Page 75 of Pack End Game

I sigh. "How long have you been awake?"

"Long enough to know you two were having a secret feelings summit without me." He sits up straighter and squints at us accusingly. "Rude."

Spencer pinches the bridge of his nose. "Go back to sleep."

"No way." Freddie leans across the aisle, voice dropping dramatically. "Are we all quitting football? Are we buying Mia a third house? Are we faking our deaths and opening a bait shop?"

"A bait shop?" I repeat.

He shrugs. "I don't know what your retirement fantasies look like. I'm afraid of fish, but I'm willing to face my fears for the good of the pack."

How did I not know he was afraid of fish? I can't tell if he's even serious.

Before I can respond, Coach Lamb comes walking down the aisle from his seat a few rows ahead. He looks warily between the three of us.

"If you three are plotting anything illegal back here, at least wait until after kickoff."

A few guys nearby snicker.

Coach points to the seat that Simon's head is occupying, and Freddie scurries to draw the head into his lap to open up the seat. Coach sits down and leans across the aisle toward Spencer and me.

"Everything okay?"

"Yes, sir," Spencer answers instantly.

Coach lifts one eyebrow, looking very doubtful. "You know I have superhuman hearing. I don't think any of the other coaches could hear that conversation, but I heard some bits and pieces." He lowers his voice. "Am I losing two of my best players when this season ends?"

"I'm not quite ready to be done," Spencer admits.

At the same time, I answer with a resounding, "Yes."

It would be a lie to pretend I don't already feel like my decision has been made.

"Any chance you'll take this one with you?" he asks, pointing his thumb in Freddie's direction.

I shake my head immediately. Freddie really needs something to keep him busy. If it wasn't Simon the Sloth, I don't know what we would find for him to do. All I know is he can't stay home twiddling his thumbs for too long, or he somehow manages to get extra weird.

"Are you talking about me?" Freddie tries to lean closer to hear Coach's low voice, but he backs off when Coach shoots him a quick glare for getting too close to his personal space.

Coach looks at us again. "What was that stuff about a meeting?"

We tell him about the whole ordeal. The horrible introduction between Mia and our current house. The cramped situation at her apartment. Our house hunting success has left us in limbo because of zoning issues. The city hall meeting that could speed up the fate of our new home, but we have basically no chance of getting back on time for.

He listens intently.

When we're finished, he's quiet for several agonizing seconds.

Coach Lamb is like a father figure to us. His approval is important, and I know he always has the best wisdom to share.

Finally, he says, "You always have to know what really matters."

Spencer sits up straighter beside me, and I mirror him.

Coach looks toward the front of the bus with an unfocused gaze, his mind somewhere else entirely. "When I go home to my pack, football stays where it belongs. On the field." He looks at us again, his eyes sharper. "This game will take everything you let it take. If you don't know where the line is, it'll draw it for you."

My chest clenches.

That's exactly what I've been afraid of.