Texas and Tarantulas

  Steven slid an arm around Solomon’s shoulders, speaking as he did so. “First, we strategize.”

  “Yes,” Solomon agreed. They’d learned to make sure they presented a united front and all when it came to discipline and rules, although Steven did on occasion screw that whole thing up. It was his natural tendency to lead, to be the boss or alpha or whatever, Solomon knew that. He also knew it wasn’t in his own nature to let someone else run the show, not when it came to family. “We should get Kylie, Erdwin, Vanessa and Jora, too,” he added. Now that those four siblings were eighteen, he believed they should be involved in the parenting if they wanted to be.

  Steven groaned.

  Shaun patted his back. “Now who’s trying out for drama king?”

  Steven gave him the stink eye. “I’m not acting. That’s heartfelt dread I’m showing there. And I still can’t get over Erdwin being eighteen already. He looked so little when I first met him. Are you sure you had his age right?”

  Solomon snorted at the familiar question. Steven claimed Erdwin had to have been ten at the oldest when they’d all been rescued, but the truth was, Erdwin had been malnourished and it’d stunted his growth. Fortunately, five years of good food and safety had fixed that. “You know he’s eighteen now. Stop stalling. We’re doing this family chat. Besides, it’s not so bad, having more people weighing in on…” Solomon didn’t finish. It was harder having more opinions bantered around. “They should get a say. That’s what we agreed originally.”

  “We were idiots,” Steven said bluntly. “Why did we think, oh hey, we’re doing all right raising this herd of kids—let’s make it more challenging by letting each one that turns eighteen have a say in raising the others? And why didn’t anyone tell us how stupid an idea that was? Everyone argues!”

  If they’d had proper parenting themselves, they might have done things differently. Solomon doubted it, though. After all, Cole had had a good upbringing with Remus as his father. Cole hadn’t spoken out against their plan.

  Cole shrugged as if he knew what Solomon was thinking about. “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”

  They split up to find the four so they could have their meeting. Cole asked Remus and Cliff to come watch the younger kids, much to the delight of the children and their babysitters.

  Everyone knew Cliff was the biggest kid of the bunch.

  “Ten bucks says we end up grounding him,” Steven said when Cliff shouted and twirled Mett overhead.

  Solomon watched the big, scary-at-times shaman spin Mett like he was a toy. “You go right ahead and tell him he’s grounded. I’ll be here laughing at you.”

  Steven nudged him on the arm. “You don’t think I could take Cliff?”

  Solomon didn’t see any right way to answer that honestly.

  “Let’s get this parenting discussion over with, I want to make lemon bars,” Kylie said. “You two quit picking at each other.”

  It figured they’d had four siblings turn eighteen in the past few months, Solomon mused. That was the thing about having a father who’d been intent on mating with as many female shifters of differing breeds as possible. Lately, some of Solomon’s siblings had been talking about trying to find out who their mothers were.

  A niggling of discomfort when the subject was brought up always began burbling in his belly. He refused to examine why.

  This was his family. Solomon wouldn’t lose any of them. He couldn’t think about right and wrong, couldn’t let himself imagine women mourning their children stripped away from them at birth or shortly thereafter.

  Solomon locked those thoughts away. They were new to him, and troubling. He’d spent years trying to make sure his brothers and sisters were taken care of and now, suddenly it seemed he was having doubts that he’d done the right thing.

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  About the Author

  A native Texan, Bailey spends her days spinning stories around in her head, which has contributed to more than one incident of tripping over her own feet. Evenings are reserved for pounding away at the keyboard, as are early morning hours. Sleep? Doesn’t happen much. Writing is too much fun, and there are too many characters bouncing about, tapping on Bailey’s brain demanding to be let out.

  Caffeine and chocolate are permanent fixtures in Bailey’s office and are never far from hand at any given time. Removing either of those necessities from Bailey’s presence can result in what is known as A Very, Very Scary Bailey and is not advised under any circumstances.

  Email: [email protected]

  Bailey loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at http://www.totallybound.com.

  Also by Bailey Bradford

  Breaking the Devil

  Dark Nights and Headlights

  Southwestern Shifters: Rescued

  Southwestern Shifters: Relentless

  Southwestern Shifters: Reckless

  Southwestern Shifters: Rendered

  Southwestern Shifters: Resilience

  Southwestern Shifters: Reverence

  Southwestern Shifters: Revolution

  Southwestern Shifters: Revenge

  Southwestern Shifters: Reluctance

  Southern Spirits: A Subtle Breeze

  Southern Spirits: When the Dead Speak

  Southern Spirits: All of the Voices

  Southern Spirits: Wait Until Dawn

  Southern Spirits: Aftermath

  Southern Spirits What Remains

  Southern Spirits: Ascension

  Southern Spirits: Whirlwind

  Love in Xxchange: Rory’s Last Chance

  Love in Xxchange: Miles To Go

  Love in Xxchange: Bend

  Love in Xxchange: What Matters Most

  Love in Xxchange: Ex’s and O’s

  Love in Xxchange: A Bit of Me

  Love in Xxchange: A Bit of You

  Love in Xxchange: In My Arms Tonight

  Love in Xxchange: Where There’s a Will

  Leopard’s Spots: Levi

  Leopard’s Spots: Oscar

  Leopard’s Spots: Timothy

  Leopard’s Spots: Isaiah

  Leopard’s Spots: Gilbert

  Leopard’s Spots: Esau

  Leopard’s Spots: Sullivan

  Leopard’s Spots: Wesley

  Leopard’s Spots: Nischal

  Leopard’s Spots: Justice

  Leopard’s Spots: Sabin

  Leopard’s Spots: Cliff

  Mossy Glenn Ranch: Chaps and Hope

  Mossy Glenn Ranch: Ropes and Dreams

  Mossy Glenn Ranch: Saddles and Memories

  Mossy Glenn Ranch: Fences and Freedom

  Mossy Glenn Ranch: Riding and Regrets

  Mossy Glenn Ranch: Broncs and Bullies

  Spotless: Hide

  Spotless: Hunt

  Yes, Forever: Part One

  Yes, Forever: Part Two

  Yes, Forever: Part Three

  Yes, Forever: Part Four

  Yes, Forever: Part Five

  What’s his Passion?: Unexpected Places

  Totally Bound Publishing