Page 64 of What I Should Have Known

“So, can you do a crawfish boil or make some jambalaya or gumbo tomorrow or something?” Raiden asked.

Ford breathed out heavily and leaned back against the cupboards, shooting a sideways glance at me before returning to my brother. “Did your mom bring most of the seasonings with her during the move?”

Raiden nodded.

“I guess I can find my way to the grocery store and see what they got. Might end up more like a seafood boil, but sure,” Ford replied, his Cajun accent thickening with each passing word.

I chuckled, and wiggled my brows at Ford, mockingly. “Ba-wl,” I repeated, pronouncing the word “boil” like he had.

“Fuck you, man.” Ford lifted both hands and flipped me off.

“Say water,” I taunted.

He narrowed his eyes. “Fuuuuuck you.”

Another knock at the door had Raiden shooting off the couch and ending our conversation. Muffin suddenly whacked me with her paw, and I immediately opened my arms. She hopped out of my hold and wandered across the counter toward Ford as Raiden slid to a stop in front of the door.

“What’s his deal?” Ford mouthed at me.

“Girlfriend,” I silently replied.

He raised a single brow and then smirked, looking back at Raiden as the kid pulled open the door again.

Chapter 21

BERNIE

Raiden’s shoulders immediately fell as he stepped sideways. My heart lurched, warmth and knowing exactly why she was pissed surged through my body at the sight of the incredible woman standing with a hip cocked and scowl on her face.

She was clearly here to chew me out, but that fact did little to quench the fire roaring at the sight of her.

“Bernie, it’s for you,” Raiden grumbled and gestured at Kat, bowing as if motioning for a princess to enter the house.

Her frustration slid away with a tip of her head.

I lifted my chin in a nod. “He thought you were Charlotte,” I explained to her.

“Ah,” she replied as Raiden let go of the door and stomped loudlyback to the couch.

Kat pushed some wayward strands from her ponytail behind her ear and cautiously stepped into the house. Goosebumps erupted across my skin as my eyes slid down her body.

A sundress. This woman had decided to put on a sundress that did nothing to hide a single curve or asset on her body. The beautiful turquoise color deepened the tan on her skin, the square neckline accentuating just how blessed this woman was. The dress billowed as she sashayed into the house and brought her bright blue eyes to me.

Scowling once again, she narrowed her eyes. “You just fucking left without a word. In fact, you were so quiet when you took Muffin, I thought I’d lost her and spent almost an hour scrambling to find her until Sawyer told me that you’d grabbed her and gone. And then you’ve ignored me since!” she barked, throwing that hand back on her hip and pursing her pouty lips. “Do you not understand how sh—”

She stopped talking as her gaze slid to Ford quietly seated on the counter, watching the exchange with a smirk. The frustration shifted to confusion as her brows twitched.

“Don’t let me stop you. Bernie deserves a good ass chewing,” Ford said, crossing his arms. Her eyes darted down his right arm covered in a full sleeve of colorful tattoos before returning to me.

As if on a pendulum, her eyes shifted back and forth between Ford and me. Ticking from one side to another, giving a dressing down to both of us—or most likely just me. Her chest expanded and contracted on a slow metronome, a steady rhythm between the two of us as Raiden simply watched the exchange with noisy curiosity as one teenage boy would do.

Then finally she stopped at me and narrowed her eyes.

“Where is your shirt? Do you not have a sense of decency at all?” she continued sharply.

I threw my hands in the air and exhaled sharply. “Okay. This is where I live. Am I not allowed to lounge comfortably in my own house?”

Ford chuckled and tucked his chin into his chest as I shot him a steely glare.

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