“There’s plenty for another mouth,” Aunt Suze called after him. “And I suspect it’s Dieter. I left a note telling him where we’d be if he wanted to stop by. And of course he was concerned about you, too.”

Dieter, Frank and Suze’s son, had been his best friend since grade school, and Cisco had wondered how long the man could stay away.

“Hey, Diets,” Cisco greeted as he pulled open the door before teasing. “You just couldn’t let me have your mom’s ravioli for left-overs, could you?”

“And let your trim physique suffer since you won’t be able to work out for a while?” Dieter responded, giving him a huge grin. “I’m doing you a huge favor, asshole.”

“Language, Dieter,” his mother called from the other room.

“Yes, Ma,” he said dutifully, but shot Cisco a friendly bird, just the same. “You going to invite me in, or what?”

“I am. And make it quick before your dad eats everything.”

Frank Ildavorg—almost as much as Cisco—was known for his enormous appetite.

An hour later, with every scrap of food having been consumed and the entire scene outside the bank having been rehashed a dozen times, his aunt loaded his dishwasher, then Frank packed up their empty containers and made to leave.

“If you need anything else,” Aunt Suze told him, “just call. I know your mother is working all week, but I’m available to take care of you.”

Cisco looked at her, puzzled. “I’ll, uh, also be at work tomorrow,” he informed her.

“Oh, no you won’t,” Uncle Frank admonished. “You’ll take the week off. I’m not having you rip your chest open to bleed all over your uniform on my watch. That bike you ride is a monster, and I can’t see you wrangling it around town without doing additional damage.”

Cisco blinked. “I’ll take my truck, then,” he offered.

When was the last time he’d had a week off? Never? The most he’d missed had been a weekend day here or there for his teammates’ recent weddings.

“That’s also a no.” His uncle and chief laid down the law. “You are not to show up in uniform until a week from tomorrow. Am I understood?”

Cisco felt like he needed to confess. “But I’ve, uh, already made plans to head to Camp Venture on Tuesday.”

His uncle pondered for a moment. “Will you be physically teaching?”

“No. I’ve discussed it with Hilly, uh, Miss Duncan, and I’ll be giving verbal instruction only until the doctor clears me for action.”

“Then yes. By all means. Go out to the lake and enjoy yourself,” Uncle Frank directed him.

With tender hugs and air kisses, both his aunt and uncle were soon out the door. Which left him with Dieter.

“Shouldn’t you be getting home, too?” Cisco asked. “Don’t you have to be up at some ridiculously stupid hour to spend the day lounging around on your boat?”

Cisco was joking. In reality, Dieter worked damned hard hauling traps all day.

“Dick,” Dieter returned with a grin. “You’re just trying to get rid of me so you don’t have to tell me about…Hilly. Don’t think I didn’t catch that first name drop, or the light in your lecherous eyes when you mentioned her.”

Cisco groaned. First his parents, then Welker, now Dieter. Would the whole world know about his crush before he’d even gotten a chance to take her out on their first date?

But Cisco knew, in order to assuage Diet’s curiosity, he’d have to throw the man some kind of bone.

“Fine. Let’s just say she’s a person of interest to me.”

Dieter snorted and waggled his brows. “A redhead?”

Yup. His friend knew him well, and his preference for blonde women had never been a secret.

“She is,” Cisco admitted. “But I’ve decided that’s just icing on the cake. She’s also smart, and…intriguing.”

Dieter laughed. “Intriguing, huh? Is that code for she didn’t fall for your charms right away?”

“Suck it, asshole. I’m working on it, okay?”

“Okay. Fine. Do I know her? What’s her last name?” Dieter continued.

“Duncan,” Cisco revealed, “and although that doesn’t ring a bell, there’s something about her that’s weirdly familiar.”

“I’d think with your tech-guru connections at the station and with your SWAT team, you could have someone do a deep dive on her; find out exactly who she is,” Dieter suggested.

“That doesn’t seem creepy to you?” Cisco wouldn’t tell him he’d already pondered it about a hundred times.

“Nope. After all, you’ll be working with her, and she works with kids. You want to make sure the camp’s not just a front for something like a foreign child kidnapping ring. Does she have an accent?”

Cisco snorted. “Idiot. She inherited the camp from her grandmother, and her parents are local. She’s one of us.”

“Then how come we don’t know her? How old is she?” Dieter probed.

“Our age.” Cisco sighed. “But she said she went to private school, which is why we never ran into her.”

“I don’t know,” Dieter shook his head. “It sounds kind of fishy to me.”

Cisco voiced his thoughts out loud. “I thought so, too, especially because there’s something extra-prickly about her. When you ask questions about her past or her family, she closes up tighter than a sealed vault. It’s not like I think she’s lying or anything. It’s more like she’s…avoiding.”

“If anyone can get to the bottom of things, it’s you. I have faith, young padawan. And now, it’s past my bedtime.” He turned to go, then pivoted back. “If you’re up for it, maybe tomorrow night I can bring over some lobsters?”

“I’d like that.” Cisco answered with a smile. He never got to see enough of his best friend, and he was looking forward to remedying that with his new schedule.

Dieter slapped him on the back, which made Cisco draw in a hiss.

“Oops. Sorry,” he excused himself, but with a grin. The dick knew exactly what he’d done.

“Sure you are, asshole,” Cisco snorted. “You’d better watch out Diets. The next time one of those red-critters you harvest tries to take off your finger, I’m going to shake your hand until you cry like a pussy.”

Dieter laughed, then pulled open the door. “Right. I won’t hold my breath on that one.” His face grew serious for a moment. “You know I’ve missed you, dick-head. I’m glad you didn’t get dead.” He regained his cockiness. “Now look into that woman.”

With that parting advice, Dieter saluted, then whistled his way back to his truck.

“Look into that woman,” Cisco repeated in a murmur.