Page 41 of His Boys to Protect

Or did Charliewantto sit beside Ward?

Charlie stood at the counter, rocking on his feet as he eyed the food. Skylar came up beside him and started telling Charlie about the dishes. “Roasted vegetables, all fresh,” Skylar said, pointing at the first one. “No corn, I promise. That salad dressing has corn syrup in it, though, so avoid that. That one came out of a box,” he said, pointing at another dish, “but this one is all from scratch.” Skylar paused and glanced at Ward. “He's averypicky eater.”

Ward nodded in silence, watching as Charlie carefully added meats and vegetables to his plate, sticking to the dishes that Skylar suggested. “Doesn't seem very picky to me.”

Skylar chuckled. “He's kind of a health nut,” he explained. “He won't eat anything processed. Or, well, I know pretty much everything's processed these days, but if it comes out of a box or a bag or a can—especially if it has any ingredients he doesn't recognize—he won't touch it.”

“Ah.” Ward eyed the dishes again. “But no corn?”

Skylar shook his head. “Corn contains a natural depressant, and Charlie issupersensitive to it. And corn is ineverythingthese days, it seems. Don't even get me started on the high fructose corn syrup.”

Charlie scowled and gave a nod.

“Corn is a depressant?” Ward asked with a frown.

“It's true,” Ryder piped up, standing near them as he filled his plate. “I was doing research for a book. I needed a disease that was diet-based, and I stumbled on pellagra. It can be caused by a corn-heavy diet, particularly in third-world countries. If not treated, it can lead to major depression, as well as rage issues and even dementia, not to mention the physical symptoms like hair loss or dermatitis. Trouble sleeping, weakness, mental confusion…” Ryder trailed off for a moment while he fussed with something on his plate. “Here in the States, everything is so processed and modified that it's not even real food anymore,besides—like Skylar said—corn being in everything. Plus fast food and chips and sodas and other crap. I honestly believe that half of our health problems would simply vanish if people would just eat properly.” With that, he took his plate and walked away.

Charlie pointed at him. “Hhnn.”

“What he said,” Skylar translated.

“Okay,” Ward said with a nod. “Got it. No corn.” He made a mental note to remember that.

Once Charlie stepped away, Skylar filled his own plate, picking all the same items that Charlie had. When it was Ward's turn, he found himself doing the same.

Ward sat down, and Charlie eyed his plate. The boy's eyebrows lifted in surprise. Charlie bounced in his seat and gave a long, drawn-outsqueak. Somehow, Ward knew it was a sound of approval. He couldn't help smiling.

Charlie reached across the table to touch the picture frame, then began to eat.

“That's Sabrina,” Dakota said. He was looking right at Ward so he must have seen the question on his face. “My twin sister.”

“Ah.” Ward glanced from Dakota to the picture and back. “She couldn't make it?”

Dakota swallowed hard. “She died. Several years ago.”

Ward winced. “I'm so sorry.”

Dakota waved a hand and put on a fleeting smile. “We haven't done this in years,” he said, gesturing at the picture. “But Charlie wanted it tonight, so…”

Charlie gave a quiet, littlechirp, then dug back into his food.

Mr. Pratt spoke up in the silence that followed, changing the conversation. “I hope these boys didn't pull you away from any plans you had tonight.”

Ward swallowed the bite of food in his mouth and shook his head. “No, not really. I'd thought about taking a drive down VineStreet. I missed the Showcase this year, but I wanted to see the lights while they were still up.”

“Showcase?” Skylar asked.

“It's a local event,” Ward explained. “Vine Street has all these old, Victorian houses, and part of the conditions for owning one is that you have to decorate for Christmas. Some of these places really go all out. But the Vine Street Victorian Showcase closes off the street to cars, so it's all foot traffic for one night. They have carolers and dancers, plus hot chocolate and spiced cider and all kinds of baked goods you can buy. There's even a guy who comes out on this one balcony and plays Ebeneezer Scrooge. He gets all dressed up in his nightcap and gown and yells at the crowd.”

Skylar laughed. “Oh my god, that's awesome. I wish I could have seen that.”

“We should go do that,” Beau said. “After dinner. What if we all drive into town and take a walk down Vine Street?”

Several voices responded in assent, and some began discussing how many vehicles they would need to carry everyone.

“Charlie?” Skylar asked, leaning across the table. “Do you want to go?”

Ward looked at the boy beside him. Charlie ran his fork through his small helping of mashed potatoes, making patterns and then erasing them. Finally, the boy nodded, signing something.

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