The telephone next to Jane Alcott’s computer rang, pulling her attention away from the screen and out of the latest installment of The Life of Honey Pie.

“Damn,” she swore. She pushed her fingers beneath her glasses and scrubbed her tired eyes. From between her fingers she glanced at the caller ID and picked up.

“Jane,” the managing editor at the Seattle Times, Leonard Callaway, began without bothering to say hello, “Virgil Duffy is talking to the coaches and general manager tonight. The job is officially yours.”

Virgil Duffy’s corporation was a member of the Fortune 500 and he was the owner of the Seattle Chinooks hockey team. “When do I start?” Jane asked and rose to her feet. She reached for her coffee and spilled a drop on her old flannel pajamas as she brought the cup to her lips.

“The first.”

January first gave her only two weeks to prepare. Two days ago, Jane had been approached by Leonard and asked if she was interested in covering for sports-beat reporter Chris Evans while he underwent treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The prognosis for Chris was good, but his leave of absence left the paper in need of someone to cover the Seattle Chinooks hockey team. Jane never dreamed that someone would be her.

Among other things, she was a feature writer for the Seattle Times and was known for her monthly Single Girl in the City columns. She didn’t know a thing about hockey.

“You’ll hit the road with them on the second,” Leonard continued. “Virgil wants to smooth over the details with the coaches, then he’ll introduce you to the team the Monday before you leave.”

When she’d first been offered the job last week, she’d been shocked and more than a little puzzled. Surely Mr. Duffy would want another sports reporter to cover the games. But as it turned out, the offer had been the team owner’s idea.