The girls handed Leah her change and a bag containing her new shirt. She put the change away and looped the bag over her wrist, then met his eyes. He felt the reverberation of it deep in his chest.

“Can you give me an update on Levi and Isabella?” she asked. “I’ve thought and prayed about them often.”

Have you thought about me, Leah? Because I’ve never stopped thinking about you. “Levi went home.”

“Wonderful.”

“Isabella struggled with fluid around her lungs, but now she’s on the mend.”

“I gather no heart’s become available?”

“Still no heart.”

“I’m sorry.”

He didn’t want to make her sorry. About anything. He wanted to make her life lighter, not heavier. “How’s Dylan?”

“Content to drag his feet with his college applications and to procrastinate conversations about potential career tracks. In other words, he’s fine, but I’m dying inside because of the feet dragging and procrastination.”

“I see.”

“Thank you again for the art supplies you gave him. He loves them. So much so that I regret not giving him a set like that for his last birthday.”

“Not all of us can be superior gift givers.”

“The next time you realize what gift my brother requires, will you kindly text me to let me know?”

He dipped his chin.

The announcer’s voice came over the sound system. “Welcome! Please find your seats. Sophomore Daisy Harris will sing the national anthem in five minutes.”

Don’t leave, he thought.

Her hair dipped over her eye. She pushed it back.

Stay.

“I always sit with my friends Tess and Rudy,” she said. “You and Ben are welcome to join us when you finish your shift here.”

“Thank you, but . . . ” Ben won’t want to sit with you if I’m there, too. “The Colemans saved us seats.”

“Okay. I’m glad we ran into each other.”

“So am I. . . .” His sentence faded as he caught sight of Ben. His friend stood several yards away. People drifted between their two positions, yet Ben was looking right at him and Leah.

How long had he been watching?

Sebastian refocused on Leah. “I’m glad, too.”

Leah left and Sebastian’s world turned dull and flat. Ben handed drinks to the girls. He said nothing about Leah, but Sebastian could almost hear the wheels of his friend’s mind turning.

As in many small southern towns, Misty River’s high school football team was the whole town’s team. It didn’t matter whether a resident had a child in high school or whether they’d graduated from Misty River High. For many, including the Colemans, cheering for the Mountaineers at Friday night home games was a family tradition.