Just look over here, see me standing closer...”
Conrad folded his arms.
“What?”
“So, propose already.”He smiled.“Because if you don’t, I’m going to.”
“Propose to Harper?”
“No, idiot.To Penny.I wanted to propose before I left for training camp, and you’re mucking it all up.I don’t want to steal your limelight, but your window is dimming there, Big Jack.”
“That’s the thing.I don’t know what she wants.”
Conrad’s mouth opened.Closed.“Okay.I think she’s always made that pretty clear.”
“Right.”He hung a hand behind his neck, moved out of the way as an order was called.
A teenager picked up nachos and cheese.Maybe Harper had wanted the pretzel...He couldn’t remember, suddenly.
“Stop panicking, Jack.Harper loves you.”
He nodded.“Except she also loves Duck Lake, and the King’s Inn, and our family—I mean, last night at the bonfire, there was just something in her eyes.Sadness, maybe.”
“She was quiet.”
“Maybe she doesn’t want to go out on the road.”
“And live in a school bus?No.That can’t be right.”Conrad grinned.
“A city bus, and it’s pretty sick.We have satellite Internet and an upper deck and?—”
“And it’s abus.No offense, but, dude, you have a home in Florida.A nice home.With a boat.Just sayin’...”
Jack drew in a breath.Another order was called, this time pizza in a box.“That smells good.”
“There’s clearly something wrong with you.All we’ve done is eat today.I can’t imagine that anything smells good right now.”
“You’d be wrong.”Although maybe not about Flo.In fact...“What if I stayed?”
Conrad lifted a shoulder just as a nearby teen said, “Hey, are you King Con?”
A selfie, a short conversation, and a small gaggle of fans cut off their conversation.Jack retrieved their bags of food, stepped away, and stood at the entrance to the grandstand listening to the band play.
“I never knew a love like this...”
“Sorry about that.”Conrad came over.“A couple kids from the recent hockey game showed up too.”
Jack passed him the bag of popcorn.Conrad stopped him from descending to their front-row seats with a hand to his arm.“What do you meanstayed?”
“I just...I did something crazy and I took the bar exam in July.”
Conrad stole some popcorn.“Interesting.”
“I just, you know...hate not finishing something.”
More popcorn.
“I thought it might be useful as a tracker too.In case anyone gets into legal trouble.”
