Page 14 of Puma's Pride

When we return to the clubhouse, I show Corinne the suite of rooms where she and Mal can sleep. I chose rooms near Elina’s and mine because the two are fast becoming friends. Once all the boxes and bags are in the right rooms, Corinne and I go hunting for our children. I expect to find them in the game room, but I only find Diego and Spark deep in conversation.

“Where are Elina and Mal?” I ask Diego. He gestures toward the playhouse the guys built for Elina. It takes up an entire corner of the playroom. It’s a castle with ladders and two rooms. Elina has a beanbag chair and her bookcase in one and a desk with a chair in the other. I glance inside and don’t see them.

“They aren’t in there.” I tell Diego, who strides over to check.

“They were.” He protests.

“Where could they be?” Corinne asks and I can tell she’s concerned.

“They’re still in the clubhouse, so they’re fine.” I tell her, but I understand her worry. I was on edge the first weeks we came to live here until the guys showed me how aware they were of Elina.

“They snuck out of here about ten minutes ago.” Spark says, proving my point. “I heard Elina tell Mal that she would take him to talk to Puma. He’s in his office, so they’re likely there, too.”

I nod at Spark and shake my head at my father, who is standing with his mouth open. I love my father, but he doesn’t always pay attention to his surroundings. But he, like me, realized early on that Elina is always safe here.

“Come on, let’s go hunt them down.” I tell Corinne and lead the way to Puma’s office.

As we approach, I see his door is open a crack. I can hear Puma and Elina talking. I shake my head when I hear Elina’s imperious declaration that she’s helping. Elina is a great helper, whether or not you want that help. I hear Puma asking Mal a question. I move so I can see into Puma’s office, gesturing for Corinne to join me.

“Yes. I’m your father.” Puma says, causing Corinne to gasp. No one inside the room turns toward us, so I’m guessing they didn’t hear her. “Why do you ask?”

“Because I told him you were.” Elina says and I have to fight from rolling my eyes when she continues. “Everyone says that I have to be my mom’s daughter because I look just like her. Mal looks just like you.”

“How come I haven’t met you before?” Mal asks. I can hear the pain in his question and glance at Corinne, who looks sad and guilty. “Did you not want to meet me?”

Puma sighs and reaches out his hand to Mal. Mal looks at it before putting his smaller one into his. “I didn’t know about you. That’s the only reason we haven’t met before today. Your mom tried to tell me about you, but she couldn’t reach me.”

“Why?” Elina asks as Mal studies Puma’s face.

“Some people thought they were protecting me and wouldn’t let her talk to me. They made a mistake.” Puma tells him. “It isn’t your mom’s fault.”

Mal gives Puma a nod. “Ok.”

“You know, you and your mom are going to stay here for a few days, so we’re going to have plenty of time to get to know each other.” Puma says. “I, for one, can’t wait.”

He must have given Mal one of his smiles, because Mal smiles in return. I glance at Elina, who is looking at Corinne and me. She sticks her little thumb up in the air, which causes both Puma and Mal to glance our way. I hear Corinne give a watery chuckle as Puma stands to face us.

He glances at me and then at Corinne. “I hope I didn’t overstep…” He starts, but Corinne shakes her head.

“Of course you didn’t. Thank you. For everything.” She looks at her son. “You doing ok, my little man?”

He nods and moves toward her, but then stops and throws himself at Puma. Puma’s large hand covers the boy’s back. He kneels and hugs the boy. “We’re going to be great friends.” Puma tells him, and my heart does a small tumble, especially when I see the radiant smile on Mal’s face. I brush my hand against Corinne’s arm when I see her wiping away her tears.

“Why don’t we have some dinner?” I offer, holding my hand out to Elina, who slides off the couch to take it.

I lead everyone to the room we use as a dining room. Most of the men eat their meals in the common room, but I like to use the dining room when we’re eating with Elina. It gives meal time a little more normalcy. Before we fled Yuma, we’d always have dinner at the table. It makes me feel like a family again. When we get there, I find Desdemona cleaning off the table with Diego’s help.

“Let me help you.” I offer as I gather the paperwork I left on the table earlier. Desdemona and I are in the middle of planning a charity event and we’ve been using the dining room as our makeshift office.

“What’s all this?” Corinne asks as she helps us while Puma and my dad take the kids to the kitchen to grab dinner.

“Alisa and I are planning a charity event.” Desdemona explains. “We’re trying to raise money for displaced families by having an art show. We’ve sold tickets and we’ll be auctioning off pieces.”

“The club’s casino, 1%, is hosting the event.” I tell Corinne. “We have a variety of artists contributing, including Desdemona. So, we have famous artists mixed in with a few amateurs. Like the woman I was telling you about earlier. The one who is with my ex-husband, Scar. Her name is Caitlin. She’s an amateur, but she has some beautiful pieces.”

“I think I saw an advertisement for the show. I didn’t realize it was a charity event.” Corinne adds.

“Would you like to come?” Desdemona asks.

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