“That’s exactly it,” Maeve said as she walked into the kitchen right behind them.
Niko turned to her quickly. “Why do you say that?” he asked.
“Because I’ve been told all about you. You only date females that you don’t like, and hopefully don’t like you. If they even ask you about yourself, you immediately shut them down and refuse to go out with them. You’ve preached all your life about not wanting a mate. No mate for you! No way, no how, nobody’s going to tie you down! Sounds like Peter Pan syndrome to me. You’ll never grow up, never be responsible for anyone but yourself because then you’d have to put someone before your own wants.”
Niko stood there, his expression morphing into one of anger. But not at her. When she finished speaking he only wanted to know one thing. “Who do I have to kill?”
“How should I know who’s on your elimination list this week. I would guess whoever you spent the night with last night, since they probably asked your name and all,” Maeve said.
“I didn’t spend the night with anyone last night!” he said indignantly. “I meant, who told you that? Who?”
“I don’t know. But his mate’s name is Kassidy. I like him. He’s honest, forthwith, and seems to care an enormous amount about her,” Maeve said. “You should spend more time with him, you might pick up a habit or two from him.”
“Vance. I gotta kill Vance,” Niko said.
“Who’s Vance?” Griffin asked as he walked into the kitchen. “What are you cooking, Mom?”
“Vance is the male that told your Momma a lot of lies about me.”
Griffin climbed up into one of the kitchen chairs and sat down. “I need to eat, because we gotta kill Vance, Mom.”
“You are not killing Vance. And you are not going anywhere with Niko,” Maeve said.
“Oh, come on!” both Griffin and Niko exclaimed.
Alison poured two cups of coffee and looked back Feral. “How do you take it?” she asked.
“Black,” he answered.
Alison put two splashes of milk into her cup, then took both cups, went over and sat down at the table.
Feral sat down beside her and she handed him a cup.
“Breakfast and entertainment,” she said to him, sipping as she watched Maeve and Niko.
Feral laughed.
“I, too, would appreciate some coffee. I’ve been up all night,” Niko said.
Maeve looked over at him, making it clear she heard him, then at Alison. “Is there anything in the fridge that you’d rather me not consider for breakfast?”
“Not at all. Have at it,” Alison said.
“Do you want Mr. I’ll-Be-Single-For-Life-Because-I’ll-Never-Grow-Up to have some of your coffee?” Maeve asked.
Alison tried to stifle a laugh, but ended up grinning. “We can share with him. He’s not all bad. Just a little misunderstood sometimes.”
“Thank you!” Niko said, shooting side eye at Maeve as he went toward the coffee pot. He poured himself a cup, added a few spoons of sugar, then looked over at Griffin, who so far didn’t even have anything to drink. He opened the fridge and took out a bottle of apple juice. “Juice, little man?” he asked.
Griffin grinned at him and nodded enthusiastically.
Niko sat down beside Griffin, handed him his juice, and watched as Maeve started cooking.
Maeve took eggs, green onion, spinach, cottage cheese, and bacon out of the refrigerator. Then she looked over at Alison. “Do you have any flour?”
“I do, in the pantry,” she said, pointing to a door on the opposite side of the kitchen.
“Thanks.” Maeve went to the pantry and came back with flour and a container of baking powder. She put bacon in the air fryer and got it started, then quickly made a dough from some milk, flour, baking powder and a little salt, and kneaded it for several minutes before buttering the inside of a glass casserole dish she found on a shelf in the large walk in pantry. She used a glass to roll it out into a rectangle, then lifted it and laid it in the bottom of the casserole dish. Then she cracked a dozen eggs into a bowl, added chopped green onions, spinach, and cottage cheese along with some spices. When the air fryer dinged, she took out the bacon slices and crumbled them into the egg mixture, then poured it onto the crust in the baking dish. She topped it with some shredded cheese, then popped it in the oven and set the timer for twenty minutes. She added more bacon to the air fryer, then poured herself a cup of coffee, added sugar and milk, then took a seat herself.
