Page 46 of Tiger Betrayal

Laramie cast one glance back at the trees and smiled. That wouldn’t be the last time she and Stellan visited this place. She just knew he would bring her back here whenever she wanted. He would probably order a trillion roast beef sandwiches and eat almost all of them while they blabbed away in a random grove of trees, away from the park paths and the picnic tables and the duck pond. This part of the park had belonged to her parents…

And now it belonged to her and Stellan.

She’d come to this city in mourning, and so damn lonely. She’d been desperately looking for connection. And now she was setting down roots in this city with a good and protective man, and the beginnings of a family that felt very important. It didn’t matter than any of them were Cats. It didn’t matter that Stellan was a Cat. She knew her parents wouldn’t have cared. Not if he took care of their daughter. Mom would’ve asked, “Does he make you happy?” and Laramie, without any hesitation, would’ve been able to answer honestly, “Yes.”

They would’ve loved Stellan, tiger and all. Of that, she was certain.

Because she loved Stellan. Tiger and all.

Chapter Sixteen

Laramie smiled at the framed shading of their initials that had taken the place of the picture of Stellan’s cold-eyed mother.

There were yellow flowers in a vase on the table, just because.

Stellan finished washing his hands in the bathroom and came out, filling the entire hallway with his enormous frame and presence.

His eyes weren’t glowing but instead were a muted and soft brown. He’d been quiet all morning.

“What’s going on?” she asked, gripping the sides of his t-shirt.

Stellan pressed his forehead to hers and said, “I don’t want them to leave.”

She’d already known he was feeling that, but Stellan would do better if he gave his feelings a voice.

“One tiny year and they will be back. And you can do video calls and actually text him back this time.”

“It’s not the same.” Stellan eased away and made his way to the living room. “They’re here.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. “It’s early.”

“I can hear Mars’s truck engine. He’s turning onto my street now. Dame’s truck is right behind him.”

“Are you nervous?”

“About what?” he asked, pulling the butter out of the fridge to start seasoning the steaks he’d let settle to room temperature.

“About letting them see your home for the first time. You were so protective of your privacy when I first met you. You didn’t even want Mars to know where you worked.”

Stellan paused and frowned. “I haven’t thought about it. I guess if I had a feeling about it, I just feel ready.”

And she understood. He was ready to let them in. Ready to let his brothers see him more clearly.

She was so damn proud of him.

Laramie went and opened the door and waited outside for them as the two trucks backed into the parking spaces in the empty lot across the street.

She leaned on the doorframe of Stellan’s home as Dame and Misty got out, carrying plastic storage containers of food. Mars and Ren did the same, and together, the Ledger Ambush crossed the street, waving and smiling at Laramie.

Stellan’s fingers brushed her hip as he leaned down and kissed her cheek, and then he moved past her to give his brothers rough hugs before he shoved them away.

“Last Ambush dinner for a while,” Dame said.

Ren and Mars exchanged sad looks. Sure, Laramie and Stellan would still meet up with Dame and Misty, but it wouldn’t be the same without Mars and Ren. The Ambush would be incomplete.

“Let me get that for you,” Laramie offered Misty, reaching for the huge container of homemade macaroni and cheese.

“It’s so crazy being in Stellan’s home,” Ren murmured as she stepped inside. “I feel like we are breaking the rules right now.”