Page 75 of Love on Deck

My heart surged with affection for my hometown while my stomach did a somersault. I pulled out my phone and swiped to my email, opening the one I’d gotten from Brad, my boss.

No dice, Jack. We can’t move the conference this late in the game. Maybe next year.

No. No no no. How could he give me a flat no when his last text had made him sound so open minded? Besides, I’d had so many good reasons in my email. My motivation was to help Lauren, but the reasons I’d given Brad were solid. I typed up a response and sent it before I could think it through.

I really feel like Hunnam would be a better fit. Will you reconsider? I’m happy to put together a presentation for Monday if you want to sleep on it.

His reply was instantaneous.

You can come up with a proposal for next year. We aren’t moving this conference. Too many things have already been put into motion, so it would be a hassle to move it all.

That was it. Lauren was going to kill me.

“He’s distracted,” I heard Colt say.

I lifted my head. “Sorry.”

“Nah, we need to head out anyway.” Tucker stood. “What time do you want to take off tomorrow?”

“Morning sometime?”

“I’ll call you when I wake up, then.”

My brothers both left. I sat in silence, listening to Dad finishing up the dishes in the other room. I had expected a little pushback about moving the conference, but not a flat no. Brad was not an unreasonable person, and when faced with a logical option, he was the first to jump on board a new idea. Presenting him with the opportunity to save the company a significant amount of money with the discounts Lauren had offered was supposed to make this situation a no-brainer. The location was prime for Dallas’s night life, and the suites for the executives were a nice perk.

He must know something I didn’t.

It also meant I needed to tell Lauren right away. I pulled out my phone and sent her a text.

Jack

Meet me on the front porch in ten?

Lauren

Is this where you lure me out to the corn fields and murder me?

Jack

Don’t know where you’re getting that crazy idea. There are no corn fields around here.

She laughed at my text.

Lauren

I’ll be down soon.

My dad came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands down the front of his jeans. His plaid shirt was worn, familiar from years of use, and the lines on his tanned skin were well creased. “Good to have you here, son.”

“It’s good to be here.”

He disappeared, leaving me in the dim living room alone. I fetched a blanket from the oversized basket tucked against the wall and let myself outside, closing the door softly behind me. The air was biting, but I was glad the sky was clear.

It didn’t take long for Lauren to meet me on the porch. She was wearing one of my mom’s flannel nightgowns under her thick sweatshirt and wool socks. It was quite the sight, and it only made me grin. “Well, don’t you look adorable.”

“Not another word, Jackson.”

“That isn’t my name.”

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