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"Excellent plan"

She slapped his leg "You knohat IThere’d be a young Pack leader and the old one would still be alive for advice and such And after he talked about it with my mom, he talked to your dad"

Jack nodded "I reht Well, we talked about it for years, and finally agreed And yesterday was the big day, and first thing in the , before my folks left for Boston, my dad went out and found"

CHAPTER TWELVE

Kara and Deb asked and asked, and the third time Lara refused their help in the breakfast rooer "It’s our otten dressed in the jeans and the hated belt, but had to borrow one of her dad’s old T-shirts, since his had been ruined They’d gotten all the gunk off his shoes "But they keep co up"

"It’s true," Kara called fro," Lara called back

"And they said they have extra help this week, a new kitchen guy"

"That’s true!" Kara called

"Enough! Both of you Let me think" Lara puffed a lock of dark hair out of her eye They’d wiped and swept and lass, and it still look like they’d barely started "I guessif you guys insistreally insist"

"Thank God," she heard Deb mutter Kara, Deb, and at least four other cleaners descended on the patiently in the kitchen for their turn "Thank you," Deb said as the others scattered around the roo to take responsibility Your folks--your mama especially--she didn’t want a couple of entitled jerks for kids" Lara nodded; when they were cubs, the quickest way to get in trouble with their folks was to make a mess and then put on let-the-servants-handle-it attitude "But you’re not cubs And you’re in our way And you’re terrible at this And don’t you have ht, all right"

"Besides, these things happen" Deb was giving Jack a long look and Lara caught the sharp scent of her interest "And probably will again, I’"

"Also, when you tell your folks what happened, can you do it e’re all around and can hear the whole thing? What?" Kara asked when Deb rolled her eyes "My Cloud cable’s out"

"You and you!"

Lara had been so consumed with the work--and the odors--she hadn’t heard or scented Sean’s return He was standing, ar her a Level Four Death Glare--until then, only herthat level of wrath from eyes alone

"Hi, Sean," Lara said, so an

"Shut your cake hole, fornicator! You and youlet’s go upstairs and talk"

Fornicator? Jack ed, pointed at Sean’s back, and mimed a look of utter contrition

"I can hear you, you know," Sean said, which made no sense, but they dropped their hands and followed like a couple bound for the gallows

"Okay, first? Gross, and gross And walking through bacon? I don’t knohat kind of degenerate jungle you grew up in, Jack ‘I Think I’ll Bang Your Sister Right This Second’ Gardner, but if you’re gonna be living here, which I assuonna have to treat bacon with a whole other level of respect, all the tiood dad to your cubs and stuff"

"Respect bacon" Jack nodded "Good er at Lara, atched it warily Rarely had her brother gotten so frothy Of course, he had cause But it was still odd to see hiet how alpha-ness is a curse of loneliness and no one can understand the depth of your sad pathetic forlorn-ness, blah-blah-blah, but take ninety daet a room There are twenty bedrooms in this house! There is no need to harm the bacon, ever!"

"Yes, Sean"

"I otten nailed--what? Five times in the last five years?"

"Really?" Jack asked, unable to conceal his delight and surprise "But you’re so beautiful, and you could have any--"

"No one’s talking to you, Jack-in-the-penis!"

"Yes, Sean" What sort of toys did this boy play with as a child? "Sorry, Sean"

"Anyway, I get why you were slaves to your grotesque ani leave the bacon out of it Okay?"

"Okay, Sean"