Chapter 29

Joe winced. “Okay. Fine, you can help me walk.”

Bill placed a hand on Ed’s shoulder. “Give me a call and let me know how he’s doing.”

Ed nodded. “If it gets late, do you want me to wait ’til morning?”

“Call any time after he’s out, or you know what’s up.”

“’Kay.”

Joe grumbled, “It won’t take long for them to tell us to quit wasting their time.”

Ed rolled his eyes. No sense giving Joe fuel for more cracks. Jenny apparently knew better, too.

As they made their way off the field, a number of folks they’d previously met—as well as some they’d never seen before—approached them. They asked if Joe was okay, commented that it had looked like a hard hit, and wished him well. One lady handed him a bag of ice she’d put together out of her cooler. Ed thanked her profusely and had Joe hold it on the spot where he’d been hit.

They’d made it to the edge of the field that had been turned into a makeshift parking lot when Joe veered toward a nearby trash can. “Gonna throw up again. Shit.”