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he was delighted at her offer, and asking how she wanted them to arrange flight bookings
and so on.
Two months in the house alone. It would be hard, but since he could hardly tell Dee
or Alex what was really behind his insomnia lately, losing their company was less
important than ensuring their safety. He d just have to cope. There was always....
Except maybe there wouldn t be Spen. Daniel hadn t given him much incentive to
put up with his nonsense, and whatever mild affection Spen felt for him, might already
have evaporated now he d had to deal with the reality of Daniel s crazy life.
Kani squeaked.  What s up, squirt? Daniel went to pick him up, but his kem fought
furiously to be left alone.  Okay, okay, calm down. What s wrong? Kani squeaked again
and pushed something out from under the notes Daniel had been making. His phone.  It
wasn t lost, Kani. Thanks for finding it though.
Kani squeaked again, and stamped on the phone, actually pushing one of the keys.
Fortunately the keypad was locked.  Stop that, Daniel said, picking the phone up and
putting it on the other side of the computer.  What s up with you, hmmm?
Kani jumped across the keyboard and started stamping on the phone again,
squeaking like a crazy thing.  Bloody hell, what s got into you?
Another stamp.  Is the phone annoying you? I ll turn it off. He went to pick it up
but Kani nipped his hand.  Now that s really not on, squirt. What?
Kani walked over to the keyboard and began banging on it. Daniel was about to lift
him off and scold him properly when he realised what key Kani was hitting.  S .
Daniel stared at his kem in astonishment.  You re trying to tell me something? Kani
squeaked, his tail lashing.   S for...Spen?
Kani meeped and did a somersault. Daniel had never seen his kem do anything like it
before.  What about Spen?
Kani jumped back over to the phone and nudged it towards him.  I can t, squirt. It s
late.
Kani put a foot on the phone and squeaked angrily, his tail erect and stiff with
annoyance.  God, you re persistent. He doesn t want to hear from me, and not at this
time of night.
Kani pushed the phone over to Daniel at such speed he had to catch it before it fell
off the edge.  Look, I ll text him, okay? Will that suit your highness? Kani meeped and
nodded. Not for the first time in his life, Daniel wondered just how damn smart kems
really were. Probably a lot more than anyone gave them credit for.
It was after eleven, and even though it was a Friday night, calling someone whose
routine he barely knew at this time was not acceptable, whatever tantrum Kani threw. But
Spen s text message tone was pretty discreet, Daniel recalled. It was unlikely to wake
him up, so he could risk that, he supposed.
But what to say?  Sorry for being a dickhead? Or maybe,  Thanks for suggesting
the thing about my aunt?
Neither was the kind of thing which justified a late night text. Or, for that matter,
Kani s weird behaviour.
His kem watched him intently with bright, mischievous eyes. He stamped his foot
again as if to say,  Get on with it.
 You re a pain, you know that?
Kani lay down, head resting on his paws, like butter wouldn t melt in his terribly
maligned mouth.  You re not fooling anyone. Kani s tail flicked disdainfully.
Daniel stared at his phone. The only thing he really wanted to say to Spen was the
one thing that would probably drive him away. Maybe he should say it anyway, get it
over with. Better now than when he had come to rely even more on Spen. When losing
Spen s friendship would become a wound too great to bear.
~~~~~~~~
Spen was staring at the ceiling, trying to stop his busy brain from cycling over the
events of the day and the last week, when his phone gave a quiet  tink . He was tempted
to ignore it, but Myko reached over from the pillow and batted the phone with his paw.
Spen had to catch it to stop it falling on the ground, and the screen told him the incoming
message was from  Danny .
He opened it. All it said was,  I don t want to wait.
The kid had to be awake. Spen called his number.
 Hey. I thought you d be asleep. Daniel sounded completely alert.
 I d like to be, but my brain has other ideas. Um...Danny, I don t want to wait
either.
A pause, then Daniel said slowly.  So what about the trial?
 I was over at Julian s tonight, and I asked Zachary about what would happen if in
theory our relationship changed before the trial started. He said so long as I was sure
none of my actions were motivated by or appeared to be motivated by malice, and I told
the exact truth in court, it should be okay. I should tell Inspector Shah too, in case he
needs to know. He also said that so far as he could tell, my evidence was a very minor
part of the case.
 Really?
 Yeah, really. So I don t want to wait, and I don t need to wait. The only question
left is...what do you want?
 You, Daniel breathed into the phone, and Spen smiled, his heart lighter than it had
been all day.  Is that all right?
 Better than, Danny boy. How are you doing? How did it go with Dee and Alex?
 Okay. They accepted the story. Oh, and my aunt is happy to take them over the
holidays. We just have some details to sort out and then they can fly out.
 Oh that s great. Uh...but that means you ll be on your own.
 Will I?
 Only if you want to be.
 I don t want to be.
 See, that was easy. He heard Daniel laugh.  Want me to come over now?
 Um, yeah, I do, but it s not a good idea. Dee will wonder and I don t want to
distract her. But if you re not busy tomorrow, I said I d take Alex down to the skate park,
and then out for lunch, so Dee can have peace and quiet.
 I d love to come. But will you sleep tonight?
 Hang on. He heard the phone being set down, and the distant sound of Kani
chirping. A few more seconds, then Daniel was back on the line.  Okay, I m in bed now.
Can we talk until I m sleepy?
 Sure. Unless I fall asleep first.
 Myko can turn the phone off.
 Kems can t use phones, Danny.
 Don t you be too sure about that....
~~~~~~~~
The kids greeted the news that the trip was on with shouts and hugs, but almost
immediately, Dee began to fret.  Visas  [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]