Page 84 of Devil's Queen
Rem rolls her eyes at me before smacking me again. “I told you it was open.”
I chuckle, rubbing my arm where Rem’s playful smacks landed. “Guess we’ll have to invest in some soundproof windows then.”
Miss Blanche tsks at us. “You’re just like newlyweds. You damn near died, and you can’t seem to keep your hands to yourself.”
I reach for Rem, pulling her close to me before placing a kiss on her lips. “If you had a girl as beautiful as I do, Miss Blanche, you’d have trouble keeping your hands off her too.”
“Well, I don’t, and if you don’t want the entire neighborhood to come beating on your door in the middle of the night, you two best keep that to yourselves.” She waves her wooden spoon at us again. “Damn youngins.”
Rem and I exchange a mischievous glance before bursting into laughter. Miss Blanche shakes her head, a smile tugging at her lips despite her attempts to look stern.
“All right, all right,” I say, releasing Rem and holding up my hands in surrender. “We’ll make sure to be more considerate.” Just as I’m about to ask about the breakfast Rem was cooking, the door creaks open, and Birdie saunters in with Beaux trailing behind her.
“Daddy… did you hear noises last night?” Birdie asks, plopping herself at the kitchen table with her stuffed elephant next to her. “Jellybean was very scared.”
“I heard them too,” Beaux remarks. “Sounded like a dying cat.”
Rem shoots me a knowing smile before turning to Birdie. “It won’t happen again, baby girl. Your daddy took care of it this morning.”
“The hell it won’t,” I murmur under my breath. I’ll never get enough of her. We’ll just have to be a bit more creative with two kids in the house with us.
“Why does it smell so good in here?” Beaux asks.
Rem gestures toward the stove. “Well, if your dad can manage to wait a little longer without sneaking any more peeks…”
I hold up my hands again, feigning innocence. “Hey now, who said I was sneaking? I was just curious.”
Miss Blanche shakes her head in amusement, a twinkle in her eyes. “You’re all a bunch of troublemakers, I swear. It’s ready, Remy.”
Rem excitedly walks back over to the stove, peering down at the labor of love simmering in the pot. Miss Blanche collects the bowls from the countertop and passes them to Rem. Each one is filled up before she hands them to me to distribute to the kids and the open chairs at the table. Miss Blanche settles into the open seat between the kids while Rem stands with me and watches.
“Mama, is this?” Beaux asks with wide, excited eyes. His spoon is in it before she can even answer him as he shovels bite after bite into his mouth. “It’s so good!”
Birdie chows down, too, eating faster than I’d ever seen her before. She normally had to be poked and prodded to finish dinner before the rest of us went to bed.
Rem finally hands the last bowl to me. “Try it,” she urges me. Taking the spoon she’d put inside it, I scoop up some of the creamy, white mixture and eat it. The flavors explode in my mouth, a perfect combination of spices and warmth that makes me close my eyes in bliss. “Rem, this is incredible,” I exclaim, savoring each bite.
“I know.” She winks. “It’s Mama’s cheddar cheese and chive grits.”
“It’s damn good, baby.”
“Thanks.” She blushes. Cooking has never been her thing. Now, her mama is a damn good cook. I’d only gotten to experience a few of Ameline’s home-cooked meals when I was a prospect, but they are still in the top five of the best meals of my life.
“Is she enjoying herself on her cruise with your Aunt Kitty?” After everything that had happened, Ameline, despite her injuries, stepped up to help Rem take care of the kids and me. I owed her a lot, and when I was finally back on my feet enough that I didn’t need so much supervision, I’d surprised her with a cruise. Rem had confessed that since she had Beaux, Ameline hadn’t taken a day off once. It was high time she got to enjoy herself and find some happiness as her daughter had.
“She is. Aunt Kitty says she can barely keep up with her.”
“When you going to send me on a cruise?” Miss Blanche asks from the table.
“You tell me where you want to go, and I will,” I fire back.
Miss Blanche chuckles and shakes her head. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about me, young man. I’ve had my fair share of adventures in this lifetime. In fact, my bible study group is going out on an alligator tour this morning with the new pastor and his family.”
Beaux’s eyes go wide. “Can we go?”
Birdie echoes his question. “I wanna see alligators too!”
“Hey now, Miss Blanche didn’t say she was taking you two along. Don’t go inviting yourself to something.”