The Promise (Neighbor from Hell, #10)(27)

With a nod and a murmured, “Thank you,” she returned her attention to her phone as Joey threw her backpack back over her shoulder and grabbed the bags of food she’d brought with her to entice Reed into keeping her presence a secret a little while longer. At least, until she figured out how she was going to tell Jackson without him freaking out. Without a word, she walked over to the table, raised the tablecloth and thanks to years of fleeing angry mobs, was under the table with the black tablecloth back in place in under five seconds flat.

The kid hugging his knees didn’t say a word as he continued sitting there, staring down at his feet as he absently rocked back and forth, periodically reaching up to dry his eyes with the backs of his hands and looking completely lost. It was a scene that she was painfully familiar with, she thought as she pulled her legs closer and got comfortable. Once she was settled, she reached into the bag next to her and pulled two sodas out, placing one by her side and the other one next to him. She did the same with the sandwiches and chips, all without saying a word.

When she was done, she pulled her iPad out of her bag, plugged her headphones in and placed one earphone in her ear and left the other one hanging. She grabbed her sandwich, took a bite, and absently noted that he’d briefly glanced over at her. By the time she’d picked out a movie, he’d tentatively reached over and picked up his soda and took a sip. A few minutes later, he was eating his sandwich and scooting a little bit closer so that he could see the iPad. With a glance at her, he cautiously picked up the other earphone and placed it in his ear.

They were halfway through their food when she found him sitting next to her, the iPad in his lap, and a small smile on his face and that’s when Reed found them. He didn’t say anything as he crawled beneath the table and sat next to whoever this cute little kid was, shifting lower to avoid slamming his head into the table as he went. When he was done, he shot her a curious look as he reached over and plucked the bag of chips out of her hand.

“What are you doing?” Reed asked as he turned his attention to the movie.

“Having lunch and trying to figure out why you asked me to come down here,” she said, grabbing the brownie out of the bag only to sigh when it was plucked out of her hand. Grumbling, she pulled the second one out only to have this one taken away by a much smaller hand.

Biting back a smile, she handed the other earphone over to the best lunch date that she’d had in years and asked, “How about you?”

“I’m hanging out with Shawn,” Reed said, devouring his brownie as he turned his attention to Shawn. “Do you want me to call your mom?”

Shaking his head, Shawn decided to see what else was on the iPad and closed the movie app so that he could explore. When he found the Minecraft app, he handed her his empty soda can and quickly forgot about the two of them.

“You’re late,” Reed said, helping himself to her soda.

“Had to remind your brother that short people are to be feared,” Joey said, digging into the bags and found another sandwich, which was promptly plucked out of her hands.

Sighing, she grabbed a slice of apple pie and couldn’t help but smile when a small tan hand plucked that out of her hands. A second later that hand was back out, waiting expectantly for a fork. She’d barely managed to hand over a plastic fork to Shawn when a much larger hand reached over and plucked the bag out of her hands. A second later, the second bag was gone, and she was left sitting there, resigning herself to grabbing a burger on the way home.

“Any permanent damage?” Reed asked, not really sounding like he cared all that much as he dug through the bags.

“Only emotional,” Joey said, watching in amazement as Shawn built a complex world out of nothing.

“What happened?” he asked, helping himself to the second slice of apple pie that she’d really been looking forward to.

“He destroyed all of my hopes and dreams,” she said on a wistful sigh as she pointed to the corner of the screen. “I’m going to need a castle with a view.” With a nod, Shawn abandoned the road system that he was developing and began building her castle.

“I meant about your job,” Reed said as he pointed toward the screen and added, “Don’t forget the moat. She’s a bloodthirsty little thing.”

“I really am,” she said, nodding as they sat back and watched Shawn work. “You mean, how did I end up on sabbatical halfway through spring semester without putting in for one?”

“For starters,” he said, searching through the rest of the bag and grabbed another sandwich.

“I was asked to read a book that another professor wrote and endorse it only something about the book didn’t feel right. Instead of letting it go, I did my own research, which unfortunately had the undesired effect of ruining another professor’s career,” she said, really wishing that she’d kept her mouth shut and told them what they wanted to hear.

“I see,” Reed murmured after a slight pause before saying, “And I’m guessing that upset a few people.”

“It usually does,” Joey said with a shrug because there was nothing that she could do about it now but wait.

Maybe she should take up a hobby? she wondered while she sat there, watching as Shawn continued to build her dream castle. At least a hobby would keep her out of trouble, she mused only to feel her shoulders slump in defeat because she didn’t want a hobby. She wanted to-