“Nice to know my family is better off than the Somalis.”
“Better off than some of them. Some Somalis are super rich, you know.”
“Better off thansomeSomalis,” Cade conceded. He looked at the house. There were no lights on, no signs of life whatsoever. He wondered what would happen if his parentshadmoved away and disappeared. Would that qualify him for an exemption on the signatures?
“Are they expecting you?” Aiden asked gently.
Cade hadn’t shared the real reason for his visit. He supposed he’d been too busy baring his soul about the past to get into any of the issues with his present. “No. It’s a surprise.”
“If they’re not here, we could go get some dinner. And you can stay at my place, if you want. My mom loves houseguests.”
“No,” Cade said, and he finally made good on his door-opening plans. He swung one leg out of the car and said, “Thanks, though. And thanks for the ride. And for the invasive conversation.”
“Anytime,” Aiden said with a smile. “Hey, I’m going back to school Sunday afternoon. You want to ride down with me?”
“No, thanks. I’m going to try to get back tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? You’re not here for a friendly visit, are you? You’re on some sort of mission.”
“That’s right. I could tell you about it, but then I’d have to kill you.”
Aiden didn’t seem put off. “Yeah. Okay. Look, Cade—good luck with it. And if you need help, give me a call.” He frowned. “You don’t have my number. Do you? No. How do I give it to you? You don’t have a phone. Yeah, I could write it down. But then how would you call me, with no phone?”
“Are you having a conversation with your imaginary friend? That was creepy.”
“No, it wasn’t. Was it? No. Do your parents have a phone?”
“Not usually.”
“But you could find a phone if you had to.” Cade didn’t disagree, so Aiden fished around in the glove compartment and came up with a pencil and a slip of paper that looked like a discarded receipt. He peered at it, then looked guiltily at Cade. “I want to put my number on this paper. And then I want to give it to you. But I don’t want you to judge me for what’s on the paper.”
“I make no promises.”
Aiden looked torn, but finally scribbled down his number and passed the paper over to Cade. “Okay. Like I said, I’m planning to go back Sunday afternoon. But if you want some help with anything before then, or if you want to get something to eat and talk, or if you want me to drive you home tomorrow—it’s only a couple hours each way, and I enjoy driving—you can call me, okay?”
“You spent $473 at Starbucks,” Cade said, staring at the receipt.
“I don’t remember doing that. Probably it’s someone else’s receipt.”
“The signature looks like your name.”
“Possibly a forgery.”
“A month ago,” Cade prompted.
“Oh. Well, maybe presents, or something. My cousins have summer birthdays, and they like coffee. That makes sense.”
“Not really,” Cade said. Then he stood up and shoved the receipt into his pants pocket, but he still didn’t close the car door.
“Hey, Cade?” And now Aiden was out of the car, walking around the front of it toward him, his legs temporarily lit by the headlights.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for letting me see your house.” Aiden smiled shyly. “Thanks for trusting me with something personal. Now, really, I’dratherit was details about your sex life. But this is appreciated too.”
Cade sighed and tried to sound casual. “Thereareno details about my sex life. I’m the Monk, remember?”
Aiden made a face. “And you’re happy keeping it that way? I know I’m a broken record, but… are you trying to avoid having a sex life, or just trying to avoid having one with me?”
