“It’s also my baby, though you and your brothers seem to enjoy forgetting that part.”

“Hope your pup—”

“Cub.”

“—ain’t born with a snaggle-fang like Bobby Lee’s mixed-species cousin out of North Carolina. Pretty girl until she shifts, then it’s a whole other thing.”

“Maybe there’ll be tusks like Novikov,” Ricky suggested.

“I hate both of you.” Brendon sneered.

“Ya can’t.” Reece patted Brendon’s shoulder. “We’re all family now. Ain’t we?”

“Come and get some of this yogurt, little brother. There’s even summer berries in the fridge for mixing in.”

“But I like my yogurt the way I like my women,” Reece said with a huge grin. “Plain and sour!”

Rolling his eyes, Brendon walked toward the laundry to get some clean clothes and consider the benefits of private schools in Switzerland before the Reed Boys had a chance to spread their Southern logic to Brendon’s vulnerable child.

After fixing his own bowl of yogurt, his brother settled down beside Ricky at the bar.

“Where’d you go yesterday?” Reece asked.

“Met a girl,” Ricky said around a mouthful of yogurt.

“Anyone I’ve already fucked?”

“Not this time. You’ve met her, though. She’s one of the new directors for your team. Travel and promotion, I think.”

Reece dropped his spoon. “That little rich jackal?”

“Yep.”

“You and some rich girl? Daddy would call that a sign of the End of Days.”

“Daddy just don’t like rich people.”

“True. Still . . . she don’t seem your speed, big brother. Kind of slow lane for a Reed.”

“Never needed a fast car to keep my interest.” Ricky finished his food and pushed the bowl away. “Is that why you’re here? To ask me about that?”

“Nah. Rory wants us at the office for a morning meeting.”

“Why?”

“Big client coming in from the Sports Center. I think they want us to evaluate their fancy security systems.”

Ricky nodded. “Perfect. Was planning to go over to the Sports Center anyway and spend some time with my jackal.”

“Momma says jackals do the Devil’s work.”

“My jackal says that’s just propaganda.”

The pair watched Brendon Shaw walk through his living room, thankfully now wearing sweatpants.

“What about what Momma says about cats being agents of Satan himself?”

The cat stopped, glared over at them. “Out, canines!” he roared.

Winking at his grinning brother, Ricky replied, “I’d have to say thatMomma was probably right on that one.”

A brief knock on the door and Coop walked into Toni’s room. “Heard you were up here raging about TVs and wolves. Kyle thinks you’ve had a mental breakdown from your new job that he insists on calling stupid.”

Toni, fresh from the shower and having put on jeans and a T-shirt, quickly combed her wet hair off her face before grabbing socks and her running shoes. “It’s nothing.” She didn’t want to get into it. She didn’t want to talk about what had happened between her and that useless wolf.

She sat on the wooden bench by her bed to put her shoes on. “Look, Coop, I have to go into the office, but as soon as I get back—”

“Don’t worry about a thing, big sis. I’ve got it all handled.”

Toni stopped tying her laces to look up at her brother. “What do you mean?”

“Cherise and I canceled all our concerts for this summer. We’re staying home to take care of the kids.”

“You did what?”

“No, no. Don’t get upset.” Coop crouched in front of her and finished tying her shoelaces for her. “I know what you’re thinking, but I needed the break. I’ve been going nonstop for months. And Cherise . . . let’s put it this way. When I made the suggestion, she threw herself into my arms and kissed my face like I’d rescued her from a sinking boat circled by sharks.”

“But Coop—”

Done with her laces, Coop placed his hands on her knees and looked deep into Toni’s eyes. “You, big sis, deserve this. You deserve this. You’ve taken care of us, now it’s our turn to do the same for you. Let us.”

“But weren’t you supposed to play for the king of—”

“If you’ve played for one king, trust me, you’ve played for them all. Our family is more important. And although Aunt Irene is trying to help, she terrifies the kids.”

“I know.” Toni sighed.

“And a crap-load of computer stuff arrived yesterday and she was up all night in her room putting it together with Troy and Freddy.”

“Troy and Freddy were up all night?”

“Only until three, but that’s when they usually go to sleep anyway.” Very true. Toni tried to get them on a more normal schedule for kids their age, but their minds never stopped turning, never stopped going. When she did order them to bed early, all they did was stay up all night thinking until Freddy began to work himself into an ulcer and Toni found that Troy had written equations all over his bedroom walls. “So I don’t forget!” he’d told her when she’d found him at six in the morning with a tiny stub of blue crayon in his hand and wild eyes.