Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
L ucky peered out the back patio doors again, smiling softly at the scene. Her father and mate were relaxed in the chairs in the sunroom. Declan had joined them, along with Easy, and they were all laughing. She’d never seen her mate so relaxed with other people outside of his family.
“I like him for you, niece. Now see if you can convince him to build us one of these houses in Eastfield,” her aunt Scooter teased.
Kathleen laughed. “Heffa, ain’t no way we living together again.”
Her aunts’ peal of laughter made Lucky smile.
“Besides, I love the house my sons built for me.” Patrice shimmied her shoulders.
“Don’t rub it in, Patrice,” her mom said with a laugh.
“He probably did it to keep you from moving in their house and getting on their nerves when that baby come,” Scooter joked.
They all laughed, especially when Keisha waddled in. Lucky rushed over and rubbed her belly.
“I’m so excited! I was worried I wouldn’t be able to take off from work to help you, but now I’m gonna spend a whole week with you and my godbaby.”
“Get in line, honey,” Patrice said.
“Devon gon’ be sick of seeing us,” Kathleen said.
Key laughed as she hiked her body up into a stool at the island. Her cousin sighed in pleasure as Lucky slid her some pralines she’d made for her earlier.
“I love you, cousin,” Keisha said.
The air in the kitchen changed and in walked Ezra’s parents.
Vivian she’d already met, but the male tiger walking in with her made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.
Her panther was wary, instinct warning her to never turn her back on this male.
Ezra and Easy got their whole face from this man, and clearly the power he toted around.
This male was a preacher? If she hadn’t known in advance of meeting him, she would’ve never guessed.
He was taller and slightly bulkier than his sons, dressed in a three-piece suit that had come off no store’s rack.
Vivian’s disposition was no better than the first time Lucky had met her as she stood beside her mate in her Sunday finery.
“Well, what’s going on here?” Rah’s father put on a charming smile, hiding the predator within him behind the mask.
Ah. This was how he was able to fool a congregation.
Lucky stepped forward. “I’m Lucky, Ezra’s mate. This is my mother and aunts. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“I’m Jeffrey,” the male said in introduction, his gaze raking Lucky. “Vivian told me last week that our son had mated. I’m sorry we didn’t meet earlier.”
“Ezekial said this was some kind of family dinner?” Vivian frowned as she looked at the food.
“Yep, it’s my turn to host.” Lucky forced a chipper smile on her face.
“How was service today, Pastor?” Her aunt Patrice broke up the awkward silence.
Jeffrey smiled. “Service was great. Maybe next time, Ezra can bring you all out. Where is my son, by the way?”
Lucky pointed toward the sunroom, ready to get the man’s energy out of the kitchen. With a final nod, both Jeffrey and Vivian left the kitchen. All the women breathed out.
“Girrrllll,” Key said.
“Tigers.” Scooter shook her head. “Don’t worry, niece, you’ll warm her up. Him…I don’t know about that.”
Lucky nodded, not so sure about that. From the stories Kaine told her about his childhood, she didn’t think she even wanted to try.
Soon, they were grabbing extra chairs to accommodate everyone in the massive formal dining room.
The food was set on the table, and with a bit of shuffling, they were able to get everyone comfortable.
The kids occupied a small table the chef found for them in the garage.
Lucky prayed over the food and dinner started.
Despite the flutter of nerves in her stomach, dinner was going great.
As usual, her family laughed and talked shit.
Ezra relaxed next to her, though she could feel his wariness down their mating bond.
As though the universe had felt Lucky pat herself on the back, Jeffrey dabbed at his mouth with his napkin and stared at his son across the table.
“Now that you’re here, Lucinda, you can talk my son into attending church regularly,” Vivian commented.
“I’d pay for a picture of Lucinda in church,” Richie joked.
He and Sin snickered and Lucky could only roll her eyes. “Next time he attends, I’ll be sure to join him.”
Jeffrey eyed her. “Where did you and my son meet?”
“At the Grand Beach Hotel. He was at a charity function and I was having dinner at the restaurant there.”
Rah grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. “That’s enough questioning Lucky, pastor.” His voice was firm.
It shut down that avenue of conversation. Not one to let a little awkwardness spoil the day, her mother changed the subject to lighter topics, and Lucky breathed easier as the tension lightened.
That didn’t last long. Vivian and Jeffrey needled all three of their children. It started small, little passive-aggressive comments under the guise of stories about their childhood. When that didn’t work to gain a reaction from any of the triplets, it escalated.
“It’s nice to feel such warmth in the house that sin built.”
“I don’t build houses,” her father said, and the table snickered. “Just furniture.”
“Ooh, like what?” Eve tried to redirect the conversation.
Their father ignored her attempt. “No, I meant my son’s inherited profession. I’m hoping that by mating, my son will give up his blood-soaked job.”
“Tread carefully, pastor,” Easy growled.
Jeffrey gave his youngest son a mean smile. “There’s only so much a parent can do when dealing with willful, recalcitrant children. Lord knows I tried to instill some semblance of goodness into them.”
“I accept every part of my mate’s life,” Lucky finally spoke up, her knee bouncing. She was near the end of her patience with his parents.
Her mother wasn’t too far behind. Sincere had already scooted closer to his mate, his arm draped across the back of her chair. Lucky and Richie shared a look because they both knew the warning signs of their mother’s temper.
“We did the best we could, pastor,” Vivian murmured dutifully. “I can’t imagine Lucinda will be much of a help in that regard.”
Oh, it was up. Lucky dropped her fork. Ezra was stiff at her side, the familiar burn of his tiger’s power awakening down their mating bond. It was about to get ugly.
“Pri, take the kids into the kitchen for dessert,” Scooter ordered her daughter, well-versed in their family’s moods.
As though he couldn’t feel the simmering rage around the room, Jeffrey pressed ahead. “Do these good folks know that they dine with killers and sinners?”
Kathleen sat straight up, an expression on her face that Lucky and her brother recognized well. Wasn’t shit she could do but shrug at this point.
Sin chuckled darkly, already knowing how his mate was coming. “Welp.”
“You not fixing to come in my son’s house and disrespect him,” her mother started.
Vivian scoffed. “He’s my son, and his father has every right to try and put him on a righteous path.”
Kathleen slapped the table, standing from her chair.
“Righteous path? Just because you bind your snake oil in leather and wrap it in the holy word don’t make you any better than Ezra.
He is a good man and too respectful to tell you to shut the fuck up in his house, so I’ll do it for him.
You have been jabbing at this boy since you walked in the door and it ends now. ”
“Bihhh,” Keisha whispered under her breath.
“Ezra, are you going to let her speak to us like this?”
“Mama, give it a rest,” Eve said. “Church has been over three hours now; you can set down the mantle for the evening.”
Vivian gasped and Amber hid her shocked face behind a napkin. The cold look that Jeffrey gave his daughter had Sin and Devon both pushing their chairs back from the table.
“Pastor, we can move all this furniture in here, holy man or not,” Sin warned him.
For a moment, the tension was thick enough to choke them all into silence. In a room full of predators, how did one bring down the temperature? Lucky was at a loss because all she wanted to do was drag his mama by her perfectly pressed hair up and down this fancy dining room.
“It’s nice not to be the center of drama for once,” Richie commented, sipping his cognac.
Snickers erupted around the table as the tension broke, though Ezra didn’t relax. He and Easy were staring at their parents, their bodies primed for action.
“If we gon’ scrap, let me get a slice of that cake first,” Declan said, and Amber thumped his shoulder. “Ow. What?”
“Jeffrey, we’re leaving,” Vivian announced.
“Oh no, don’t go,” Declan said dryly.
It was then that Richie and Devon lost their battle with pretending not to laugh. Keisha tried to shush them both.
“Come on now, Key. That was funny. That man talking about us dining with killers like everyone in here not hiding a weapon on their person.”
“Baby, you’ll never catch me slipping. I keeps a boomstick on me,” Scooter added.
Pri cackled. “I know that’s right.”
“I’ll walk you out, Mother.” Rah stood and Lucky grabbed his hand, searching his eyes. He kissed her forehead. “I’m fine, princess,” he told her softly.
She bit her lip, unsure what to do. The family was used to shit popping off at the table, but she didn’t know how her mate would react to it all.
As soon as Vivian and Jeffrey left, the rest of the table relaxed and went back to eating like nothing happened.
Lucky gave Eve an apologetic smile. Ezra’s sister leaned her head against Lucky’s shoulder a moment before straightening and resuming her meal.
She herself didn’t relax until Ezra walked back into the dining room.
“I’m sorry if I overstepped,” Kathleen apologized.
“You’re good, Kat baby,” Ezra told her, a small smile gracing his lips.
Kathleen beamed. “Well, now we can cut the cake.”
“Thank God,” Declan murmured.
Hours later, the house was empty, and the silence was almost a relief after hours of noise.
Lucky tried to help the staff clean the kitchen, but they waved her away.
She found her mate in the bathroom, stepping into the shower.
She stripped and joined him, laying her cheek against his back as she slipped her hands around his waist.
“Today was a lot,” she said softly.
Ezra turned in her arms and lifted her. Lucky wrapped her legs around his waist. He didn’t say anything, just kissed her deeply. His tongue swiped between her lips, rubbing against her own. She was breathless when he pulled back.
“I like that your family stood up for me and my sister,” he said after a moment, resting his forehead on hers.
“I can’t imagine what he would’ve done had we not been there.”
Kaine scoffed. “He hasn’t physically hurt us since I beat his ass at sixteen. Not to say there weren’t other cruel ways he showed his displeasure.”
“Oh, Ezra,” Lucky whispered.
“Don’t worry, princess. I went through healing in preparation for you.”
She frowned. “Us meeting wasn’t guaranteed.”
“True. But I was never going to settle for anyone but my mate, and I had to be ready to receive you.”
It was the sweetest thing she’d ever heard. Ezra worried that his life would be too rough for her, but he was making up for any trouble they would have in the best ways. She couldn’t imagine her life without him in it.