“Jesus,” Charlie said, and drew a deep breath. She ran a hand through her hair. “I’m supposed to start work at eight and get off after lunch. If we don’t have to go yet, maybe I should go in. I’ll have my phone on me, so you can call me if I need to leave.”
Aaron nodded.
“Shit, though. The school already chewed me out last month for signing Lennox out during the day. His asshole teacher hates me. It’d be easier to just to not send him, but I can’t have him spending the whole morning at the diner. Last time we triedthathe got bored and went to visit his grandfather.”
Aaron shrugged. “I mean, he could come to my place? He should probably be with one of us anyway, right?”
Charlie’s brow wrinkled. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” Aaron said. “I’ve got an iPad, and a few snacks. He can watch movies or whatever.”
“Okay.” Charlie looked him up and down. “You haven’t had a beer yet today?”
Aaron felt a flush of shame. “It’s not even seven A.M.”
Charlie didn’t say anything.
“I haven’t,” Aaron said. “I haven’t had one since last night, and I’m not planning on having one if we have to drive out of here today.”
“Okay.” Charlie held his gaze and nodded. “We hardly know each other anymore, Aaron. You can make your own dumbass choices, but I’m not leaving my kid in the hands of anyone who’s going to put their addiction first.”
“It’s not an addiction,” Aaron said. “It’s more of a goddamn crutch that it should be, but it’s not an addiction.” He wondered which one of them he was really trying to convince.
“Lennox!” Charlie yelled. “Change of plans! You’re going to spend the day with Uncle Aaron!”
* * * *
Aaron was a kid once, so he figured that it would be easy enough to deal with Lennox. And it might even be enough of a distraction to keep him from dwelling on Quinn, and Ian and Jimmy MacGregor, and whatever was going to happen next. Aaron was used to feeling this kind of sick anticipation. He felt it a lot in Afghanistan, where the waiting sometimes got so bad he almost wished things would go to hell just so there was something todo.
Pain shot up his leg as he led Lennox inside the house.
What was it Mom used to say?Careful what you wish for.
“This is a cool house,” Lennox said, dumping his backpack on the floor. “It doesn’t even look like anyone lives here.”
“Nobody has for a while,” Aaron told him. “My parents used to own it before they passed away. I just came back to fix it up and sell it.”
Lennox’s gaze took in the unpainted walls, rough bits of wallpaper glue still sticking to it where Aaron had stripped the paper away. “Are you finished yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Then why are we leaving?” Lennox asked. “I heard you and Mom talking.”
Aaron snorted. Yeah, he was definitely Quinn and Charlie’s kid, wasn’t he? Troublemaker and busybody all over. Kid hadn’t stood a chance of being born polite and discreet. “That’s something you’ll have to talk to your mom about.”
Lennox chewed his bottom lip for a moment, and then said, bluntly, “Are you my dad?”
“Jesus!” Aaron almost stumbled. “No, I’m not.” He fought to soften his tone into something that didn’t sound like panic and rejection. “Why would you ask me that?”
Lennox shrugged. “You were Mom’s friend before I was born, and you’re the only one who’s ever come to our house.”
His tone made it sound like he wasn’t even interested, but he’d been interested enough to ask, hadn’t he?
“I’m not your dad,” Aaron said, settling himself down on the saggy couch. “Though you seem like a pretty awesome kid, so I’m happy to volunteer as your uncle.”
Lennox stared at him for a moment, as though making a silent judgement. Then he shrugged and flopped down next to Aaron on the couch. “Okay.” He was silent for a moment, staring hard at Aaron’s right foot. “What happened to your leg?”
Aaron raised his eyebrows. “You can tell it’s fake, huh?”
