Eyes wide, the boy shook his head. “No, sir.”

“Then there’s nothing to tell.”

A huge smile now on his face, the boy said, “I’m Freddy.”

“The seven-year-old.”

“Right.”

“Did you bury something important, Freddy?”

“Important to me.”

“That’s all that matters.”

“I only bury things that are important to me.”

“Why?”

“I believe it has a lot to do with my canine ancestry.”

“Like when a dog buries a bone?”

“Exactly! Toni doesn’t like that example but it seems the most accurate scientifically.”

Jeez. Bo kept forgetting exactly how smart these kids were because it never occurred to him to analyze the fact that he liked walrus blubber jerky or that he had to constantly fight his desire to sleep all day until Blayne brought him dinner.

The boy studied him for a moment, then asked, “Don’t you mind being here?”

“No.”

“Is that because you’re a lot like Kyle?”

That made Bo smirk. “No.”

Freddy walked over to Bo until he stood only a few inches away and gazed up at him. Then he waited. At least that’s what it felt like. As if the kid were waiting for something. Bo didn’t know what but it felt weird just standing there, so he said, “You’re up kind of early.”

“Not for me.”

After that statement, the kid said nothing else but continued to stare. Finally, Bo couldn’t take it anymore.

“Is there something you want to ask me, Freddy?”

“Can I stand on your shoulders?”

“What?”

“Can I stand on your shoulders? Just for a minute or so.”

“Why?”

“I want to know what it’s like to be tall.”

Bo was about to explain that the chances of a jackal being as tall as him—a lion-polar bear hybrid—were impossible but decided against it. In fact, he could actually hear Blayne in his head telling him not to tell Freddy that. So, Bo instead crouched down and held his arm out. The boy grabbed it with both hands and Bo lifted him, placing his small feet on his shoulders. When he had the boy secure, Bo’s hands wrapped tightly around Freddy’s ankles, Bo stood tall.

“Wooooooow,” Freddy sighed out. “I can see the entire world from here.”

That made Bo grin a bit.

“I bet you love being this tall, Mr. Novikov.”

“I don’t mind. It makes it easier to find Blayne in a crowd. She tends to bop around when she walks. Like she’s on springs or something. So I just look for the top of her head to suddenly appear and I can usually track her down in a timelymanner.”

“I like Blayne. She smiles a lot.”

“She does.”

“And she’s good at keeping me calm.”

“That’s very important for you, isn’t it, Freddy?”

“It is. Otherwise I do things I’m not supposed to. Toni’s excellent at keeping me calm but Blayne’s good at it too.”

Of course, Blayne’s calming abilities probably came from the years of anger management classes she’d been forced to go to—usually by court order.

Bo didn’t know how long the pair stood there, but it was a nice, easy way to start the day.

“Bo?”

Hearing his fiancée’s voice, Bo glanced over at Blayne. “Hey. What’s up?”

“Everything all right?”

“Just staring at the world,” he replied.

Grinning, Blayne walked over, clapped her hands together, and held her arms out to Freddy. “Your mom is looking for you, Fredster.”

“Okay.”

The boy leaped from Bo’s shoulders and into Blayne’s arms. Thankfully, Blayne was on a derby team, so she managed to easily catch Freddy and not fall on her ass even though he was leaping from such a great height.

She placed Freddy on the ground, and he charged toward the back door. “Thank you, Mr. Novikov!”

“You’re welcome.”

Blayne smiled up at Bo.

“What?”

“I’m just so—”

“Is there a reason you came out here,” he cut in before she could tell him once again how proud she was he had managed to not kill any of the Parker children, “or was it just to make sure I hadn’t stomped on the small ones?”

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You don’t always watch where you walk. But that’s not why I’m out here.”

Bo sighed. “Then why?”

Taking Bo’s hand, Blayne led her mate and future husband back into the Jean-Louis Parker house and to the ballroom on the first floor. Right where Kyle had had workers set up a giant block of white marble. And standing right by that were an arguing Kyle, Troy, and Oriana. Those three argued all the time. Really. All. The. Time.

“You are such a little shit, Kyle!” Oriana yelled at her brother.

“I need the space!” Kyle barked back.

“So do I!”

“What about me?” Troy demanded.

“You do equations,” Oriana reminded her brother. “What could you possibly need all this space for?”

“Wall space. So I can put up my equations,” he said, his hand gesturing down the long hall, “and see them in one long stream.”