As the gate clanged shut, the car moved forward again, hesitating before it pulled out onto the highway to make sure nothing was coming, then as it drove away, Cristie cast a quick look at his new house.
Sees us,his Dragon growled telepathically.
Or senses us,Remi agreed.
Mate should come to us!his Dragon insisted.
In time. Give her time,Remi said trying to down play his own ire at seeing her spending time with another male.
His Dragon retreated angrily to the back of his mind, irritated that Remi wouldn’t act on his idea to get their mate and the dog out of the car then set it ablaze with the male inside.
There was a tap on his back door, pulling his attention away from the tail lights fading in the distance. Remi pulled his emotions together, and turned toward the door which still stood open, with only the screen door closed. “Come on in,” Remi said.
Richie opened the screen door and stepped inside with a grocery bag in his arms. “Got you some bread, some eggs, some butter and cheese. Got a few apples and some grapes, and a half-gallon of milk. We buy it in half-gallons so it’s easier to store in the fridge instead of so much weight on the shelves from a whole gallon. Should be enough to get you through a day or two until you can go for your perishables. You should be good on non-perishables, but take a look to make sure you’re not missing something you’re used to having before you go to the store.”
“Thanks, you really didn’t have to do that. I don’t want to be a burden.”
“You’re not. You’re one of us now and you’re getting settled at night when it’s not convenient to go out for whatever you might need.”
“I appreciate that, Richie. It makes a difference.”
“Good. Oh, one other thing, we’re all welcome to eat at the restaurant whenever we want. We don’t have to pay, but if you want to, that’s okay, too. It used to be a diner before it burned down. We rebuilt it a little nicer than it was so it’s more than a roadside diner now, but it’s still casual enough that we serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, so if you’d rather do that than cook, you are not the only one, my friend. I even bring dinner home from there often on the nights I don’t work late.”
“I’m sure I’ll follow your lead. Why cook a meal if it’s just me, you know?”
“Exactly. But it’s still nice to be able make a pot of coffee in the mornings or have an egg or two at home, you know?”
“Yep. I do.”
“Okay, I’ll leave you to it, we start cooking at 5:00 A.M. We open the store at 6:00 A.M., and the restaurant at 7:00. The night crew will do the prep the night before if it’s one of my early nights, so all we have to do is start cooking the next day just like this morning. But I know you just got here, so if you need to get afew things done instead, go right ahead. I know you have options and don’t have to be at the restaurant if you don’t want to. But if you do, I wasn’t kidding when I told Riley you were a huge addition to our team today. I’d be glad to have you join us.”
“I’m happy to help out. I’ll see you tomorrow morning. If I want to pick something up for the house, maybe I’ll just leave a little early in the afternoon.”
Richie beamed happily, glad to have Remi want to join him at the restaurant. “Sounds good to me. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Sure thing,” Remi said, watching Richie walk toward his back door. “Hey?” Remi asked at the last minute.
Richie turned to face him, waiting expectantly for his question.
“You know anybody that drives a red Ferrari?” Remi asked.
“Yeah! I do, as a matter of fact. Kaiser does. I forgot to tell you about his family,” Richie said, miming knocking himself in the head. “He’s Roman’s great nephew. His dad is Basilio Lyakhov.”
“The hall of famer?” Remi asked.
“The same. Basilio is Roman’s nephew and is a Silverback shifter as well. His mate, Renata, is human, and they’ve got two kids, a son, and a daughter, who are both Silverback shifters, too. Kaiser is their son, and their daughter’s name is Summer. They’re members of the Pride also, but they live about thirty minutes away. They used to split their time between Atlanta and here until Basilio retired some years back. They’re here full time now. But Kaiser is in the MLB now, and is only here part time. Summer’s back and forth as she tries to figure out what she wants to do next.”
Remi nodded slowly. “Nice car.”
“Despite his reputation, he’s a nice kid. I know he’s about your age and you’re a grown ass man, but to us, you’re the next generation, so… nice kid.”
Remi grinned. “I get it. I’m called a kid all the time back home despite the fact that I’m twenty-eight.”
“See you in the morning, kid,” Richie teased, waving as he went out of the back door.
Remi chuckled as he walked over and closed the door before he took the groceries out of the plastic bag Richie had brought them in and put them away in the fridge, then gave all the cabinets a quick once over so he’d know where everything was. Richie wasn’t kidding when he said he shouldn’t need much else. There were glass canisters filled with sugar and flour, salt and pepper grinders filled to the brim and an array of spices to cook with. He found coffee in the freezer so that it would stay fresh, and even found a box of Luzianne tea in the pantry as well. There were canned goods, boxed sides and dinners, mac n cheese and rice mixes, and a huge unopened bag of Zatarain’s long grain rice. There were snacks and cookies, and a couple of six packs of soft drinks, as well as a six pack of beer and an unopened bottle of wine. He had plates and bowls and silverware and a couple of skillets and pots and even baking sheets and casserole dishes.
He went outside to his car and got the rest of his belongings, including the ice chest his mother had sent with him and put the rest of the sandwiches and drinks in the fridge and the ice packs in the freezer. He pressed down the handle that turned on the ice maker when he happened to notice it was off, then opened a few of the cabinets until he found space for his ice chest inside one of the bottom cabinets. He stood back and surveyed his new kitchen. He had everything he’d need.
