The Man Who Never Looked Away novel Chapter 322

Jocelyn walked out carrying the guitar, its strings loose. She plucked the thickest string, "Does anyone know how to play?"

"The strings are loose," Lavinia put down her fork, wiped her hands on her apron, "I'll tune it."

She placed the guitar flat on her lap, turned the pegs, and tuned them one by one.

Ding—ding—ding—

The strings slowly tightened under her fingertips, and the pitch returned one by one.

Saul squatted next to the charcoal stove, watching Lavinia tuning the guitar from a distance, and nudged Charley's arm with the beer can in his hand.

"Hey," he lowered his voice, his eyes still on Lavinia, "Tell me honestly, did you set your sights on her when she was in the seventh grade?"

Charley was using the tongs to poke the charcoal. His hand paused, he hummed in agreement, and then continued poking.

"Damn." Saul turned his face to glare at him, "How old was she then? Fourteen? Fifteen? You beast."

"I just liked her. It's not like I did anything."

Saul took a gulp of beer and crushed the can with a crackle.

"If you liked her, you should have made a move earlier. Coward." He took another gulp, "If you had been earlier, she wouldn't have been bullied by that bastard Garnett."

Charley didn't say anything. He picked up the beer next to him, pulled the tab, and took a slow sip.

The firelight reflected on his face, flickering.

"It's not too late now." Charley said.

Saul looked at him and didn't curse anymore.

He threw the crushed can into the trash, fished out two new ones from the ice bucket, handed one to Charley, and opened the other himself.

"If you make her cry again," he said, "I don't care who you are, I'll still beat you up."

Charley took the beer and clinked it against his, "Got it."

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify