Chapter 9
After his reaction to Julian's touch caught him off guard, Rob took a moment to recover. He was a few steps behind as they kept going, so he jogged to catch up. Further on, he could see some picnic tables, and Julian pointed up the slope where there were some long tables with bench seats and a fairly small building. "That's L & L Barbeque. We can have lunch there."
As the place came fully into view, Rob saw smoke and smelled it as well as the mouthwatering aroma of meat being cooked over a fire. L & L Barbeque had a tall chimney and plenty of outdoor seating. Still it was packed, with a line of people waiting to order at a window.
As they stood in the back of the line, Rob got out his phone. "I have to text my dad about this place." After he got the reply, Rob had to laugh. "He wants samples, but he'll settle for pictures."
They had to wait for their order, and Rob filled the time by taking pictures for his dad. He showed them to Danny before sending them.
Once they were seated with plenty of messy food in front of them, Rob took more pictures. "Can I send my dad a picture of Danny nibbling on that roasted corn on the cob?" he asked Julian.
"Sure. If it's OK with him," Julian said and they both looked at Danny, who didn't know what he was supposed to do.
Rob now leaned toward Danny. "Is it OK to send my dad this picture of you eating corn?"
"Your dad? OK," Danny said.
Rob sent it and his dad texted back. "He says, 'That takes me back.'"
"I could say the same thing," Julian said. When Rob looked at him questioningly, he continued. "My father used to bring me here when he visited, but my grandfather looked down on this place. I think he lived to find reasons to look down on everything and everyone."
"He probably didn't know how to look good while eating with his hands," Rob said as he took a bite of his pulled pork sandwich.
"What?" Julian said and gave him a confused smile.
Now Rob had to pretend he wasn't talking about him, or checking him out. "It's a talent. Some people have it. Some people make a mess of themselves," Rob said like he wasn't admiring anyone in particular and how sexy he looked eating with his hands.
The look on Julian's face told Rob that he had no clue he was a sexy bastard who banished all decent thoughts from his head. In fact, Rob had never noticed any awareness that Julian knew how hot he was.
Rob thought they might head back to the house after they were done with lunch, but Julian looked at Danny and decided they should let him enjoy his day out.
"I never had the chance to take him anywhere like this until now. He seems to like it," Julian said. "When I lived here, I never got to just wander around and explore."
They were watching as Danny circled a hollowed out log, peering inside. "You missed out, but that means you get to discover all this with Danny," Rob said to Julian. He didn't mind a day outdoors at all, plus he got to see Julian's more laid back side though he still checked his phone all the time.
Back in town in the late afternoon, they were on their way to Julian's car when a beige SUV parked right next to them. Inside it were all the Hayes guys, and the boys looked excited to see Danny.
"I guess they're back," Rob said as the car door opened and he saw Wyatt stepping out.
"Hi, guys. We're here to pick up some fresh cider from the store, hard and regular," Wyatt said as he opened the back door just as two other cars pulled up. A bunch of kids spilled out of the backs of all three cars. Mitch and Rico were there, and a redheaded woman got out of the third car with a little, redheaded girl who might have been six or so.
Mitch and Sam went into the store, and the kids all gathered into a group to greet Danny and show him off to the little redhead.
"He is a new! And he does have ears like a teddy bear," the redheaded girl exclaimed. "I'm gonna hug him."
"Hold up. Ask permission," the redheaded woman told her as she came over. She offered her hand to Rob. "Hi, I'm Lara Salinger. I already know Julian though I don't know if he knows me," she said and raised an eyebrow at him.
"It's nice to see you again," Julian said, but Rob couldn't tell if he actually recognized her. "This is my assistant Rob Gerric, and this is my little brother, Danny."
"Nice to meet you, Danny and Rob. This one is my daughter Gloria. Say, 'Nice to meet you', honey," she instructed her kid.
"Nice to meet you. Now do I get to hug him, Momma?" Gloria asked impatiently.
Danny looked up at Julian, but he just smiled uneasily and told him, "It's up to you, Danny."
Danny turned to the little girl and put his arms out. The two of them hugged, and they both looked happy. Julian gave Rob a funny look. He didn't know what to expect from his little brother these days.
Gloria showed Danny a bag. "We got candy."
