste blood. I could also feel a marble-sized lump on my bottom lip. “If you can’t play hockey, don’t take it out on me!”
“Shut your mouth, Cowboy!” he shouted back. Luke’s eyes were wild. He was a little taller than me but not quite as heavy. A lot of girls liked him because he was good looking with dark wavy hair. Not many guys liked him because all he cared about was himself.
Coach Price skated between Zannetti and me. Coach Price had a buzz haircut and a bent nose. He was wide too. He had spent five years in the NHL as a defenseman before becoming our coach.
“Knock it off,” he barked.
“Coach, he—” I tried to say.
“Knock it off,” Coach told me. “I don’t want to hear a word.”
He turned to Zannetti. “And you know better. You’re the team captain.”
“But—” Zannetti tried to say.
“But nothing,” Coach Price said. “We’ll talk later.”
Coach spun on his skates and blew his whistle. “Five minutes of hard skating,” he said. “Fun time is over.”
Everyone groaned. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. That’s one of the good things about Coach Price. He doesn’t expect us to be silent robots. As long as we do what he tells us, we can kid around and he’ll kid back.
So we all started skating laps. Fast, then slow, depending on how many times he blasted his whistle. As we skated off the ice at the end of practice, I finally saw the girl Gordie had been talking about.
It was the blond girl from the awards dinner. She was standing near the exit off the ice. We all had to pass her to get to the dressing room. Her light hair was a lot shorter than the blond wig, but it was the same girl. I could hardly believe it.
I thought of my bleeding lip and how she had seen me get beat up. I felt like a fool.
One by one, the guys on the team passed her. She ignored them.
My turn came. I tried to look the other way as I stepped off the ice. Maybe she wouldn’t notice me.
It didn’t work.
“Are you Josh?” she asked.
A couple of the guys behind me hooted.
She frowned at them and they shut up.
Great. The first time we had met, I’d pulled her wig off. The second time, she’d watched me get beat up.
Blazer Drive Page 1