Of course, that alone time lasted all of fifteen seconds before he looked over and realized there was a young wolf sitting next to him. Johnny. Bobby Ray tried to pretend he’d only adopted the kid with Jessie because his mate already had plans to do just that, but Ricky knew it was because the wolf liked the kid. True, he was in that awkward, not a pup but not a full adult either stage, which could make for some tough times, but the kid definitely had some promise. Lots of it.
And, just like Bobby Ray at that age, it seemed the boy was having some problems that at the moment Ricky Lee could easily relate to.
“Why,” Johnny asked Ricky without much preamble, “do females have to make everything so damn difficult? They ask you a question, you answer, they flip out.”
“Well—”
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” the eighteen-year-old went on. “Nothing. I answered a question. That was it. Now it’s being thrown in my face.” He pointed at himself. “I don’t need this. I don’t deserve it.”
Johnny relaxed back into the couch, and moments later, the wolfdog female he’d most likely been complaining about came sauntering through the living room.
Kristan Putowski, one of the oldest Kuznetsov Pack pups, waved as she walked by. “Hey, Ricky Lee.”
“Hey, Kristan.” Yeah. Kristan was a cutie. And when Ricky Lee was eighteen, he would have been all over that like a bad rash. So he understood what Johnny was going through. Especially when Kristan’s friendly wave to Ricky Lee turned into the middle finger just for Johnny.
“I’m not apologizing!” Johnny yelled after her.
“That ain’t subtle,” Ricky Lee told the boy once Kristan was out of the room.
“Subtle?”
“Yeah. Subtle. Can’t go around yelling at a female shifter. They’re mean, boy. All of ’em.”
“I’m not scared of Kristan Putowski.”
“Should be. It’s them friendly cute ones that’ll cut a man—and have no remorse about it.” Ricky leaned in a bit and lowered his voice. “Have you two . . . ya know?”
“What? No! Never! Kristan’s like a—”
“Don’t say she’s like a sister.”
“Why not?”
“Because that’s exactly what Bobby Ray used to say about Jessie Ann . . . and you saw how that relationship ended up.”
“Oh.”
“Besides, hoss, we both know you’d only be lying through your fangs.”
The boy sighed. “I put up with her. Okay?”
“Putting up with her’s good. Staying away from her’s even better. At least for now. Give it a few years. You’ve got a girlfriend?”
“I’m too busy for a—”
“Mistake number two.”
“When did I have mistake number one?”
“You need to get yourself a little girlfriend. Nothing you’re planning to make permanent. Just someone to keep you out of trouble.”
“I’m never in trouble.”
“You will be if you keep hanging around Kristan.”
“Yeah.” Johnny sighed, big hands combing through his hair. “I know.”
Toni dropped onto her temporary bed and blew out a breath. That’s when she saw the large TV with a big red bow around it, the DVD player, and the stack of brand-new DVDs.
Her father. He knew the one thing she loved to do after a long day of dealing with her siblings was sit in front of her TV and relax.
She was nearly across the room to see what DVDs he’d picked out for her when a familiar and very welcome scent caught her attention. She charged back across the room and threw the door open.
“Cooper!” Toni threw herself into her brother’s arms and hugged him tight. “When did you get back?”
“I came straight here from the airport.”
Toni pulled back and looked up at her brother. “Wait. How did you know we were here?”
“I got a text from Mom when I was waiting for my layover in Geneva.”
Sure. She texted Cooper in Geneva but not Toni a few city blocks away.
“I’m so glad you’re home,” she said. Not meaning their Washington house but back with the family. “You staying for long?”
“Well, when I got back into LaGuardia, I got a call from Aunt Irene, who told me very clearly that I was needed home because I have to share sibling duty before you snap like a twig.” He smirked. “Did you really cry?”
“Oh, God.” Toni dragged her brother into her room and closed the door. “I had a moment of weakness. Okay?”
“I didn’t know you had any weaknesses.”
“Very funny.”
Coop dropped his travel bag to the floor and took off his denim jacket. “What’s going on?”
“Just the usual.”
“Not that usual if I’ve got Aunt Irene calling me. She never calls me. I don’t think she ever calls anyone. Not even Mom.”
“She doesn’t like talking on the phone unless it’s actual business.”
“She doesn’t like talking on the phone or she’s worried the government’s still listening in to her calls?”
“Both.”
He nodded and dropped into a comfortable chair across from Toni’s bed. “Well, big sis, I’m here to help. You. Mom. Dad. Whoever. I’ll be especially efficient if you let me beat up Kyle and tell Oriana she’s getting fat.”
“No,” Toni told him firmly. “You can beat up Kyle, of course . . . he clearly needs it. But I’m working to ensure Oriana doesn’t get any eating disorders. So no comments on her being too skinny or too fat. You can, however, tell her that she seems dumb compared to the rest of the family and that her eyes are too close together.”
“Oh! And her nose is pinched?”
“Absolutely.”
The pair laughed and Toni felt so much better. Coop wasn’t only another sibling, he was one of her best friends. They were only three years apart, so Toni didn’t have to take care of him as much as she had the others, and that maternal thing had never really kicked in. Instead, they’d spent a lot of time getting into trouble and pissing off Coop’s piano teachers. Like their mother, Coop was another child prodigy. The first of the Jean-Louis Parker siblings, but not the last. Yet for whatever reason, he was also the most normal. He seemed to take after their mother the most, with very few signs of OCD, no extreme arrogance, and no penchant for setting fires.
Funny thing was, of all their siblings, Cooper had the most reason to be arrogant. Tall and incredibly handsome, with the body of an Olympic diver, brown eyes, and shoulder-length black hair that had hints of gray, white, and gold, Coop was an international superstar. Those who didn’t even like classical music came to see him perform. His concerts were always sold-out affairs no matter what country he was in, his audience always filled not only with the wealthy but the powerful. Dignitaries, royalty, politicians—all came to see Toni’s younger brother play piano. Then there were his CDs and DVDs, which had made her brother independently wealthy. And yet, at the end of the day, Coop was still a jackal. And that meant his family continued to be the most important thing in his life.
So when Coop was home, he helped Toni with the other siblings as much as he could. Just like their sister Cherise, who came four years after Coop. But his talent kept him on the road a lot and having him home was a wonderful treat for Toni. Because Coop got it. What was “it”? She couldn’t say . . . she just knew her brother got it. And she adored him for that.
“You tired?” she asked him.
“Wide awake. Why?”
“Daddy brought me a TV and a shitload of DVDs.”
Coop sat up in his seat. “You think he has Anne of a Thousand Days in that pile?”
Toni’s eyes grew wide. “If there’s a God in heaven . . .”
That was the other thing she liked about her brother. They both had the same taste in movies and TV. A geeky taste, but still . . .