"He sounds wonderful," Nonny said immediately. "He's the type of man who finds his woman and gives her the best part of himself. Some men are like that. He doesn't need or want approval from anyone else, but for you, he gives whatever he's got inside. He saves that for you. Exclusively."
Cayenne heard the approval in Nonny's voice. Trap was exactly like that. He gave himself to her, every single time. He actually took the time to explain himself when she instinctively knew he didn't ever do that with others. He gave her that look, his eyes going warm and soft, his expression the same, almost tender. He melted her insides every time.
The timer went off, and Nonny went straight into teaching mode. "Now we add the onions and cook for another forty-five minutes. Again, I set the timer. I try to stay around the kitchen or close to it even with the timer going. In this case, while the chicken is cooking, we can start the salad. We're serving a crabmeat salad tonight with the chicken. That should make the boys happy, and each of us can do exactly what we did with the chicken recipe. We'll triple it, each of us doing enough for six."
The door opened, and Malichai came in. He stopped abruptly when he saw the three women. "Whoa, there, Nonny. You can't have Pepper in the kitchen. I'm a starving man, and she has some kind of bad kitchen mojo going on. She's been cursed. Every time she's in here, the fire alarms go off and my food is ruined."
Pepper wadded up a napkin and threw it at him. "Go away. You're a bottomless pit, and for your information, the chicken is being cooked to perfection."
Malichai came closer to peer over their shoulders at the white lump crabmeat. "Woman. That is not chicken. Nonny, she can't be in here. I heard Trap brought his woman to learn from the best. Pepper is going to put that whammy on Cayenne and my brother will starve."
Pepper threw another balled-up napkin, this one hitting him square in the face. "Go away or I will burn the dinner and you'll have to go fishing and eat it raw."
"I've tried raw fish. A couple of times, when I was desperate for nourishment."
"Malichai," Nonny warned. "I've got the broom. You're disturbin' my cookin' lesson. These girls are doin' just fine so don' be distractin' them."
"I just need a bowl of that fine gumbo you've got on the stove," he wheedled, giving her his sweetest, most innocent look.
Cayenne thought he looked like a wolf, not a sheep, but clearly Nonny thought he was an adorable boy. She went straight to the stove and dished him up a very large bowl of soup, added her homemade bread and waved him out.
Malichai winked at Cayenne, glared at Pepper, and smiled angelically at Nonny, who shook her head, her eyes laughing, her mouth curved in a smile. He bent and brushed a kiss on Nonny's cheek. "You're the best," he murmured, clearly meaning it. He glanced at Pepper and Cayenne. "Sorry girls, no kiss for either of you. Wyatt would skin me alive if I touched you, Pepper, so you're just going to have to pine away for me. Trap would boil me in oil, Cayenne, so as sad as this is going to make you, you'll just have to learn to live without my kisses."
"We'll manage," Pepper called after him, as he went out the door.
Nonny shook her head. "That boy needs a woman."
"She'd never keep him fed," Pepper protested. "Although she'd be in stitches every day. On with the lesson, Nonny."
"Put your one pound of crabmeat into your salad bowls. Each of you has a head of iceberg lettuce. Break it into small chunks and add that with the crab. Immediately take anything you can't use and put it in the compost bucket so your work area stays clean. The small bowl is to mix up everything else we need. Chop the capers very fine. We only need a tablespoon full in each of the bowls. Add one teaspoon of lemon juice. I fresh squeeze mine. Always use the freshest ingredients. Add in a half cup of mayonnaise and some of the seasoning we just made up. We're going to put this in the fridge, and before we serve it, we'll pour our sauce over the crabmeat and lettuce, and garnish it with a little paprika and parsley chopped fine. See how easy that is? Now our salad is ready for dinner. The kitchen is still clean, Cayenne."
Cayenne looked around her. Everything was clean, and Nonny made it so easy.
Cayenne realized she was smiling. Malichai was funny, and Pepper, in spite of the teasing, or because of it, really liked him. She wasn't upset with his poking fun at her, and her laughter had been genuine. Nonny clearly had claimed Malichai as her own, and he obviously had great affection for her. And Pepper as well. Relationships were complicated, but they were very nice to have. She was more than enjoying herself. Because she was, she reached out to Trap.
Trap, I'm having so much fun. Nonny and Pepper are wonderful, and Malichai is so cute. Really funny and cute.
There was a moment of silence. Baby, he's not that cute.
She found herself smiling at his reaction. He sounded a little grumpy. He said no kisses for me because you'd boil him in oil. None for Pepper because Wyatt would skin him alive. He didn't seem all that afraid.
I'd skin him before I boiled him, so he'd better be afraid. The grumpiness had disappeared to be replaced by a faint sense of humor. Glad you're having fun, baby.
The women passed the time writing down recipes for Cayenne. Nonny took care to explain how to do things Cayenne didn't understand. When the timer went off again, they added to the chicken and sausage mixture again. Each one added their minced garlic and two and a half cups of uncooked rice, mixing it well. Then each added one cup of dry white wine and three cups of chicken stock.
"We cover this and cook it another forty-five minutes," Nonny explained as she set the timer again. "When it's done, we'll season it with our spice mixture, sprinkle in a little oregano, three and half ounces of blanched almonds and three-fourths of a cup of chopped olives. We can add the last two cups of chicken stock to the mixture and then keep it hot in the oven. When we serve it, we'll saute mushrooms in butter for about five minutes. You want to do that at the last minute. We'll sprinkle those on top and we've got an entire meal. I always serve my homemade bread. The next lesson, we'll bake bread."
Nonny went to the refrigerator and pulled out a large pitcher. "I made us some homemade strawberry lemonade. Thought we could pour it over ice and sit out on the porch. I need me my pipe while our dinner is cookin'."
"That sounds wonderful, Nonny," Cayenne said. "Um. I mean the lemonade, not the pipe. Do you really smoke a pipe?"
Nonny nodded and gestured toward the cabinet. Pepper got out three tall glasses and put them in front of Wyatt's grandmother.
"Been smokin' a pipe since I was about ten years old. Back then, it wasn't considered bad for you. Wyatt tells me to stop, but I'm already eighty. Not goin' to give up somethin' I love at this stage of my life."
They settled on the porch, Nonny in her rocking chair, looking out over the water. Pepper and Cayenne took the chairs facing the swamp. A cool breeze ruffled their hair and felt good against their skin after the heat of the kitchen. Cayenne pressed the icy glass to her forehead before she took a sip. The moment she sampled the drink, her gaze jumped to Nonny's face.
"This is amazing. I definitely want to learn how to make this as well. How do you make everything taste so good?"
"She pours love into it," Pepper said, before Nonny could answer. "I've watched her, and no matter what she says, that's the truth. That's her secret. She puts a recipe together just like everyone else, but she pours love into it and makes it a miracle."
Nonny smiled at Pepper as she lit her pipe, rocking, the chair creaking slightly, soothingly. A kind of comforting, homey sound. Her face was soft and warm, and when her gaze rested on Pepper, there was love there for anyone to see. She looked the embodiment of love.
"Child," she said, her voice low as she smiled at Pepper. Loving.
Cayenne's breath caught in her throat. Nonny was everything she was looking for. Her example. The truth about families and how to go about making them. Pepper had already learned from her. Cayenne had subconsciously known it. She'd been drawn back to Nonny's bedroom time and again.
"Before." Cayenne
waved her hands toward the swamp. "When I was alone and afraid and had nowhere to go, I looked for Trap. It was always Trap I needed."
Both women were looking at her now. She had their full attention. She didn't know how either of them would react when she gave them the truth so she stood up and walked to the thick column that ran to the porch roof. Circling it with one arm she raised her chin and looked Nonny straight in the eye.
"I came here. A lot. Nearly every night after the first two weeks. I had no food, no clothes, I was living in the basement of the old plastics building. I didn't know how to exist in the world. I'd lived in a very small cell my entire life."
Something stirred in Nonny's eyes. Something deep. Cayenne felt that look penetrate straight through her heart to her soul. Nonny was giving her something huge. Claiming her without words. Just as she'd claimed Pepper and her three little granddaughters. Just as she'd claimed Malichai, Trap and the rest of the team members. Hers. They were her family, and she'd be loyal to them and love them until the day she died. She said that with one look. Without a single word, and still, Cayenne, who knew nothing of love and family, understood.
Cayenne blinked back tears, her fingers digging into the wood. "I slipped past the guards and stayed downwind of the dogs. I'm ashamed to admit that I came into your house while you were sleeping, Nonny. I would go to Trap's room and just sit in it." More like cling to the ceiling or the wall, but she wasn't going to admit that. "When I wasn't with him, I went to your room. I didn't know why at the time, but being there, with you, brought me comfort. I felt hope when I was there. I shouldn't have done it, not with you sleeping, I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't stop myself."
She blurted her confession fast. She hadn't felt it was wrong to be in Trap's room, but she knew she shouldn't have sat for hours in Nonny's room.
"Child." Nonny took the pipe from her mouth and held out a hand to Cayenne. "Come here to me."
It was the last thing Cayenne expected, but given what she knew about Wyatt's grandmother, she should have. She pried her fingers from the safety of the column one by one, her heart pounding so loud, it sounded like thunder in her ears. She took three steps toward that outstretched hand.
Something hit the column just where her head had been, smashing into the wood, sending splinters everywhere. The sound came a beat later, the rolling thunder of a long-distance rifle shot.
Cayenne flung herself in front of Nonny. "Pepper, Nonny, get down."
Pepper was already crawling toward cover. Nonny couldn't move that fast. She jerked out of her rocking chair and turned toward the door. Cayenne leapt into the air, an instinctive, strange move that after, she would never know why. The bullet took her square in the chest, driving her backward into Nonny's body. Had she not taken the bullet, it would have struck Nonny between the eyes.
Nonny wrapped her arms around Cayenne as they both went down. Pepper scrambled on all fours to try to get to them to help Wyatt's grandmother pull Cayenne's limp body into the house. Behind them, the door was flung open and Malichai was there, crouched low. He caught Nonny under her armpits and yanked her inside. She had her arms around Cayenne and dragged her in as she was being pulled in.
The second bullet went into Cayenne's limp body, hitting her lower, on her left thigh, tearing through her jeans. Blood spread across her chest and over her leg. Pepper dove into the house and Malichai slammed the door.
"Draden's on the roof. He took the night shift. He was asleep in the house while I was on guard. He's already on the roof and in position now. He'll take out the sniper. We've got a team coming at us. At least five," Malichai told the women, even as he ripped open Cayenne's shirt with one hand, his fingers at the pulse on her neck with the other.
"She's alive," he said. "Fuck!" He shouted the expletive. "I should have seen this coming. Gino's here as well, he's already in the swamp. Everyone else is working on Joe's place down the road. I sent for them, but we're going to take a lot of heat before they get here."
Nonny gave him a cool look. "It isn't necessary to use such language, Malichai. Pepper, in the front bathroom under the sink is a large first-aid kit. I'll need that. My shotgun's just inside the parlor door. Bring that as well. You know where Wyatt keeps his weapons."
Pepper nodded and raced to the other room, staying low, away from the windows. Another bullet crashed into the door, low, but the armor plating Wyatt had installed stopped it from coming into the house. An answering roll of thunder told them Draden had spotted the sniper and had taken his shot.
Malichai pressed his hand over the bullet wound in Cayenne's chest. It was right over her heart. Directly over her heart. Already the area around the hole was swelling and turning color fast. Blood ran like a small river, but when he placed his hand over the wound, he actually felt the bullet. It should have penetrated through Cayenne. She was small. The bullet could go long distances and punch through walls. Malichai was certain it was an AI sniper rifle.
"I can feel the bullet, Nonny. She's not wearing armor. It should have gone right through her. Put your hand right here and apply pressure while I check the one in her leg," he instructed.
He used his knife to rip her jeans open. There was a lot of blood, and he did the same thing he'd done with the chest wound--pressed his hand over it in order to apply pressure. Again, he swore he felt the bullet. It had only penetrated about the length of the bullet itself.
"Both bullets are still inside her. There's no through and through. We'll have to get them out. I'm going to carry her into the bedroom Trap was using. I'll need to hook up an IV to get fluids in her. The way she's bleeding, she might need a transfusion."
Pepper was back with the first aid kit and Nonny's shotgun.
Draden took out the sniper, Malichai, Gino reported. I've located four others. They're moving on the house now. I'm going to try to spot them for Draden. Cayenne told us to take them in the throat. If I can maneuver them out into the open for Draden to get a shot, we can take out a couple before they reach the house. Is Trap's woman alive?
She's alive, but I don't know how. He scored a direct hit right to her heart and another on her thigh that should have gone through, taking out her bone and severing the artery. She's breathing though. I need time. Can you keep them off of us?
We'll keep them off of you, Gino assured. Keep her alive. I've never seen Trap like he is with her. Almost mellow. We're not losing any of our own to Whitney or his robot soldiers.
Malichai set up the IV right there on the floor of Wyatt's home. He'd done the same thing in far worse conditions. On battlefields with mortar fire striking close. On a spinning, bumping helicopter taking fire. Still, when his hands were always steady, he felt a slight tremor. This woman was one of theirs. They couldn't lose her. He'd never be able to look Trap in the eye again. He'd never be able to live with himself.
He lifted Cayenne into his arms and carried her to the back of the house where he placed her on the bed Trap had used when he stayed there. He hung the bag of fluids on a hook on the wall and opened a tray of surgical instruments always kept in a sterile pack.
"Pepper, Draden and Gino are going to try to keep them off of us while I do this. I'll need Nonny's help. You'll have to be our last line of defense. If they get close, let me know."
Pepper nodded. The entire team knew she had a major problem with violence, but when it counted, she would come through. Violence made her horribly ill, and haunted her for weeks, even months after, but she would do whatever it took to protect them. Malichai knew he could count on her and he didn't give it another thought as he rushed to wash his hands and don sterile gloves.
--
It had cost Trap to allow Cayenne the decision to be alone with Nonny and Pepper, but she needed to know she could make her own friends, have her own relationship with the others without him. He wanted that for her, and the only way he could give it to her was by making himself scarce. That put him on the boat with Wyatt and the three little girls. It would also give him a chance to study th
e toddlers. He wanted his own children and he was determined to be a good father. Wyatt was a good man. A good friend. He was also the best father Trap had ever spent time around.
Wyatt took the time showing the girls the various plants and wildlife. He spotted alligators for them and talked about the differences in canals, bayous and marshes. They were toddlers, but they listened attentively. Trap spent a lot of time watching their smiles, evaluating them and their well-being. All three girls were venomous. They had capped their teeth and all got terrible rashes. The caps had to be removed. Trap had studied the venom sacs in the hopes of removing them, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. The way they were situated, it was a difficult and dangerous operation.
Wyatt and Trap had turned their attention to finding a specific antidote and eventually a vaccine those caring for the girls could take to prevent accidental bites from harming them. That earlier research had enabled Trap to find a way to break down the venom Cayenne injected into his body much faster.
"We're going to stop the boat here and let the girls run a bit," Wyatt said. "They need the exercise. They're fast and they need to run off energy. I've cautioned them to listen and stay together. I'll be running behind them."
Trap nodded. "I'll stay with the boat." He found being apart from Cayenne difficult. They'd shared each other's body as well as mind. He'd always been alone. When he was in his laboratory or had turned his attention to a problem, he lost himself in it. He could concentrate wholly on it and nothing else penetrated. Not the need for food or drink or sleep. He could go for days and nights working without a break. During those times, he never thought about anything but his work.
Now he thought about Cayenne. Always. She was there in his mind. When he was away from her, he felt uneasy. He knew, logically, it was because he hadn't been able to prevent the loss of his family, but more, it was because they shared the same mind. It was impossible to feel alone when she was with him, filling every dark place, removing all dark thoughts. He'd been alone so long, now he had her.
She thought her need for him was greater than his for her, but that wasn't the case. He was man enough to admit that. Once he'd found her, once he knew they were compatible in every way, she'd wrapped herself around his heart, around his very guts. More, she was entrenched in his mind.