Page 31 of Wrong Number, Right Cougar

I was worried there'd be too much money going out and nothing coming in, but Wilder said we couldn’t wait and see. We had to be prepared.

Neither of us could concentrate. I’d walk into the kitchen, straining to hear that distinctive ping. One of us had to be close to the computer to let the other know if something happened.

“Was that one?” I yelled.

“No.”

Damn. After the first one, I was convinced we’d get a stream of bookings, and I was disappointed, thinking my dream was going to crash and burn. Wilder said we should go for a walk but neither of us went far before racing back to the computer.

We got three bookings in a few hours. One was for a week, so I scribbled lists, crossing out and adding items as my brain whizzed back and forth.

My eye caught the scrapbooks on the shelf, and I thought of the photos with Uncle and the cougars.

“We should commemorate the cougars of old and hopefully the ones in the future.”

Wilder grinned. “There you go again. We’d have to have a lot of sex and produce many babies to repopulate the cougars.”

“The sex I wouldn’t mind. Not sure how many babies we’ll have, though.” I explained we should make one of the cabins the Cougar Cabin and fill it with photos and other memorabilia from the cougars’ heyday.

“We can charge more for it.”

I went through the scrapbooks while Wilder collected bits and bobs from his place, and we spent the afternoon putting up pics on the cabin walls and rearranging the space. We took photos, and I added them to the lodge website, along with details, and upped the price.

Did you just double the price on one of the cabins?That was Saul. Glad to see he was keeping tabs on the site.

Wilder yawned. “We don’t have to sit up all night and watch the computer, do we?”

“Nope.” I had to be up early for an interview on a local radio station breakfast show.

“Okay. I’m beat.” He kissed my nose. “I’m headed home.”

I didn’t want him to leave. Not tonight, not ever.

“What if this was your home?”

Uncle’s house was dry and warm, but it needed updating. That would come when the lodge was full every night, we’d made back the money I’d spent on the renovations, and there was enough money in the bank in case something went wrong.

“Are you asking me to move in with you?”

It made sense. We were mated, but with all the changes in our lives, we hadn’t made the final commitment to one another.

“I am.”

Wilder gazed around the room and ran his hand over the sofa. “I’ve spent so much of my time here. Your uncle welcomed me into his home and his life. Part of him will always be here, and I’m sure he’s hovering overhead, urging me to accept your offer.”

“Please tell me you won’t move in just because Uncle would have liked it.”

Wilder laughed and pulled me onto the couch. “It’s you and me, kid.”

I grimaced. “Sounds like a line from a movie.”

“Might be, but it’s right for us. If Alexei were here, he’d be beaming. He used to talk about his family, especially when he had a few too many beers.”

That hurt. Him out here and us not far away, me growing up and not knowing him. Not being here for him.

“You know what he used to do to celebrate?” Wilder’s eyes gleamed. Whatever he was about to say, I wouldn’t like it.

“You’ll tell me whether I want to hear it or not.” I rested my head on his shoulder but sat up again almost immediately. “Wait, what are we celebrating?” If it was the new bookings, that was reasonable. It was the beginning of something new and exciting, and glancing upward, I imagined Uncle looking down as Wilder had said.

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