He stopped in front of Leo and looked at him for a second without saying anything.
Then: “You missed your flight.”
“Yeah,” Leo said.
“How’d that work out for you?”
Leo shrugged. “I got a later one.”
A few people in the crowd laughed. Not many. Mostly people were just watching.
What Luke Harris Said Next
Luke handed the folded flag to the man standing nearest him – a broad-shouldered guy with a silver crew cut who Leo would later find out was a retired Master Chief named Dennis Pruitt – and reached into the breast pocket of his dress blues.
He pulled out a letter. Folded twice, thick paper, the kind that feels official.
“I want to tell you something,” Luke said, loud enough for the crowd. “And I want to tell everyone here, too, because they should hear it.”
The parking lot went quiet. Forty-some students. A dozen teachers. Parents who’d parked on the grass and were now standing by their cars. The news camera was rolling somewhere behind Leo’s left shoulder. He could feel it but didn’t look.
