“Where are you going?” Jackie asked Toni.

“Russia. To negotiate with bears.”

“Don’t worry, though,” Ricky Reed told them, putting his arm around Toni’s shoulders. “I’m going with her to protect her.”

“Because Russian bears love wolves so much?”

The wolf grinned. “Mr. Parker, is that what you Yankees call sarcasm?”

Livy Kowalski walked into the living room. “Your bag is packed and ready to go,” she told Toni. “Your limo is waiting outside.”

“Yeah, but—”

“No buts, canine. Just go. You need to do this.”

“She’s right,” Paul said, moving to stand in front of his daughter and taking her hands in his. “Is this part of your job, baby?”

“It is.”

“Then you have to go.”

“Or I could quit.”

“Let me ask you this . . . do you want to quit? And before you answer, I’m not asking if you think you should quit or if you think your siblings want you to quit. I’m asking you if you want to quit?”

Toni was silent for a long moment before she replied, “I don’t think so. At least not yet.”

“Then go get your plane and do your job.”

“And you guys?”

“We’ll be fine. I promise.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I love you, baby.”

“I love you, too, Dad.”

“And be careful.”

“Yes, sir.”

Toni headed out, stopping to hug her mother and Irene. She motioned for Cooper to follow her.

Ricky Reed nodded at Paul. “I’ll protect her with my life, sir.”

“You better,” Paul told him plainly. “Because I will kill you if anything happens to my daughter. And I mean anything.”

“I understand, sir.” And Paul believed him, which was surprising because Paul rarely believed wolves unless it was Niles Van Holtz.

Jackie faced Paul once the kids were down the hall and at the door, saying their good-byes to Toni. “We’re letting our daughter go off to negotiate with bears?”

“No. We’re letting our daughter go off and be an adult. It’s time, Jack. You know that.”

“I know. I know.”

He wrapped his arms around his mate and hugged her tight. “Of all our kids, she’s the one I know can handle herself in any situation. So don’t worry.”

“Okay.”

They held each other for a bit until Jackie asked, “Where’s that dog you insist on keeping around?”

“I like that dog. She’s the only one in the family who doesn’t talk back.”

“Excuse me.” Blayne, who Paul hadn’t realized was still in the room, smiled and gave a little wave. “Your dog is under the couch.”

Still holdingon to each other, Paul and Jackie leaned over a little so they could look under the couch.

“Huh,” Jackie said. “She sure is.”

“That’s kind of Bo’s fault,” Blayne explained. “He scares regular dogs. He doesn’t mean to, of course, but there’s no helping it.”

Paul shook his head. “That’s fine. It’s not a—”

“I’m really excited he’ll be spending some time with your kids,” Blayne went on, cutting Paul off but somehow not being rude about it. She just seemed to have all this energy that simply could not be contained. “I plan to have a whole busload of kids myself, and he needs to learn how to deal with children without making them cry or hide or scream hysterically.”

Jackie tensed in Paul’s arms, so he held his mate a little tighter, keeping her in place.

“He’s such a great guy, but no one ever sees it because, ya know, the glower and all is off putting, but that’s just his focus. But now that I’ve met your kids, I see you guys totally understand that. What’s it like having so many prodigies in one family?”

“Well—” Paul began.

“Although I don’t know if they’ll all be like Bo. I’m honestly terrified they’ll all be like me. I’m not sure how he’ll handle that. But this is a good start, don’t cha think? Let him deal with kids just like himself and then I can ease him into more . . . challenging children. Yeah. That’s a good plan.”

“O—”

“Anyway, it’s really nice of you guys to let us stay here. We’ll just sleep on the couch. Don’t worry”—she grinned and winked—“no hanky-panky while we’re here.”

Paul held Jackie even tighter. “You’re staying here?”

“Oh, yeah. I thought maybe a day for this thing but after meeting your kids and realizing how much like Bo they are . . . you’re looking at a minimum of a two-day but more likely a three-day ordeal to get them all to agree. But according to Ricky Lee, most classes and whatever don’t really start until next Monday, so that’s enough time. I wouldn’t worry.” She stepped closer. “I just have to say you two are such a cute couple and I think we’re going to be such great friends!”

Paul’s grip on his mate at this point was so tight, he was surprised he hadn’t broken any of her ribs. But he had to take the risk because Jack hated people who, in her words, “chatter on.” And holy hell could this wolfdog chatter! And too much chatter meant that every once in a while, Jackie started swinging, and Paul really didn’t want to have to listen to the whining that would inevitably arrive come practice time once Jack’s knuckles started to swell. It was really hard to play violin when one’s knuckles swelled.