He handed the signed state watercraft title to the buyer without looking down at it.

The man backed his Ford up to the trailer tongue, dropped the steel coupler onto his hitch ball, and snapped the safety chains into place with a sharp metallic clack.

Nate didn’t move from the gravel driveway as the red truck pulled away, towing the boat down the lane toward the main road.

I stepped off the porch and walked over to where he stood with his hands deep in his pockets.

Nate took the thick white envelope out of his shirt and handed me the cash without taking his eyes off the yard.