Page 11 of Blood on the Rocks

Chapter 6

“I just don’t getit!” Seraphina exclaimed to her sister. She threw her arms out, clearly exasperated, as her newly acquired team headed back to their designated locker room after the first period of the first preseason game. And Seraphina’s first official game as owner and manager of the Newport Beach Sea Gulls.

The game was predominantly filled with Seraphina watching plays and asking questions. Because she knew absolutely nothing about the sport save that it was filled with violence and the goal was to get more goals, she figured she would buy a Hockey for Dummies book when she got the chance and read it as fast as possible. She never followed through with that, but luckily her sister was dating the captain of the team so Katella knew a thing or two about the game. When the fight broke out between Matt Peters and Benson from the other team, Katella stopped in midsentence, biting her bottom lip. She looked both aroused and worried as her boyfriend of two years got into an amateur boxing match, and it took a few minutes before the fight was finally stopped and Katella resumed her explanations.

It wasn’t hard to pick up the gist of it, and by the time the end of the first period, she knew the basic concept of the game. There were a few calls she would have to learn more about – the difference between a slash and a spear being a big one – but she would get the hang of it. She had to.

One thing she did notice was the constant booing every time Brandon Thorpe made a save. “No, that has never happened before,” Katella told her sister.

“All because people automatically assume he killed Papa,” Seraphina muttered under her breath. “Don’t they realize that if I thought he actually killed my grandfather, he wouldn’t be playing for the team anymore?”

Katella opened her mouth as if to say something then appeared to think better of it, and closed it. Normally, Seraphina would have asked what her sister wanted to tell her, but she was too distracted by the fan’s reactions to Brandon Thorpe. Yes, the guy was kind of a douche, but that didn’t mean he actually killed her grandfather. If douchebaggery went hand-in-hand with murder, she would have to call the police and report a slew of ex-boyfriends. The weird thing was, if a player like Alec Schumacher or Kyle Underwood or Matt Peters or anyone else on the team cleared the puck during a power play or attempted to score, the crowd cheered. It was only Brandon’s interaction that prompted the booing.

Seraphina didn’t understand; wasn’t a sports team a unit? Didn’t fans support each and every player when they were on the ice, no matter what went on in their personal life? In essence, the fans here cheered for the team as a whole, but individualized Thorpe, as though he wasn’t actually the Gulls’ number one goalie. What hypocrisy.

And yet, Brandon played as though he couldn’t even hear the booing. He blocked those shots she felt certain would go in. He skated out to retrieve a stray puck when she was certain the opposing player would reach it before he did. He would angle his body in a way she wouldn’t have even thought could block a shot. He caught the puck, stopped it, and the rebounds he let bounce off his knees or his chest were minimal at best.

“Brandon Thorpe is a real beast,” her sister murmured under her breath.

“Has he always been this way?” Seraphina asked. Katella had been to every game since dating Matt. Maybe she didn’t know him, exactly, but she watched him play.

“Not when Papa first got him,” Katella said. “I think his confidence has grown throughout the last two years. It really sucks we didn’t make playoffs last year. I think we could have gone all the way.”

“I just don’t understand why the people keep booing him. I’m sure if it was at any other point in Thorpe’s career, they would have been ecstatic to have him on the team.”

Katella shrugged. “People have different values, Sera,” she said. “Even so, it’s remarkable how well he’s playing, despite all the heckling.”

By the time the period ended, the score was still zero to zero, and people were booing Brandon Thorpe out of the rink.

“Neither team has scored, and a big part of that is because of Thorpe,” Seraphina continued, her arms continuing to gesture profusely. “If we were winning, do you still think everyone would be booing?”

“Probably,” Katella said. “Hey, I’m not saying I agree with it, but this is how people are. They don’t know what they want and nothing you do is going to satisfy them. If you keep Thorpe in, they’re going to boo. If you take him out and put our second in and we lose, they’re going to be upset. The only thing you could get away with is pull Thorpe and hope our second can fend them off.”

“You mean I should actually pull Thorpe?” Seraphina asked, surprised. The thought had never crossed her mind.

“That’s your decision, hon,” Katella replied. “But let me tell you this: I’ve been to every home game for the past two years including preseason games and I’ve never heard it this loud, even with the stadium being almost sold out and the team fighting for a playoff spot. I don’t want to go all dramatic, but if you keep Thorpe in, it is possible that riots could break out.”

Seraphina let everything her sister said sink in. She didn’t want a riot to break out as her first official night as the Gulls’ owner. But she didn’t think she should have to pull Thorpe either. Her mind clouded over with insecurity and doubt and she couldn’t help but wonder, for the millionth time in the past two weeks, why her grandfather thought it was a good idea to leave her in charge of a sports team. She didn’t know what she was doing, and now that she had to make a major decision that would upset people no matter what, she honestly had no idea what to do. She was in a crossroads of what she felt was right and what she felt she should do. Normally, she would just go with her gut, but that seemed to have dire consequences if Katella was right and a riot could break out. But for whatever reason, pulling Thorpe didn’t sit well with her.

Maybe Henry Wayne would help her decide. Without saying anything to her sister, Seraphina pounced out of her seat and headed down the stairs. Security let her through without incident and she managed to reach the head coach of the Gulls before he went into the locker room.

“Henry!” She suddenly clamped her mouth shut as her entire face turned red. When Henry turned to look at her, she gave him a sheepish smile. “Oh, I’m sorry, should I be addressing you as Mr. Wayne or Wayne or...”

“You can address me however you want, Sera,” he said, smiling so the skin around his grey eyes crinkled. “Really, you’re thinking too much about this. Weigh the pros and cons but ultimately, go with your gut. That’s what your grandfather always did, and it seemed to work for him.” He cocked his head to the side, crossing his arms over his chest. “Is everything okay? I have to get into the locker room and grill the guys about their playing, but you seem... What do you need?”

“I...” Seraphina let her voice trail off, and before she could stop herself, she felt tears begin to accumulate in her eyes without really knowing why. Henry waited patiently while the young woman got a hold of herself and her emotions. “I’m sorry. I feel a little overwhelmed right now. But I don’t know what to do. About the goalie situation. Surely I wasn’t the only one who heard the fans booing every time Thorpe made a save.”

“You weren’t,” Henry agreed.

“Well, what do we do?” She sounded more anxious than she wanted to, but the more she felt like she was losing control, the more her voice started to rise. “I mean, what can we do? How’s our second?”

“Miller?” Henry raised his brow and pursed his lips, taking a moment to think about it. “He’s not as good as Thorpe.”

“No one’s as good as Thorpe,” Seraphina muttered under her breath.

“You’re right,” Henry said. “What do you think we should do?”

Biting her bottom lip, Seraphina tried to weigh the pros and the cons of the decision, as Henry had suggested. People kept telling her that running a hockey team was like running a business, and sometimes, as the boss, she’d have to make tough decisions that won’t be liked by many people. But she’d have to do right for the company. Because the company always came first.

---