Page 37 of Pledge Of A Bobcat

“What do you mean?”

She squeezed my hand once more. “My secret errand was signing the cottage over to you. Spread your roots deeper here—with Ellis and Serenity.”

My eyes filled with tears. “Thank you.”

She cupped my face and smiled, her eyes never wavering from mine. “You deserve this place. After all, you’re the one that filled its walls with even more life than I did. Keep doing that, fill it with all the happiness it can hold.”

I laughed, the sound breaking up the tightness in my chest. “I think I can manage that,” I said, feeling a little lighter. “Just promise to send postcards, okay?”

“Postcards, seashells, maybe even a few bits of driftwood,” she said, her eyes sparkling with that familiar, whimsical light. “You’ll have all the proof you need that I’m listening to the ocean wind’s secrets, even if I’m miles away.”

It was such an Aunt Maribel thing to say, and it made me smile wider. I hugged her tightly. She was still here now, and that was enough.

We made our way back inside, and I found Ellis coloring at the coffee table with Serenity. His eyes found mine, and I knew he could tell something was wrong. I made my way to sit beside him on the couch.

“Everything okay?” he asked, his voice low so Serenity wouldn’t hear.

“Yeah.” I rested my head on his shoulder. “Aunt Maribel just told me she’ll be following the wind to the ocean somewhere.”

He glanced at me. “What? She’s moving?”

“Not until this thing with Xander and Lucius’s spirit is taken care of, but yeah. She’s moving,” I said, unable to hide the sadness from my tone. “She left me the cottage. That was the errand she ran that one day she was so secretive about—that’s what she was hiding.”

Ellis draped his arm over my shoulder and pulled me in closer. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s so crazy how much has changed in such a short amount of time,” I said, exhaling a slow breath.

“I know what you mean,” he said. “There were times I didn’t think I’d ever find this—find you. But I’m glad I did.”

I glanced up at him, feeling a lump form in my throat. “Me, too. I used to think this kind of happiness was something I’d already had... and lost.” My voice softened, my thoughts drifting to memories of late nights, shared smiles, and the quiet strength of my late husband’s presence. “It was hard to imagine I could ever find love and happiness like that again.”

“I think he’d be happy to see you so happy again,” Ellis said quietly. “To know you’re finding your way back to joy.”

I blinked back tears that threatened to spill over. “Yeah,” I whispered. “I like to think he’d be okay with this, with Serenity and me finding a way to move forward.”

“I’m in no way trying to replace him,” Ellis said softly, carefully, his eyes steady on mine. “But I can’t deny that I want to help you find a hold on happiness again, in whatever way I can.”

I reached up, brushing my fingers against his cheek. “You already have.”

We kissed. It was tender and sweet, and had Serenity giggling and breaking the moment seconds later.

“What are you laughing at?” I asked as I bent forward and tickled her.

“Nothing!” she shouted between laughing. “Ellis, help!”

“Help, you say?” he asked, creeping closer to me again. “I’ll help all right.” He tickled me like I did her and I laughed so hard I thought I might pee my pants.

The three of us, here, in this moment, it was more than I’d ever hoped for after James’s passing.

It was perfect, and for the first time in a long time, I felt whole again.

Happy.