Okay. So maybe this summer wouldn’t be so heinous after all.
CHAPTER FOUR
Ricky Lee had fallen asleep on the couch while watching TV, but he wasn’t annoyed when a young pup woke him up by tapping on his forehead with a tiny little fist.
“Morning!” the pup said with a whole lot of doggie cheer. “The moms are making breakfast. Do you want them to include you?”
“Depends. What’s for breakfast?”
The pup leaned in and whispered, “Waffles, I think. Because you’re here and Aunt Jess likes you, which she says is surprising because your sister still gets on her d-word nerves. But I wasn’t supposed to have heard that part.”
Ricky snorted and whispered back, “Well, I’m glad you told me. I like to know everyone is happy I’m here. And I love waffles. So yeah, I’m up for breakfast.”
“Okay!” the pup cheered and charged out of the room.
Chuckling, Ricky swung his legs off the couch, stood, stretched, and yawned. Then he gave himself a good, once-over shake and headed to the kitchen. The wild dog adults—male and female—were busy getting the kids fed. The wild dogs always fed their pups before they ever ate. Honestly, nothing entertained Ricky more than to watch the wild dogs and lion males dining together. Lion males did not wait for anyone before they ate, and in the wild, Ricky was sure that always held true. But here in Manhattan, with the wild dog Jessie Ann in charge, the lion males had learned to wait their turn or suffer her wrath. Of course, her wrath mostly involved lots of yelling, threats, and nipple twisting, but whatever she did, it was effective.
“Morning, y’all.”
“Hey, Ricky!” Jessie poured him a cup of coffee and handed it to him. “Sleep well?”
“Yep. Also got to watch a Xena: Warrior Princess marathon on DVD. Which one of y’all is the big fan anyway?”
The adult wild dogs shrugged and said in unison, “All of us.”
Of course.
“I’m going to go out on the stoop for a bit,” he told Jessie Ann.
“That’s fine. We’ll call you when we’re done feeding the kids.”
Scratching his head and yawning again, Ricky made his way down the hall, out the front door, and sat on the fourth step of the stoop. It was real early for most wolves. They’d get up to go to work on time but not just to greet the day. They were mostly nocturnal. But Ricky liked early mornings, even in New York City. The sun just coming up and the people usually friendly. So sitting on that stoop, drinking that coffee, and waiting on his waffle breakfast was what he’d call a good way to start off the day.
Actually, he really couldn’t think of things getting much better . . .
Toni was up, dressed, and walking down the stairs by six the next morning. Her appointment with Ulrich wasn’t until around ten, but she was used to getting up early because of her siblings. Mostly, because classes started very early in the day and she needed to be around to mediate and moderate. Already, she could hear Kyle and Oriana arguing about which of them was more important and more talented, and which should be allowed to use one of the rooms on the first floor as their art studio /practice room.
Toni knew she’d not only have to find out exactly what classes the kids were taking, but she’d have to start working on a schedule as soon as possible. When dealing with so many pups at one time, schedules were critical to managing the insanity. This, of course, applied to any large family. But a family of focused, driven little nightmares needed schedules the way breathing beings needed air. It was the only way to survive without unnecessary bloodshed or jail time.
And that was what Toni did best, wasn’t it? She managed the schedules of her family, negotiating agreements and timelines, while threatening important body parts when necessary.
For instance, she already had figured out how she was going to end the argument, but Cherise suddenly charged past her on the stairs. “I’ll handle it,” the twenty-year-old cellist promised as she ran by. “I’ll handle it!”
Although she probably wouldn’t handle it well. Cherise, the sweetest of their brood, was also the most sensitive next to Freddy. As it was, she was a borderline agoraphobic. Getting her out of the house was an unbelievable task. Funny thing was, those who booked her into concert halls all over the world thought her reluctance to travel was a negotiation tactic. It wasn’t, but her agoraphobia at the very least paid well.
Still, if Cherise wanted to try managing their siblings, Toni wouldn’t stop her. The way to learn was to do. Toni knew getting everyone handled today with little to no drama would not be easy, but she was ready and alert.
“Morning, sis,” Coop said as he fell into step beside her.
“Hey, Coop. Did you get any sleep?”
“A little. Jet lag is kicking my butt. But you know me. I do love a nap, so I’ll just sleep later.”
“Great rooms, though, right?” Toni asked. “I love my bed.”
Together they headed down the second-floor hallway to the last set of stairs.
“Me, too. But I have to admit,” Coop continued, “I expected to find Livy asleep under my bed last night. I think I was a little disappointed when she wasn’t.”
Toni stopped in the middle of the hallway and focused on her brother. “Why would Livy be under your bed?”
It wasn’t a question Toni asked because she was concerned that her best friend, Olivia Kowalski, was found under her brother’s bed. Livy was nearly as close to Coop as she was to Toni. So Toni didn’t care if Livy was asleep under Coop’s bed or hers or Cherise’s. It wouldn’t be the first time that happened, and it wouldn’t be the last. No. That wasn’t why Toni was asking the question.
“Is that little bitch in Manhattan?” Toni demanded.
“You know,” Coop said, turning to face her, “she’d probably be more likely to keep you up to date on her current locations if you didn’t call her ‘that little bitch.’ ”
“I only call her that when she’s clearly avoiding me. I texted her last night and told her what was going on. She didn’t even call me back.”
“Livy hates talking on the phone. You know she’s not good at it.”
“Of course I know that. I know all of her quirks and foibles better than anyone else. But if she’s in Manhattan—”
“She won’t tell you that if you’re just going to yell at her for not having an actual place to live while she’s here.”
Toni stamped her foot. Three times. “It is not okay to just crash at someone’s house because they make the mistake of leaving the window cracked when they leave for a vacation. Who does that?”
“Livy does that. Livy’s mother does that. Livy’s entire family does that. All of Livy’s kind does that. If there’s one thing we can all agree on, sis, it’s that her people are not like our people. So instead of ranting about it—”
“Oh, forget it! I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” Toni pushed past her brother and continued down the hallway. Coop, taller than Toni, quickly caught up.
“Are you pissed at me now?” he asked.
“I’m pissed at the world right now. I should be back in Washington, starting a boring office job while I worry about what temporarily abandoned home my best friend has recently placed her camera bag in. I should not be stuck in Manhattan hoping to beg a job off the cousin off my mother’s best friend’s mate.”
“Come on now, you know Ulrich loves you.”
“Shut up, Coop.”