Page 79 of Love on Deck

It wasn’t like I had any other choice, right? Besides, I liked the idea of seeing more of his charming town. “It’s fine with me.”

He bumped his knee against mine. “It’s a date.”

* * *

The church was full. The music was familiar, like what you’d hear on the Christian radio station so many businesses played in the DFW area. I recognized a number of faces from Tucker’s party, too, sprinkled on the pews. Jack stopped to chat with people as we slowly made our way down the aisle and outside, stretching our escape twice as long as it should have been.

It was evident Jack was a rare commodity here and people were eager to see him. It gave me plenty of time to admire the architecture of the old church. This venue would make for a killer wedding—so much richer than the sterile ballrooms I had to manage at the hotel. I was pretty sure this church had made a few appearances in various Hallmark movies. Or maybe Hallmark just really nailed the whole small town vibe.

When we finally reached the grass, he waved at his parents and took my hand, pulling me in the opposite direction.

“Didn’t realize I was with a celebrity.”

Jack’s neck turned red. “Just my old teachers and neighbors. It’s been a while since I’ve seen most of them.”

“Maybe you should visit them more often.”

He gave a noncommittal huff, tugging me down a tree-lined main street, though the branches were still pretty bare. Chilly wind nipped at my nose. I curled the ends of my sweatshirt into my fists while a shiver swept through my body.

“We can head back.” Jack shot me a side-eye.

“We have hours to kill.”

“But we don’t have to kill them outside.”

I looked from him to the idyllic main street, where it was possible to see both ends from where we were standing, it was so short. The road continued on both ways, dotted with trees and houses as far as I could see.

“This place should go on the front of a greeting card for small-town America.”

“Who’s buying greeting cards about small towns?” he asked, amused.

“Probably people from big towns who yearn for this slow life but won’t do anything to change their suburban ways.”

“Are you speaking from experience?”

“I’ve never yearned for dirt roads or lack of Target, actually.”

He gave a dramatic sigh. “You don’t know what you’re missing.”

“Didn’t you run away from all this?”

Jack was quiet for a second, walking down the sidewalk before his shoulders gave a shrug. “Yeah.”

I wanted to press. To find out what was hidden in the silent stretch before he admitted it. There was a weird tension in his shoulders today, but I didn’t know why. He wasn’t acting differently toward me, just more like something was on his mind. When we nearly reached the end of the road, I took his hand.

He closed his fingers around mine and glanced up at me. “What’s that for?”

“Isn’t this one of my perks?”

A genuine smile came over his face. “Perks, huh? What else did you have in mind?”

“Homemade pancakes in the morning, stargazing in hammocks, MediCorp Conferences. Just to name a few.”

Jack’s smile tightened. He pulled me along until we reached an alley, totally ignoring the opportunity for banter. “Want to see my favorite place on Main Street?”

“Yeah.” Surprise curled around my chest when it occurred to me how much I did want to see his favorite place on Main Street, how much I was enjoying the bits and pieces coming together to make up Jack’s background. Every new thing he showed me was like another brick torn away from the window to his soul. I wanted to learn every little piece of information until there was nothing else, no more bricks, and I understood who he was.

We followed the lane between the buildings and came out the other side, where a road ran parallel to the businesses and led to what appeared to be houses. But we kept following the alley lane straight back until it turned into a tree-lined drive.

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