The Screamin’ Bean—Stella had no clue who had come up with that name, but it was funny as hell—was packed wall to wall with people for the Meet the Bobcats event. Blake, the team’s rockin’ and super-hot head coach, had organized the event for the first time, to give the people a chance to meet the players off the field.
“People will be more excited to come to games if they see the players as students and kids, and not just players,” Blake had told her one day.
The Screamin’ Bean had agreed to hold the meet and greet because, well, it boosted sales for them too. So score for them.
Stella let herself in the door and spotted her best friend, Annabelle, and Annabelle’s sister, Naomi, standing underneath a poster that read “We love our Cats!” Someone had used a paw print as the o in love and then glued orange and black glitter all over the poster.
Clever.
She waved at the two women and was about to head their way when Lois Jenkins, a member of the Beehive Mafia, aptly named for their attempt at reviving the hairstyle, broadsided her.
“How’re you doing this morning, Stella?” Lois asked.
The question had Stella grinning. Lois, even with her periwinkle polyester pants—try saying that three times—was a nice woman. When Stella had first moved back to Blanco Valley to care for her granny Rose, Lois had been a regular visitor. And after Granny succumbed to cancer, Lois had attended the funeral and stayed after the luncheon to help Stella clean up.
“I’m good today,” she answered the woman.
“I’m so glad you’re here.” Lois placed a sun-spotted hand on Stella’s arm. “I was worried you wouldn’t come.”
Stella glanced around the packed coffeehouse. “Are you kidding me? I wouldn’t miss this. And my best friend is engaged to the coach.”
Lois’s face lit up. “Oh, I’m so glad those two got together. You know, the girls and I were rooting for them.”
Stella stepped in line for the counter, just wanting her cup of coffee and a scone.
“We were wondering how long we would have to put pictures of him on our Tumblr before some woman snatched him up,” Lois stated.
Stella glanced around and caught Brandon’s eye. Because there he was. Not that she’d been looking for him, but how had it taken this long for her to notice him?
Because he’s tucked away in a corner talking to some woman.
Why would it matter that the woman he was sharing a table with looked like a contestant from the Miss America pageant?
Her gaze had just bounced on him when he shifted his attention and his eyes caught hers. For just a moment, even though it felt like an eternity. He looked at her just long enough to take a sip of his coffee, his eyes boring into hers over the rim of the paper cup. Then it was gone. Over. Done with because he placed his attention back on his companion.
And Stella felt an ache all the way down to her bum knee.
“I’m sorry? You said something about taking Blake’s picture?”
They moved closer to the counter. “Oh yes, the ladies and I put their pictures on Tumblr so the women of this town can see what they’re missing out on.”
Stella studied the woman, who was about four inches shorter than her. “Mrs. Jenkins, are you saying your Tumblr page is a dating site in disguise?”
Lois held her hands up in the air and shook her head. “I hear nothing, say nothing. If those men want to flaunt themselves around town looking the way they do, then they’d better be prepared for a little attention.” Lois leaned closer and whispered, “Just the other day, Patty got a shot of Cameron Shaw mowing his lawn. But don’t tell him that because I don’t think he realizes he’s currently front and center at the Queen Bees. Do you know how hard that man is to spot? He doesn’t showcase himself the way those other two do jogging with their shirts off all the time.”
Stella didn’t think Brandon and Blake would say they were showcasing themselves, but whatever.
“But anyway,” Lois went on, staying by Stella’s side in the line. “The Tumblr page was Patty’s idea. Virginia wanted no part of it at first. Said it was indecent and inappropriate.” Lois shook her head. “I swear that woman walks around with a bug up her rear end.”
“Uh-huh,” Stella muttered as she kept one eye on the counter and the other on Lois. Funny how that particular eye kept wandering to Brandon, kicked back at the table, long legs stretched out and brushing against Miss America’s bare legs. Brandon said something to her and the woman laughed.
Not that she cared.
“…and that reminded me of the man across the street who puts his yard gnomes in pornographic positions,” Lois went on without pause in her story.
“How dare he!” Stella said automatically. Because she was only two people away from the counter. Then she could have her coffee and think clearly. Which meant not thinking about that guy.
Lois continued with her story. “I threatened to complain about him to the HOA, but do you know what he said to me?”
Stella blinked and shifted her weight off her bad leg. Was Lois waiting for her to answer that? “I can’t imagine,” she told the woman.
Lois thumped one of her soft-soled shoes on the tiled floor. “He said it was his yard and he could do whatever he wanted with it. But the next day the yard gnomes were gone.” She snapped her fingers in the air. “Just like that. But between you and me, I think Virginia snuck down there and did something with them. She doesn’t like things like that.”
One person left at the counter, then Stella could excuse herself. Not only were there way too many people in here and her claustrophobia was being a bitch, but also her knee was throbbing like hell. She’d had to wear her brace this morning, because she’d been bad and hadn’t been using her ice machine.
Evan Christiansen, the Bobcats’ safety, bumped her shoulder, then took another step back and stepped on her foot. The kid had no idea he’d invaded her personal space because he was cracking up some of the other players, saying something like, “How sweet is that?”
Sweet would be for everyone to take a giant step back and give her some space. Why did everybody have to crowd her? Didn’t they understand that when the walls started closing in, she couldn’t breathe?
Normally her claustrophobia wasn’t much of an issue. The breathing techniques she’d learned during physical therapy usually worked. Ten to twenty seconds of deep and even breaths were enough to calm her pounding heart and prevent more sweat from dripping down her back. She’d gone almost three years since her last attack. Three years since her pas de deux partner had dropped her during a lift because Stella had freaked out and thrown them off balance.
“Honey, are you all right?” Lois asked, obviously noticing Stella’s quick breathing. Or maybe it was the perspiration coating her chest.
Either way Stella needed to rein it in, and fast.
“I’m fine.” She turned toward the counter and caught Annabelle’s gaze.