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“Oh, I read it to practice. Just so I didn’t mess up.” She grinned mischievously. “But conjugal makes it sound dirty, so Meredith wanted a teacher to take it. Got to make sure none of the jackasses try and sex it up too much.”

Josh chuckled as he took the wagon handle from her. “I’m sure you’ll keep them in line.” He held out an arm to escort her back to the library. “Shall we, milady?”

They headed out into the empty hallway, the squeaky wheels echoing off the lockers.

“So,” Elise began, glancing sidelong at Josh. “You and Captain Asstastic, huh? How’s that going?”

Josh tensed. Elise meant well, but her hinting and probing felt unpleasant, like being investigated by a cow’s tongue. “It’s… going,” he said carefully. He glanced at her with vague concern.

She was just dazzled by the fantasy. Surely Elise would never say anything to the press. He hated thinking it but hated the serious possibility almost as much. His students always talked about being famous. If this was being famous, it sucked big-time.

Josh maintained a calm exterior as Elise prodded him about the salacious stories and pictures of him and Tyler online, but internally he was churning. He worried that the world saw their relationship as a joke, just a famous jock slumming it with a small-town dweeb. Even worse, Tyler’s feelings might turn out to be a fleeting fling in the heat of his recovery—not the deep bond Josh had felt.

“Long distance is tough, but we’re making it work.”

“I bet,” Elise said, nudging him. “Dating a celebrity. America’s Tightest End, huh? You must get swarmed with paparazzi everywhere you go.”

“Elise.” Josh frowned. He hated feeling so exposed, like his private life was public property. “It’s not like that. And it’s nobody’s business but ours.”

Elise put her hands up, looking contrite. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I just think it’s exciting, is all.”

“Not even a little.” Josh frowned at the floor. “It’s not what everyone thinks. The attention. It’s not fun or even interesting. It’s like having strangers stick their fingers in you on a dark bus.”

Elise stopped walking and clutched his forearm. “Oh, honey. Oh, Josh, that’s awful.”

They walked in silence for a moment. Josh’s thoughts drifted to Tyler. He wished he could talk to him right now.

The crowd at the library doors was obviously getting big. He saw parents and kids with sleeping bags and pillows making their way inside. Everyone had planned for the long haul.

“I have a right!” Up ahead, a familiar skinny redhead brayed at the security guard who held her upper arm tightly. “Let go of me.”

Elise stiffened. “No way.”

“Ma’am, we’ve warned you. You understand the consequences. You’ve made several kids uncomfortable already.” Principal Carver was forcibly ejecting a pajama-clad Cilla Miller and scruffy crew out of the library’s front entrance toward the school doors and the parking lot.

Elise growled beside him. “You have got to be kidding.”

Cilla spat and twisted as she tried to get loose. “This is outrageous. This is assault.”

“You’re on school property and you’re making a nuisance of yourself. You cornered a fourteen-year-old—”

Elise stepped in front of Josh, blocking Cilla’s view. She raised her bandaged arm. “Bad mistake.”

“Coach Ayres!” The reporter’s voice cracked like a whip, and she struggled in Josh’s direction with little success. “Cilla Miller, Channel Twenty-four.” She waved at him. “I’ve talked to concerned locals right here in Cinnamar about the pornography this library gives children. Which you came here tonight to defend. You got a woman fired, Josh. Why are you so eager to corrupt—”

The kids and parents around her recoiled. Nobody wanted to take a side, but a couple of them raised phones to film her tirade.

Obviously whatever contrition and fear Cilla had felt a couple of nights ago had evaporated. She looked frantic and desperate.

Elise looked Josh in the eye and muttered, “First thing Monday morning I’m calling Channel Twenty-four. She has no clue what’s coming.”

He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”

Cilla wasn’t giving up; she ducked under the security guard’s arm with her mic held out toward him. “Hey, Coach! Any comment on those naked photos of Tyler in Miami? Josh, is Tyler depressed? Did you dump him?” She showed her teeth like a piranha. “You can’t silence the truth.”

“Ma’am.” Carver blocked her advance, shielding Josh from the onslaught. “This is a school event. I’m going to file a formal complaint with your station. You know there will be consequences.”

“Josh, is it over? Have Tyler’s injuries caused erectile issues?” Cilla kept craning around Carver and Elise while the guards held her flailing arms from behind. “Is he back to partying again? Joshua, the people have a right—”