The promised puppy was announced with a stubborn tilt to his chin. After a moment, Alicia asked what kind of dog he wanted, and they discussed beagles and Great Danes, both of which, it seemed, were acceptable to Toby. All in all, Alicia was patient, observant, and interested. Not exactly maternal, maybe—more like a big sister or favorite aunt. But she did okay. She did fine, really.
So where was the CEO of Narcissists R Us whom Lily had encountered earlier?
Lily went back to being a good guest. Alex, seated on her left, was one of those men who acted like he’d been issued a certain number of words at birth and didn’t want to run out. It took a little effort to get him talking, but a mention of his new SIG Sauer did the trick. Like most lupi, he had an aversion to firearms—but he’d decided to overcome that after the events of last December.
Cullen stayed busy charming everyone, including the new husband. They got into quite a discussion of jackals—which apparently were close relatives of wolves—and the merits of tryptophan in the Canis diet.
James French puzzled Lily. He was so . . . bland. The only thing that stood out about him physically was his tan, which she learned came from spending as much time as possible observing Lebanon’s fauna. An economist by training and profession, he was an enthusiastic amateur naturalist. He was a thin man, maybe five-eight, with soft brown eyes behind gold-framed glasses. Lily wasn’t sure she’d ever met a more innocuous person.
Even without Ruben’s hunch, she would have found all that blandness suspicious.
Finally it was time for dairy-free brownies in the living room. Chocolate and coffee were always a good idea, though it would have been better if the coffee weren’t decaf. Tasted pretty good, though Lily noticed that Rule barely sipped his.
He insisted caffeine couldn’t affect him. She had her doubts.
Rule, Alex, and Lily sat on one couch facing Alicia, James, and Toby on the other. Louise had brought in two chairs from the den. Cullen sat in one by the piano, and Louise sat in its mate near the window. Connie had excused herself right after the meal, claiming she couldn’t sleep if she ate chocolate. Lily figured she was tactfully clearing the way for a family discussion.
Toby wolfed down his brownies and bounced up from the couch. “I guess I should get my stuff now. I’m going to spend the night with Justin, Mom,” he added. “You remember Justin.”
Alicia, startled and not pleased, shot her mother a look. “I didn’t know Toby was going somewhere tonight.”
“However things turn out,” Louise said quietly, “Toby has a parting coming up. Of course I allowed him to spend time with his friends now, while he can.”
“Still, I think I should have been asked.” Alicia looked at Toby. “You need to ask my permission, too.”
Toby’s jaw set. He didn’t respond.
Louise’s expression never changed as she said to her daughter, “Do you really wish to challenge my authority at this time, dear?”
“Your authority? I have custody of my son.”
James French leaned forward, placing one hand on Alicia’s knee. “Licia,” he said firmly.
She turned a stormy face to him. Their eyes met. Gradually the storm faded to a rueful expression. “Wrong battle?”
He nodded, smiling faintly. “Also the wrong time and place.”
She rolled her eyes. “Okay. Toby, I shouldn’t interfere with your grammy’s arrangements. But when you’re living with me, I’ll expect a different attitude from you.”
The storm that had left Alicia’s face landed in Toby’s. He opened his mouth.
“Toby,” Rule said.
This time father and son locked gazes. After a moment Toby sighed. “Yes, ma’am. If I go live with you, I’ll have to mind.”
Before Alicia could argue about the qualifier Toby had appended, Rule said, “Alex has agreed to drive you over to Justin’s. That’s nonnegotiable,” he added as Toby’s mouth opened once more.
Toby gathered himself up and gave Alex a dignified nod. “Thank you. I don’t think it’s necessary, but thanks.”
When Toby hit the stairs, James started talking to Alex, using that reliable source for male bonding—football. Lily took advantage of the moment to lean closer to Rule and whisper, “Justin’s parents aren’t afraid that Toby will contaminate him?”
“I had a chat with Mr. Appleton after my grocery store run,” he said softly. “I was able to allay some of his concerns by, ah, allowing him to lay hands on me and pray.”
Oh, my. Lily’s lips twitched. “Mistook you for a demon, did he?”
“Behave.” But Rule’s lips tilted up, too. “Toby needed to be there tonight. Cullen’s concerned about Talia. She’s learning quickly, but she doesn’t know how to set a permanent circle, so she’ll be vulnerable when she sleeps.”
Toby came hurtling down the stairs, backpack slung over one shoulder. “’Bye, Grammy! ’Bye, Dad! ’Bye, everyone! Alex, are you ready?”
There was a small delay while Louise made Toby come into the room to say goodbye properly and informed him that he was to address Alex as Mr. Thibideux. Alex took his leave with grave formality. As the door closed behind them, Toby was asking Alex if he was really “almost as good as Uncle Benedict.”
Alicia looked at Rule and said dubiously, “You’re sure about this Alex Thibideux?”
Lily didn’t know if Alicia was bothered because she didn’t know the man, or if old-fashioned prejudice was rearing its head. Alex must be mixed race—Leidolf was originally a Germanic clan, so his father would have been white—but he didn’t look it. He was very large and very dark. Lily happened to know he had a degree in sociology, but that, like his father’s heritage, didn’t show on his face.
“Quite sure. He would die before allowing harm to come to Toby.” Rule smiled slowly, allowing a hint of the wolf to show. “And Alex is hard to kill.”
“That he is,” Cullen said cheerfully. “Do you want me to head out now, too? I hope not. I think we’re about to get to the interesting part of the program.”
Alicia looked at Rule and sighed faintly. “I suppose you arranged for Toby to be gone so we could talk.”
“In part, yes. We need to discuss your sudden change of mind about custody.”
“There’s little to discuss. Look, Rule.” She leaned forward, hands clasped on her knees. Since she’d worn a killer little green-and-white print dress with a scoop neckline, this gave him a good view of her breasts. “I’ve loved Toby from the moment I saw his wrinkled, red little face, but I’ll admit I’ve been slow to take responsibility. Mother’s injury earlier this year was a wake-up call for me.”
Rule’s face lacked expression. “Love him? No. You’re very fond of him, but you’ve never allowed that fondness to interfere with your life.”
“Don’t tell me what I feel! You disapprove of my choices. Fine. We can talk about that, but—”
Lily’s phone sounded the first bars of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” “Sorry,” she said, rising and pulling the phone from her jacket pocket. “I have to take this.” As she headed for the hall, she heard Alicia angrily disputing Rule’s claim that there was anything lesser about her love for Toby.
The caller was Ruben, as she’d known from the ring tone. She didn’t have to ask any questions; Ruben covered everything clearly and concisely. “Damn,” she said softly. “No, I agree. Not yet, anyway. Thanks, Ruben.” She disconnected, then took a moment to order her thoughts.