Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
L ucky Bryant had come by her name honestly.
Despite her general mischievous nature, her luck tended to get her out of a lot of tight spots.
Well, some of that she attributed to her charm, but it was unseemly to say so aloud.
People tended to frown down on women who sang their own praises.
Still, she was not as surprised as her cousin when the waitress walked over to their table to let them know their lunch had been covered.
“What?” Keisha asked, narrowing her eyes.
Her cousin looked at both her and the newest addition to their group, Amber, who held up her hands to indicate that she was just as confused.
The three women had spent the morning shopping and were now seated at the upscale restaurant treating themselves.
She’d never been at the swanky place, but her cousin Keisha was four months pregnant and had a craving for the lamb chops.
While Lucky didn’t normally like to share her cousin’s very limited time, she’d been happy that Amber had joined them today.
The she-wolf was mated to Keisha’s brother-in-law and fit into their circle well.
Despite the bougie way she’d grown up, Amber was down-to-earth, and Lucky enjoyed hanging out with her every time they got together.
For a minute, Lucky had been a little jealous that she would have to share her favorite cousin with someone else, but Amber was easy to love.
The three women had racked up a bill eating and drinking.
Thanks to her cousin’s new family, they had a driver and security taking them home, so they’d been free to indulge.
And indulge they had. Lucky had tried wine that she never would’ve paid for on her own.
The whole meal was amazing and cost a pretty penny, so someone paying their tab couldn’t have been more fortuitous.
Lucky would take the good fortune as a sign of the universe’s reward.
She believed heavy in manifesting. All money she spent would come back to her times three was the motto she lived by. But still…
“Devon didn’t do it?” Lucky finally asked her cousin.
“No, he puts the money in my account for stuff like this. He wouldn’t have called up here for that.”
“May I ask who paid?” Amber asked in her sweet voice.
The hostess who’d dropped by to deliver the news smiled and leaned forward. “Mr. Kaine took care of it.” At their blank glances, the woman stood straight. “You don’t know who that is?”
They shook their heads.
Shock raised the woman’s eyebrows. “Well, everything is taken care of, including the tip.”
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Lucky grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder.
Amber stood next, her face a mask of confusion. “You’re not concerned about who that is?”
“For what? It’s already done and I’m gonna thank the Lord for my blessings and keep it moving. Ain’t that what Sundays are for?”
Keisha snorted. “You’re so ridiculous.”
They walked to the valet and Lucky’s panther raised. She looked around, wondering what had it intrigued. There was a scent on the air that had her body humming, but that could also be the expensive wine. It was formulated especially for shifters, so Lucky had a nice little buzz in her bloodstream.
Still, she lifted her nose and inhaled deeply.
There was something there…but when she didn’t find the source of it, she shook it off and got into the back of the luxury SUV that had come around for them.
Her cousin was living lavish now and she couldn’t be happier, especially since she got to enjoy the perks of that life.
She waited until Keisha shuffled to the third row before buckling in.
“Drop me off at mama’s,” Lucky told Oak, Amber’s regular security guard.
He nodded at the driver, a male Lucky didn’t recognize, and they pulled into the afternoon traffic. Now that they were on the road, curiosity burned through her. She turned her body to the side so she could talk to her cousin.
“I know that look,” Keisha said with a laugh.
“I mean…I may not look a gift horse in the mouth, but I am curious,” she told them.
Amber leaned forward in her seat. “Oak, do you know anyone called Mr. Kaine?”
Oak turned and shot them a look that only raised her curiosity more. “Where did you run into Kaine?”
Lucky turned her full attention to Amber’s security guard. “We didn’t. He paid for our lunch, though.”
Oak frowned. “I know of him,” was the answer he gave, facing forward to effectively shut the conversation down.
All three women shared a look. Who was Kaine and why hadn’t she ever heard of him? Her nosy ass knew everyone in Eastfield.
Her cat perked up in interest and that was a relief. Her animal had been sullen lately, and Lucky herself had been tired.
Well, was it tired or was it bored?
That was the question, but both she and her animal had been too apathetic to answer. This, though… This was something different, interesting, and her panther moved through her body, the cat equally curious.
Amber’s phone rang seconds later and the she-wolf rolled her eyes before putting the call on speaker. She should’ve known Oak would tattle on them to Declan. The wolf was serious as hell about his mate’s safety.
“Yes, my love?” Amber said in a sarcastic, saccharine tone.
“Bunny, you ran into Kaine?”
Amber sighed and shot Oak the bird, to which he only smirked. “We didn’t even meet the guy. He just paid for our lunch.”
“For what?”
“Now how I’m supposed to know that, having never talked to this mystery man?”
He grunted. “Fine. You coming straight home?”
“Of course, love. We’re dropping Lucky off and then I’m straight home.”
“Okay. Love you,” he told her, hanging up.
“Don’t be a snitch, Oak,” Amber teased her security. Oak just shrugged.
Keisha leaned forward, her eyes glowing. “What do you think that was about?” she whispered even though they all knew that Oak would still be privy to their conversation.
“Girl, I don’t know, but I’m finna ask around because now I want to know.” Lucky whipped out her phone. She knew a couple of people she could text for information.
Amber laughed. “Nosy ass.”
“And is,” she told them.
She was no closer to finding out the truth by the time the SUV slid into her parents’ driveway.
Grabbing her bags from the back, Lucky shook her head at how much money she spent.
Shopping gave her a temporary high that had broken up her boredom, but she knew that anxiety about her bank account would come once she settled down and tallied her spending.
Thank God their lunch had been taken care of because she would’ve been doing some overtime to make up for it.
Waving to the girls, Lucky headed toward the house.
The Bryants lived in a sprawling ranch house in a modest neighborhood that Lucky had loved growing up in.
Her mother told her that although her father could afford to move them, she loved her backyard and their neighbors.
Lucky wholeheartedly agreed. She loved her childhood home.
“Mama,” she called out as she let herself into the front door.
The aroma of dinner already scented the home.
The kitchen windows were open, she assumed to air out the house.
If her nose was right, her mother was making oxtails.
Going straight to the kitchen, Lucky peeked into her mother’s pots just to confirm what Kathleen was cooking so early in the day.
She whipped around when the back door opened, caught red-handed.
“Uh-huh. Hands all in your mama’s pots,” her father teased as he came in.
Sincere Bryant was still a handsome man and had the swagger of a male much younger.
The way her mother giggled around the house, Lucky just knew that he’d been a menace in his younger years.
Well over six feet, Sincere’s muscles had softened a little, though he still carried the bulk from his boxing days.
“I was just looking,” she told him as he pulled her into his arms.
Lucky closed her eyes, enjoying the smell of sawdust and the scent of her father’s panther.
“Hey, my baby.” He kissed the top of her hair before nuzzling her cheek. Gripping her chin, Sin moved her head around. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing?”
“Baby girl,” he prodded.
“Just restless,” she admitted.
He grunted and studied her a moment more before releasing her. “You tend to get in trouble when you’re idle, Lucinda.”
She snorted and ignored that bit of truth. “What are you working on in your workshop?”
Her father had long ago given up the streets and now spent his days catering to his mate and children while managing his various investments.
“Sharon’s daughter is having a baby. I’m making a crib.”
“Aww, that’s sweet, daddy.”
“Would be sweeter if I could make one for my own grandchild.”
She groaned. “Give it up, old man. Where is your mate?”
“I’m here,” her mother said, carrying an empty laundry basket.
Kathleen Bryant wore her fifty-plus years like the bad bitch she had always been.
Even now, though she was lounging in her home, her mother was wearing a ribbed maxi dress that reached the floor, her red painted toenails peeking from the soft fabric.
Her graying hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, accentuating her cat-like eyes.
“Why are you cooking so early?” Lucky asked her mother as she nuzzled against Kathleen’s cheek in greeting.
“Do I come to your house and be all in your business?” Kathleen shot back.
“All the time,” she answered, and they both laughed.
“How was shopping with the girls?” Her mother changed the subject.
“We had fun. Someone paid for our lunch.” She decided to fish for information from the two people who knew even more people than she did. “Some guy named Mr. Kaine.”
Her mother’s eyebrow lifted and she shared a look with her mate. “I swear we aptly named you. Someone you’ve never met paid for your lunch at a fancy restaurant?”
Lucky narrowed her eyes. “So, y’all don’t know who that is?”
“We ‘posed to know everybody in Eastfield, baby girl?” her father asked with a chuckle.
She pouted. That was a bust. “Y’all need anything this week?”
“Your brother done been by here. I don’t know why you two think we’re invalid,” Kathleen playfully fussed.
“Well, heaven forbid we take care of our parents. I’ll make sure to let Richie know we can wheel you both into the street when you get up there in age.”
Her father chuckled while her mother rolled her eyes.
“You can make me a pound cake since you’re volunteering,” her father told her.
Her mother whipped her attention to her mate. “Now, didn’t I tell your sickening self I was gonna make a lemon cake?”
“I love you, Kat baby,” her father said, sidling up to her mother and wrapping his arms around her, “but you know my baby bake better than you.”
Lucky couldn’t contain her laugh as her mother blushed, swatting at Sincere.
“Fine. You can go home with her, then.” Kathleen pouted.
“Aw, don’t be like that, my baby,” Sincere murmured, nuzzling into his mate’s neck.
Lucky rolled her eyes and left the kitchen because her parents had no problem showing their affection in front of anyone. Sliding out of her heels and tucking her feet, she got comfortable on the living room couch, ready to spend the rest of the day with her family. She smiled as her phone dinged.
Hopefully it was information on the mysterious Mr. Kaine.