Hometown Hero by susan scott shelley

Author:susan scott shelley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: football romance, baking, bakery, charity, sports romance, bakery romance
Publisher: Susan Scott Shelley
Published: 2019-01-21T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

A football sailed over her workstation.

Ashley rose from stowing her bag under the counter and turned around.

Sure enough, Tyson threw a perfect spiral to Dion three stations away. Then Dion lobbed it to Xavier. Her partner half-dived across their workstation's counter to make the catch, then he tossed it to Everson in the crowd.

Round two of the competition nearly underway, a flurry of activity unfolded around them with people unloading supplies, producers rushing around and in the thick of it all, the camera crew was in position, documenting every step.

Brow raised, she turned away from the football antics and listened as the baking trash talk continued behind her.

She and Xavier had spent hours in the kitchen the day before, baking batches of cookies and cupcakes and he'd even attempted a two-layer cake all on his own. She'd felt pretty confident. But yesterday's confidence was today's worry. Good enough no longer good enough. Not when her very last backup plan had failed.

She hadn't gotten the loan.

The thought repeated itself over and over again. Throughout lunch with her sister, and the ride to the Convention Center, and greeting Xavier and members of the network.

A smile couldn't always fool someone into feeling better. She would know. She'd worn a fake smile for hours now, and her insides still felt hollow and raw.

A loud crash jolted her. She spun around. A pie plate, a rolling pin, and various other supplies were scattered across the floor, next to that damn football.

Frustration boiled over.

Hands on her hips, she turned. And four pairs of apologetic eyes watched her from lowered gazes. She stalked closer as anger boiled. But then she caught sight of the camera. Time to hide even more emotion. Pasting on a smile, she bent to retrieve the rolling pin and infused as much sugar into her voice as possible. "Guys, if you're going to toss the football, then I think I'll need some protectors like the guys that protect the quarterback. What are they called? The offensive line, right?"

"You got it." Tyson nodded with an approving smile. "You need an O-line? I'll volunteer. Hey, Xavier, switch teams with me."

The audience laughed.

Blackstone's mouth twisted into a grimace as he stood at his station. "We all need an O-line, apparently. But I need even more than that. Could you please attempt to take this seriously? This isn't a football field. It's a baking competition."

Tyson's smile fell away from his face. Shoulders slumped, he handed the ball to Everson and returned to his place behind his station. "Sorry, man."

Ashley gathered up the items from the floor and brought them to the sink. Xavier joined her. She turned on the tap, and took a moment to choose her words. "I can't believe I'm actually on Blackstone's side for something, but he's right. With ovens and sharp objects and people who can get hurt, playing around and diving for a ball isn't smart. But beyond that, even if this competition isn't important to you guys, to some of us, it's everything.

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