Page 17 of Kingston

“I think that’s a great idea,” Kingston chimed in before I could turn his mother down.“We’ll stop at the grocery store on the way home to get everything you need.The only baking I do is the Death by Chocolate cake we have on the menu here.”

“Kingston,” I attempted to protest, but he put another spoonful of ice cream into my mouth, effectively shutting me up long enough to swallow the dessert while he continued talking to his mom.

“Which of the muffins sold out, Ma?We should keep the stock numbers high on those and a smaller amount of the others to keep the customers happy.”

“All of Demi’s muffins sold out every morning, no exceptions.But the double-chocolate and the banana chocolate chip sold the fastest.The apple-cinnamon was a huge hit, and the blueberry streusel was normally the last one to go, but we would be completely out of everything before nine every day.I’m thinking if we double the order, we could last the full breakfast crowd.”

“That would definitely be a good idea,” he agreed.“But what if we start a muffin of the week?Something new every week for a while to get an idea of what else would sell?There are a few trends going around, and we could include some of them on our dessert menu for dinner.”

“Like cookie butter?”I suggested, intrigued by his idea, completely forgetting about the fact that I didn’t have a kitchen to bake in.“I could do a cookie butter filling, then drizzle the top with melted cookie butter and add crushed Biscoff.Maybe even add a little white chocolate to give it a bit more decadence if it’s added to the dessert menu.”

Quinn licked her lips.“My mouth is already watering at the thought.Now that’s all I’m going to think about until I get one.”

“I could make you a few tonight, just to test them out?”I murmured, making a mental shopping list and cringing at how expensive the materials would be.“Well, maybe not tonight.How about later in the week?”After I’d made enough money to cover the costs for what I needed to create the new muffin option.

“She’s going to bring them tomorrow,” Kingston promised, and I shot him a startled look, already shaking my head.

“I think I should figure out the whole kitchen situation before I agree to extra items I’ve never made before.I don’t even have a recipe for a muffin like that, barely a general idea.”Panic caused my throat to tighten until my voice vanished completely.

Everything was finally starting to catch up to me.Iris and her ears.How I was going to afford her medication and surgery.Where we were going to sleep tonight should have been more of a concern to me than finding a kitchen I could use to bake muffins.Yet it was what had my heart racing, sweat beading along my entire body, even as a chill started to make me shiver.

Kingston made a soothing noise and placed his hand palm-up on the table, wiggling his fingers.Without thinking about it, I put mine on top, and he wrapped his fingers around mine in a gentle squeeze.At first touch, some of my anxiety began to ease, my pulse lowering quickly, the warmth returning to my limbs without the risk of sweat soaking through my top.

Quinn’s gaze shot between her son and me, a smile teasing at her lips.“I’m going to let you two sort out whatever is going on here and get back to work.”

As she stood, Iris’s attention was pulled from where she was making a mess with her ice cream, her face losing the happy glow it had been radiating only moments before.“Gammy, don’t go.”

I was still reeling from how quickly things had moved from Kingston instructing my child to call Quinn “Grammy” to the older woman adopting that role in the blink of an eye.That was an honorific I’d never expected Iris to give to anyone.Not when my own mother abandoned me the moment she and my father realized producing a Johnson “heir” wasn’t going to net them the paycheck they were greedy to get their hands on.There was no way I’d ever allow Iris to call Charlie’s mother “Grandma,” let alone something so adorable as “Gammy.”

And I was back to wondering if I had slow-onset brain damage from the beating I’d taken three years prior because I didn’t object to Iris calling Quinn Grammy or Gammy.My heart felt like it was going to dissolve with love every time Quinn even looked at my daughter with affection in her blue eyes.

“Grammy has work to do, sweet pea,” Quinn told her gently, reaching across the table to tap her playfully on the nose where she had a dollop of her beloved whipped cream.“But I’ll see you again really soon, okay?”

“Amma-row?”Iris asked, causing the other woman to grin.

“Definitely tomorrow,” she promised.“Kingston will bring you to Grammy’s house while your mommy is resting.I’m sure she will need a break after all that baking she’s going to be doing.”

ChapterEleven

Kingston

Delicious scents filledmy entire house, causing my stomach to grumble.After making sure Iris was tucked into bed, the old teddy bear I’d given her earlier that day clutched to her chest, I shut the door to my room and followed my nose to the kitchen.

As expected, Demi was still rushing around mixing up batter, her hair pulled back in a braid to keep it out of her face, a dusting of flour on one cheek.She’d been hurrying, trying to make as many muffins as possible in a single night from the moment we got home from the grocery store.

I’d thought her partnering with my mom again to supply breakfast pastries for the diner would ease some of her anxiety, but I was wrong.She’d been more nervous since accepting the offer than she was before.

“Smells amazing in here, babe,” I praised, crossing to the counter where a batch of the banana chocolate chip was cooling.I’d never had one of Demi’s muffins before, but I knew these were my mother’s favorite from how many times she’d talked about them.They were huge, almost as big as my hand, with large chunks of semisweet chocolate on top.

“Hmm?”she asked distractedly, lifting her head from where she was adding blueberries to the mixing bowl for the latest batch she was making.“Oh, thank you.Have one if you’re hungry.You deserve as many as you want for helping me with all this.”

Fuck, I wasn’t sure which made me more homicidal, the way she constantly voiced her gratitude, or how she continually apologized for the smallest things.As soon as I found out who had caused my woman so much emotional and physical abuse, I was going to gut the sonofabitch.

“Demi, put the spoon down,” I instructed, keeping my tone gentle.

Brows creased, she glanced up from the mixing bowl.“What?”

Moving slowly so I didn’t spook her, I took the spoon from her hand and placed it in the bowl before carefully turning her to face me.That she didn’t flinch as badly as she had only hours before soothed something in me, but it wouldn’t be satisfied until she completely stopped tensing when I touched her.“I don’t deserve anything from you.You don’t owe me a single thing, babe.Not your time or your delicious-smelling food.Not your beautiful smiles or those cute scowls you throw my way when you’re annoyed.But I’m going to work hard to earn them.”

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