Chapter 4

Paula watched him go with a shake of her head, telling anyone who was listening, “I had hoped he’d join in, but…”

Reed had just put down a platter which, I presumed, held pulled pork sandwiches. Hard to tell, since it was covered with foil. He glanced at Neil, frowning, then much to my surprise walked over to the young man. I didn’t hear what he said, but it brought a small smile to Neil’s lips, and a reply that had Reed nodding as he put his hand on the tree trunk beside Neil’s head.

“Budding romance?” Brent whispered, putting his arm across my shoulder.

“I doubt it. I get the feeling Reed’s a bit shy, even if he did invite us to have iced tea last weekend. So he knows how Neil probably feels right now, since the kid almost never does anything like this with all of us.”