He didn’t say thank you right away because he couldn’t figure out what to do with his face.
“We also,” Luke continued, and now there was something in his voice that was almost a smile, “talked to your principal.”
Leo looked up.
“And to the Denver Broncos, because Marcus knows a guy.”
The crowd made a noise. Kids mostly.
“So you’re going to Denver next weekend,” Luke said. “But this time with your dad. Field-level. Both of you. Courtesy of some guys who heard what you did and wanted to do something about it.”
Leo’s dad was in Lubbock. He didn’t know any of this. Leo’s mom, standing twenty feet away by the car, had both hands pressed flat against her cheeks and was nodding in a way that meant she’d known since at least yesterday and had somehow kept her mouth shut.
