11
LANA
“Good morning!” Bea says as she carries a box, almost as big as she is, into the foyer of the sports complex. The woman behind her snorts.
“It’s not morning. If it was morning, I would still be sleeping. Also, I’ve had four cups of coffee and you’re still too much for me right now.”
“It’s my superpower,” Bea replies.
The one behind her is also carrying a box. She looks familiar, but I just can’t place her.
“What are you guys doing here? And what is all that?” I ask, confused as I stand from my desk.
“Coach Turner and his wife, Nellie, took one of my soap- and candle-making workshops over the winter, and I’ve successfully converted them to all things goat.”
“I don’t think that came out the way it sounded in your head,” the other woman says, earning a side-eye from Bea.
“Anyway,” Bea drawls, “Nellie is the sweetest, and she runs a book club with some of the ladies from her church group, and she has ordered a whole bunch of themed products for the book she picked.”
“That’s…a lot,” I say, confused because honestly, I attend our book club simply to drink, snack, and not have anyone ask me if I’ve seen their shoes.
“But so fun, right?! Nellie’s not home right now, so she asked me if I would drop off everything with Coach today.”
“He’s in his office.” I chuckle, thinking of Coach all cozied up with a book and coordinating candle. Ringing him, I watch in amusement as he comes bustling out of the back.
“Good morning, Bea. You’re looking lovely as always.” She swats at his arm and he laughs. “The missus is almost out of that lotion you made for her.”
“She is, is she?”
“Loves that stuff more than she loves me,” he says with a wry grin that makes Bea chuckle. “And those women from the church are just chompin’ at the bit to see what you’ve come up with.”
“Well,”—she gives the box a little shake—“they won’t have to wait long.”
“You’re an angel.”
“Remind my boyfriend of that,” Bea teases with a wink.
“Morning, Arden.”
“It’s afternoon,” she replies with a smirk. “It’s good to see you, Coach.”
“See you’re full of sass today.”
“I’ve been hanging out with my sister.”
Arden. Arden James.
I wouldn’t have made the connection to the newspaper reporter for the Blackstone Gazette, but it would make sense she’d know Coach Turner.
And everyone else in this town.
Like Bea, but my friend is just a busybody. Still, there’s something familiar about Arden I just can’t place.
“Nellie has your sister’s wedding card on the refrigerator. Are you helping with the planning?”
She nods. “Yeah, Ellison’s been dragging me all over town. Half the time I think she’s just doing it to mess with me.” She shrugs. “I don’t hate it. We’re still making up for lost time.”
“Ellison is your sister?!” I exclaim, causing three sets of eyes to swing my way.
