AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He gave her a final kiss and whispered, “Welcome to Boston.”
Downstairs at the dining room table, Raven studied the unfamiliar dish on her plate. It was made of potatoes and carrots and what shethought might be sausage. She wasn’t sure what the other ingredients were. Brax was seated across from her, and when she raised questioning eyes his way, he said, “It’s hash.”
“Ah,” she replied doubtfully.
Kate came out of the kitchen with cups of coffee. Raven picked up her fork and dug in. She didn’t want to insult the housekeeper or be disrespectful. For a bayou girl who’d grown up on bacon, eggs, and grits, the hash was plenty terrible, but she kept her distaste from her face.
“How is it, Miss Moreau?” Kate asked.
“It’s fine.”
Kate asked Braxton, “Is she lying?”
The question caught Raven by surprise and she looked Braxton’s way. Over his raised coffee cup, he smiled. “You can tell her the truth, Raven.”
Kate waited patiently for the answer.
Raven didn’t want to hurt the woman’s feelings. “Let’s just say this isn’t what I’m accustomed to eating for breakfast.”
The housekeeper smiled. “Your kindness is appreciated. Honestly, I’m not very good in the kitchen, never have been.”
Raven was even more surprised.
Kate explained, “Braxton’s grandfather, bless his stingy excuse for a heart, refused to hire a cook, so he made his lovely wife and everyone else who sat at this table eat my terrible food. After that first visit, not many of the people he knew accepted his dinner invitations.”
Raven went from surprised to floored.
Brax said, “Raven’s an excellent cook, Kate.”
“Are you?”
“It’s how I make my living. I’m a domestic.”
“No,” Kate said, sounding astonished. She asked Brax, “Is she pulling my leg?”
He shook his head.
“You cook and clean, too?”
“I do.”
“Well, I’ll be damned. Oh, sorry. My word.”
Raven laughed.
Kate asked, “You know this one is a spoiled prince.” She pointed at Braxton. “Silver spoon since the day he was born.”
“Hey!” Braxton said, playfully coming to his own defense. “I thought you loved me.”
“I do. Doesn’t change who you are.” She said to Raven, “But he’s a good prince. Not an evil bone in his body.”
Raven liked Kate.
Kate asked, “So can you teach me a thing or two? My poor husband, Tom, keeps threatening to trade me in for the cook at the pub he usually eats at when he’s home. I’d like to fix him a meal that makes him smile instead of grumble. He’s out at sea right now.”
“I’d love to help you. When I get the chance, I’ll take a look at your pantry and cold box and see what you might need.”
Kate said to Brax, “Marry this one.” And she returned to the kitchen.
