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Kaiden stood up and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Same to you,” Q said.

Kaiden was trying to feel him out. It was like Rah had walked in the room and was telling Kaiden what to do. Q didn’t force a conversation with him. I waved for him to come in the kitchen with me so we could talk while I continued dinner. Khari came in every few minutes asking a million damn questions. She wanted to know if he had kids, a dog, and if he knew how to braid hair. He answered all her questions without a lick of aggravation. He didn’t have kids, and I was afraid me having them would run him off. He was up for the challenge. So far, his ass was doing good. Kaiden stayed quiet longer than I expected. When we sat down to eat, he ate his food and just sat there and listened. I could see the questions burning to come out.

“Kaiden, do you have any questions for Q?” I asked.

He didn’t hesitate. “You like my mama?”

“What? You said ask.”

“Nah, he good,” Q said. “Yes, I like your mama.”

“How much?”

I covered my face, and Q laughed because I knew where his mind was.

“I like her enough to be sitting at her table answering interview questions with her son.”

I couldn’t believe Kaiden smiled.

“That’s really not a good answer though,” Kaiden said.

I was starting to regret this whole dinner idea.

“I like your mama enough to respect her life. That means I know she got two kids that came before me. I know she got a job she cares about, and I know she had a whole life before me. I’m not here trying to erase any of that.”

“You know who my dad is?”

“I knew him,” Q told him.

“You ever met him?”

“We talked a few times.”

“What did y’all talk about?” Kaiden kept spitting questions out.

“Business mostly.”

My mood had changed as soon as Rah came into the conversation. I knew he would come up, but I didn’t want it to be about him. After dinner, Q helped me clear the table without making it a big deal. Kaiden went in the living room to finish watching a game and Khari went to her room. I stood at the sink rinsing plates while Q dried his hands beside me.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine. Why?”

“Your energy changed when we got into the Rah conversation.”

“Just never knew y’all talked about business.”

“I didn’t think it mattered. Like I told you, we weren’t friends. He came in the bar a few times. I chop it up with everybody.”

“Every other week I find out you knew something else about him.”

“Averie, this city ain’t that big, and Rah wasn’t exactly unknown. He was just like me, well-known. Shit, he would talk to anyone. Half the business owners in the city probably met the man.”

“I know.”

“I’m not hiding anything from you. I can tell when you start thinking too hard into stuff.”