Page 31 of Pledge Of A Bobcat

“You be good for Aunt Maribel, okay?” I said, giving her the firm mom-look I’d mastered in the last year or so.

Her arms wrapped tightly around my neck as she squeezed me back. “I will. We’re gonna make cookies, right?” She glanced at Aunt Maribel expectantly, a smile on her face.

“With hot cocoa.” Aunt Maribel winked.

“Yes!” Serenity hissed, excited.

All I could think wasmore sugar, yay. This was becoming a trend. We would have to take a sugar break soon.

I pressed a kiss to Serenity’s cheek and straightened up, shifting my attention to Aunt Maribel. “Not too many cookies for her, okay?”

She waved my words away. “I know.”

I pulled her in for a hug. “Thanks for watching her again. I know I’ve been asking a lot lately.”

“I enjoy it.” She kissed me on the cheek. “Have fun.”

A knock came at the door, and I rushed to answer it. Ellis stood at the doorstep looking handsome. His smile was instantaneous and contagious.

“Hey,” he said. “Ready?”

“Yeah.” I turned to grab my purse while he said hello to Aunt Maribel and Serenity. “Let’s go.”

We walked to his truck, and he crossed in front of me to open the passenger door. I slid into the seat and cast a glance at the cottage. A knot of unease twisted my stomach.

“I think Aunt Maribel’s hiding something from me,” I blurted out once he climbed behind the wheel.

He cranked the engine to life. “Hiding something?”

“Yeah. It’s just a feeling I have. She was cryptic about where she was earlier, and I can’t shake the sense that there’s something going on.”

He pulled away from the cottage. “No offense, but Maribel seems to always be cryptic when she speaks.” He cast a quick glance at me. “But if she’s keeping a secret, there’s probably a good reason for it. She’ll tell you when it’s time.”

I let out a sigh. “I guess you’re right. I just worry about her sometimes.”

Ellis reached over and gave my hand a gentle squeeze, his thumb brushing lightly over my knuckles. “She wouldn’t keep something from you unless she felt she needed to for now. Try not to stress about it too much. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“You’re probably right.” I managed a small smile, and then shifted to look out the window.

We spent the rest of the drive to Last Drop listening to the radio instead of talking. However, the feeling of unease in mestill lingered. I realized as we pulled into the busy parking lot of the bar why.

Nerves were creeping in.

I knew how important tonight was, how important these people were to Ellis. This was his crew I was about to meet. They weren’t just important to his man; they were also important to his bobcat. I didn’t want to give them any reason to not like me.

It took us a while to find a parking spot. I hadn’t expected this place to be so busy tonight. Not that I knew much about it. After all, I’d only been here once before and it hadn’t been for long.

“This place is packed,” I said as Ellis cut the engine of his truck.

“Yeah. Sometimes it’s like this.”

I glanced at him. “Do you come here often?”

I wasn’t asking to be judgmental, and I hoped my question hadn’t come off as such. I was honestly curious.

“No. This just seems to be an easy meet up place for us all,” he said, before climbing out.

He rounded the truck to open the door for me again. I stepped out, and my nerves flared up once more. When I glanced at Ellis, his smile—easy and confident, like he didn’t have a doubt about this going well—calmed me.

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