Page 94 of Reaper

That has all the guys at the table laughing. Reaper shakes his head, the corner of his lips twitching as he tries not to smile.

We eat mostly in silence for a while, and when I finish my po’boy, I debate asking Loki questions. I decide to just go for it. If he doesn’t want to answer, he doesn’t have to. Though I think I’ll stick mainly to food topics until I know him better.

“So, what other Cajun dishes are some of your favorites, Loki?”

Loki moans as he puts down his fork after taking his last bite of food off his plate and takes a swig of his beer. “Fuck. Where to start? Gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish étouffée, shrimp creole, the seafood boils, blackened fish, dirty rice, beignets, and that’s just to name a few.Ma mère(My mom) could make it all and she was damn good at it. She had a big spice garden off to the side of her vegetable garden and I remember our house always smelling like the spices and herbs that she would have drying from the rafters. She always grew a bunch because she would dry them and sell her spice mixtures at the market. Us kids would help her tie them together and hang them for her. My oldest sister, Cécile, and I loved to helpnotre mère(our mom) in the kitchen, too.” He pauses and the tips of his ears turn a little pink. “The recipes you guys used are actually ones I copied from the cookbooksde maman(of mother’s).”

I grin at that and hope those words all meant some variation of the word ‘mom’. It sounded like it might be, so I’m goingto go with that. Hm. Maybe I should learn some French. Or maybe look up if there is a difference between French and Cajun French. For now, though, I push those thoughts aside.

“Well, I hope you’ll let us try out some of her other recipes because I am in love with these ones.”

The pink on the tips of his ears darkens. “Ouais(Yeah), just let me know and I’ll show them to you.Maman(Mom) gave them to me one year for my birthday when I’d let it slip that I missed her cooking.”

“She sounds like a wonderful woman.” I’d love to meet her, but I don’t know if she comes up to visit Loki or not.

Loki grins widely. “Elle est la meilleure. She’s the best.”

“Is she coming up next summer?” Punisher asks and Loki nods.

“Ouais(Yeah), it’s her year to visit.”

Huh. Do they trade off and on since we’re pretty far from New Orleans?

Loki must see the question on my face because he tilts his head toward Punisher. “Every year,Maman(Mom) and I trade off for who visits who and it’s usually for a week or two. Sometimes my siblings and their kids join her, other times, I just see them when I’m down there. This year, she’s coming to see me. She hasn’t pinned down exactly when she’s coming yet, but it’s usually in the summer.”

“I could see that. Mama Astrid told me you grew up in New Orleans and that it gets really hot and humid down there. That must be a nice break for them.”

He nods and seeing the muscles in his shoulders tense, I switch the topic.

“So, you said there’s a party tonight?” I ask Reaper as a different ball of worry forms in my stomach.

“After this, we’ll go out to light the firepits, however, the party will probably migrate inside as the night gets colder.”

“Speaking of it getting colder, when are you wanting to get her gear?” Punisher asks Reaper and it takes a moment to realize he means my riding gear. Excitement thrums through me at getting to ride with Reaper.

Reaper turns to me. “Wanna go tomorrow? A Prospect could drive you to the dealership and then I can take you on a short ride.”

I pause as I think about what all I need to get. “Well, everything but my boots are at Uncle Mark’s. He’s the only one I’ve ridden with before. I’ll need a warmer coat for sure since the one I have is meant for summer, though I think it might be time for a new helmet. I’ve had it for four years already.”

Reaper frowns at me for a moment before understanding dawns on him. “Fuck, why didn’t I make the connection that Mark is your uncle before now?”

Now it’s my turn to frown.

Reaper smirks. “I own the garage Mark works at. I just never put two and two together that he was your uncle.”

I groan. “And I don’t know how I never made the connection that you guys own Steel Garage. What other businesses do you guys own or have a stake in?”

“Beside the garage, we have the Harley Davidson store and garage—Punisher runs the store side while Odin manages the motorcycle garage that’s attached to it. Loki runs The Steel Bars and we’re thinking of buying the building attached to it to make it into a lounge. Smithy runs Steel’s Forge and Cannon runs Steel Fitness. We also own a couple of apartment complexes—one of them being low-income.”

“Nice. I didn’t know about the forge, gym, or the apartments but knew you all ran the others.”

Movement behind us has me looking over my shoulder to see everyone getting up and taking their dishes into the kitchen.

“Looks like we’re making our way outside,” Loki says as he gets up with his plate and empty bottle.

I do the same and kiss Reaper’s cheek as I stand. “I’ll help Mama Astrid put everything away and then I think I’ll run to your house to get my hoodie. I didn’t think to bring it earlier.”

Reaper stands and then digs something out of his pocket before handing it to me. “Here, Darlin’. That way you don’t have to always ask for mine. One is to the house and the other to my room here at the clubhouse. I’ll get you the code to the alarm in a minute.”