Of course, that didn’t mean the woman wouldn’t say something scary.

“What about Uncle Eggie?” Smitty asked his sister while debating whether to gag Phil since he wouldn’t shut the hell up.

“You know he don’t do shit until he checks in with Daddy. And then Daddy don’t make a move until he checks in with Momma. Who checked in with Miss Tala Lee—that’s Ronnie’s momma,” she quickly explained to Dez before turning back to him, “who grudgingly checked in with Annie Jo.”

“And a dosie-do,” Mitch muttered.

Sissy reached for another bread basket, but Dez snatched it up first. “Would you stop throwing food at him. I’m eating this stuff, ya know.”

“Does this mean I don’t get to kill the balding wolf?” Sabina pouted. “I was so planning to kill him.”

“It’s okay, baby,” Phil soothed. “I’m sure someone will piss you off enough one day to garner a reason for you to pull out your knives.”

“You always promise and then they sit around... unused.”

Smitty leaned forward and said to his sister, “I never thought I’d say this to you, but if anything happens to me and Jessie, you get the kids.”

“They were going at it on the floor like animals.”

Jess kept her head down and her hand over her mouth trying to stifle her hysterical laughter as waiters passed around dessert and everyone got up to mingle. Of course, hard to hide the laughter when Sabina wouldn’t stop telling this story.

“There was growling and snarling and barking.”

May pointed her mousse-covered spoon at Sabina. “How long were you watching them exactly?”

“Long enough to know that old wolves still fuck.”

“Stop it. Please.” Jess couldn’t even eat she was laughing so hard.

“I’m just trying to warn you. What they say about Smith wolf males is true. They fuck well into old age. You have quite the years of horniness ahead of you, my friend.”

Jess sank lower in her seat, but she made the mistake of looking up at Danny and Phil—then they all lost it.

“Think Jessie knows?”

Sissy whispered back, “Knows what?”

“That every one of us is insane.”

“Oh, darlin’, yeah... she knows.”

They looked down the table and watched Jessie and her wild-dog friends.

“What do you think they’re laughing at?” Mitch asked.

“Something tells me I don’t wanna know.” Smitty picked up his fork and dug into his piece of cherry pie. “And I’m okay with that.”

Smitty had a bite of pie in his mouth when a slap to the back almost had him choking to death.

His sister slapped his back attempting todislodge whatever got caught. “Spit it,” she ordered. “Spit it!”

He finally did, cherries flying onto his plate, and glared up at his father. “Must you do that?”

“Ain’t my fault you got a weak back.”

Smitty’s grip tightened around his fork, but Sissy’s hand on his arm kept him from using the damn thing to take out his daddy’s eye.

Bubba looked down at Mitch. “Cat in my chair.”

Mitch chuckled, then realized Bubba was serious. “Oh.” He moved over a seat.

Sitting down, Bubba said, “I’m taking the men out for a drink tonight. You’ll come.”

“I don’t think so, Daddy.”

“Don’t be weak, boy. You’ll come. One drink won’t kill ya. You can even bring your cat friends if you want. If you’ll feel safer,” he taunted.

Smitty took the kind of deep breath he took only around his daddy. “Fine.”

“You’ll regret it,” Sissy sang under her breath.

“One drink, Sissy. That’s all I’m having.”

She heard her full name yelled at the same time that big hand cracked right across her ass, snapping her out of a sound sleep.

“What? What’s wrong?” Jess sat up straight and saw Smitty standing at the end of the bed, sort of swaying. “Smitty? Christ, what time is it?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It’s three in the morning? Why are you waking me up at three in the morning?”

He muttered something that sounded like “The hypocrisy.” But Jess chose to ignore it.

“Bobby Ray Smith... are you drunk?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe? Maybe you’re drunk?”

“Don’t try and distract me, woman.”

“What happened to ‘I’m only having one drink. I’ll be back in an hour’? Isn’t that what you said to me five hours ago?”

“I’m drunk because my daddy is still in town. We started off in Uncle Bart’s room. Went to Momma’s. And then we left the building. At some point, I believe we left Daddy passed out somewhere in Battery Park—but I’m not really sure.”

“Isn’t your mom going to take care of him?”

“Her exact words were ‘Leave his big drunk ass right there.’”

“Oh.” Her head cocked to the side as she stared at him. “Did you know someone scrawled ‘Omega’ on your forehead?”

He growled. “Damn, Mace.” He rubbed at his forehead, which only managed to smear but not wipe away the wolf-offending words.

“Did I get it?”

“Sure,” she lied.