Spider Game (GhostWalkers, #12)(99)

Cayenne wouldn’t trade this experience, being with the two women. It was her time having fun and gaining a connection. She loved it.


CHAPTER 16


Nonny raised her eyebrow, clearly reading both their expressions. “You keep laughin’, you two. I got my ways to know these things. I thought that Wilson Plastics Company was a front for terrorists to make those dirty bombs. Brought Wyatt home. I wasn’t very far off either.”


“No, you weren’t,” Pepper agreed.


“Somethin’ else is goin’ on in the swamp. Years ago the government came in and moved five towns. Between them, the towns of Logstown, Gainsville, Santa Rosa, Westonia and Napoleon had over seven hundred residents, all that had to be moved. A lot of the people didn’t want to go. They’d been born in those houses and grew up there, lived there all their lives. Still, they were all of them cleared out. Said they were testin’ rocket engines for NASA. Even now, when they do fire them up, the houses outside the swamp shake and even the water rocks.”


“I haven’t been there,” Pepper said, “but I thought they gave tours to the public.”


Nonny nodded as she handed each of them a knife and a chopping board. “They do. But that’s all controlled, and you see what they want you to see. Used to be, we could take our boats into the canals and bayous where those towns used to be. A few years back, the military moved in. You try to take a boat in there or you go hikin’ lookin’ for plants to heal people, they come at you with grim faces and heavy artillery. They weren’t doin’ that to test those rockets. So somethin’ else is goin’ on.”


“Have you mentioned this to Wyatt?” Pepper asked.


“Givin’ it time. Lots of rumors. I want to sort them out and see before I go tellin’ tales to my grandson. He’s the kind of man who does somethin’ about anythin’ not right.”


“That he is,” Pepper agreed.


“We’re goin’ to make us some paella. The boys like this dish, so we’ve got to triple up on everythin’. Each of us will do enough for one batch, that way we’re all makin’ the right size servin’ that you can use on your own for your men.”


“What is paella?” Cayenne asked.


“It’s chicken with rice, almonds, olives and mushrooms and Andouille sausage. I like to add me some crawfish sometimes, but not today,” Nonny said. “A good staple and easy to fix if you have company. I need both of you to peel six of those small onions and I’ll do the same.” She caught up a small bag of onions, counted them out and gave each of them six. “After you peel the onions, you need to mince two cloves of garlic and then chop up a three-fourths cup of olives.”


Pepper smiled. “No problem. I got this.”


Cayenne moistened her lips and watched carefully as Nonny efficiently peeled an onion. There didn’t seem to be any trick to it, but she was very fast. Cayenne mimicked her movements. There was no need for the knife, and she didn’t cut away most of the onion trying to peel it as Cayenne had done at home.


When Nonny set the peeled onion aside, Cayenne studied her method for mincing the garlic cloves and then copied her.


“You just clean as you go. I keep a bucket handy to use for compost later and a garbage can for anything else.” She gathered up the peels and dumped them. Both women followed suit.


“Now we got to cut up the chicken. Each of us needs three pounds. I take the skin off.” Nonny demonstrated.


Cayenne took a deep breath. Skinning and cutting up a chicken was much more difficult than mincing a clove, but Pepper was already in action, and she was determined. In any case, she was really, really good with a knife. When she managed to cut up the three pounds of chicken fast she was rather proud of herself. Nonny indicated the compost bucket and they all dumped the remains.


“Cut a half pound of the sausage into rounds.”


The girls found that easy enough and obeyed.


“If you were going to add in crawfish or shrimp, you’d do it with the chicken and sausage,” Nonny said. “For today, in the Dutch oven, we’re goin’ to heat two tablespoons of olive oil, add the chicken and sausage, and we’re makin’ our own seasoning. See the little bowls there? The spices are in the middle. I use two tablespoons each of onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, dried basil, which I grow and dry myself.”


The two women carefully measured out the spices into their respective bowls.


“Everyone makes seasoning different. I add quite a few, but you don’ like that, or your man doesn’, you just change it up. In this one, we’ll add one tablespoon of dried thyme, one tablespoon each of both black and white pepper and cayenne.”


Cayenne flashed a small grin. “Your recipe seems right for the two of us.”


Pepper laughed. “So true.”


“Add five tablespoons of paprika and three of salt,” Nonny continued. “You want to mix it up really good. We just add seasoning to the chicken and sausage. No, no, Cayenne, not the entire bowl,” Nonny cautioned. “Just a little bit. The rest we store for the future in an airtight container. It will last a couple of months. We put the chicken and sausage in the oven and bake at 350 uncovered for fifteen minutes. It’s best to set a timer. When I was younger and had the boys, they were a mighty distraction. Now I’m old and forgetful, so I always use the timer.”