Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Read Online Books/Novels: | Exiled |
|---|---|
Author/Writer of Book/Novel: | Brenda Rothert |
| Language: | English |
| Book Information: | |
Pro hockey player Archer Holt is taking his charm and swagger from the ice to the...sand? One of sixteen players competing to be the last man standing on a new reality show, he’s all in until he finds out the meaning behind the show’s title—Exiled. Archer Before I was a pro hockey player, I was an Eagle Scout. I can tie knots, build shelters and fish like nobody’s business, making me the perfect choice to represent my team on a reality show set on a primitive tropical island. I can endure scorching heat, tough competitions and torrential rainfall—no problem. But when I find out who my partner is, I’m not so sure I’ll survive being stranded on an island with her. Lauren Archer Holt broke my heart eight years ago. Now he’s rich and famous, and I’m a high school English teacher in our hometown. When I’m offered the chance to compete for half a million dollars by outlasting fifteen other teams on an island with my selfish jerk of an ex, I jump at it, because that money can change not just my life, but my family’s. Besides, I’m long over Archer. Or so I thought. | |
| Books by Author: | Brenda Rothert |
CHAPTER ONE
Archer
Win or lose, you played like a champion. I’m proud of you.
I read the text from my grandpa as the plane descended. When I switched off my phone’s airplane mode, I ignored the waiting texts from friends and teammates and went right to his message instead. I’d read it before—many times. He sent it nearly two months ago, just after my hockey team was eliminated from playoff contention in a game I’d scored two goals in.
If only I’d known it would be the last text he’d ever send me. Teddy Holt had been more than just my grandpa. He was also a decorated Vietnam veteran and a pro hockey legend who still held several records. He’d always seemed larger than life—immortal.
A massive heart attack snuffed out his light in a matter of seconds, and my world would always be a little darker without him.
“I can’t believe how blue the water is,” Micah Maxwell, a defensive player for Vancouver’s pro hockey team, said to me, his face glued to the plane window. “I’ll be spending hours in that water every day.”
Nodding my agreement, I returned my phone to my pocket, checking to make sure my grandpa’s lucky quarter was still there. A fellow prisoner of war in Vietnam gave him that quarter before he passed away from malnutrition. Grandpa had carried it with him everywhere until giving it to me on my twenty-first birthday. I’d kept it close every day since.
“You think they’ll have hula dancers?” someone asked from the row behind us. “I’ve always wanted to hook up with a hula dancer.”
“No, dipshit. It’s not Hawaii,” someone else answered.
I tuned them out, leaning closer to my own window on the private plane taking us on the final leg of our journey to the primitive island we’d hopefully be living on for at least the next month. I’d been eager for this day to arrive since I’d agreed to represent my team, the Minnesota Mammoths, on a reality show called Exiled.
There were thirty-two players aboard—one representative from each pro hockey team. To keep the details of the show confidential, we hadn’t been told much about what we’d be doing. Whatever it was, I was all in. I planned to bring home the gold for my team by winning this competition.
“Gentlemen,” a woman said from the front where she stood facing us all. “Since the drinks were flowing on this flight, I’ll remind you that my name is Angela Salvatore, but everyone calls me Sal. I’m a production assistant for the show. I can’t answer most of your questions, but the good news is, you’ll know everything soon.”
Everyone cheered, and she glanced down at a paper in her hand.
“Okay, so we’re landing in about twenty minutes,” she continued. “From there, we’ll be taking ATVs to the launch point for the boats that will take us to the island.”
“Are we getting lunch?” someone asked from the back.
“We will provide sandwiches and drinks before boarding the boats,” Sal said. “I suggest you eat and drink everything you’re offered, because it’s probably the last real meal you’ll be getting for a while.”
I’d bulked up in the past couple of weeks, knowing I was going to drop weight while doing this show. We’d been told access to food could be sporadic, and I wanted to be prepared.
“There are thirty-two of you on this plane,” Sal said. “Only sixteen will make it onto the show, though.”
Gasps and groans sounded as that news sank in.
“Why’d you fly us all here if you’re only taking sixteen?” Micah asked, aggravated.
“Everyone gets a shot,” Sal said diplomatically. “Sixteen will make it, and sixteen will spend tonight at a really nice resort in Fiji and fly home tomorrow. We have another nondisclosure agreement for the sixteen who make it.”
One of the flight attendants told Sal she had to put on her seat belt. I leaned my head back, closed my eyes, and did a mental run-through of who was representing each team. I knew most of them, but a few I’d never spoken to. If part of this game involved being on teams or having partners, I wanted to choose wisely.
Rod Larimore, a first-line winger for Boston, would be my stiffest competition. He was a talented natural athlete who could’ve played pro hockey or baseball, but he’d chosen hockey. They called him Golden Rod, because he had a Midas touch whenever he had a hockey stick in his hands.
Our plane landed at a small, private airport, and I grabbed my overnight bag, nervous energy racing through me. I’d do whatever I had to do to make it onto this show and not be one of the sixteen guys who got sent home on the first day. It had long been a pipe dream to be on one of the reality shows I liked watching. I wasn’t afraid of the challenges dreamed up by producers—I’d swim, climb, or run my way into this competition, because I was representing my teammates. No way would I let them down.