The screen door on the screened-in back porch banged shut, and John looked up to see Henry walking toward him, carrying his phone. John touched his back pocket and realized he must have left it on his nightstand. “It’s Uncle Rhett,” Henry said as he handed the phone to John. “Hi, Rhett,” John said into the phone. “Lisa wanted me to ask you if there’s plenty of ice for the coolers.” Rhett’s human wife, Lisa, had handled the planning of the ceremony and dinner afterward. Starting with Callie’s wedding, Lisa had basically become the pride’s wedding and party coordinator. After talking to Jilly and Dionne about what the bonding ceremony entailed, Lisa had put together what was sure to be an amazing party. At the end of the day, John’s only daughter was going to be promised to two panthers. “Yes, I sent Chase and Dylan this morning to raid the gas station’s supply of bagged ice. How are things going at your house?” Lisa had been at the boarding house in the morning, overseeing the setup of the tables for the dinner and the chairs for the ceremony. Close to one hundred people were going to fill up the yard in a few hours, mostly panthers from clans all over the country. Jilly had spent the night at Callie’s home because although panther tradition didn’t dictate the males and females stayed separated the night before the bonding ceremony, Jilly felt like it was the right thing to do.
