“Then why do you do it?” he finally asked.
The reasons for my crusade sped through my mind as I sat up straighter, squared my shoulders and gave him the mantra that kept me going. “If I don’t, then who will?”
We were quiet for another extended period of time while I put the pity party to rest and worked to remind myself of all the good I’d already done. But more importantly, all the causes that still needed my attention. There was an endless amount of damage being done to our planet every day and I was one of few who got to stand in the way.
“That’s pretty amazing, Callie.”
It didn’t escape my notice that this was the first time he’d used my nickname. The simple two syllable name was said with a kind of reverence I’d never heard before. It made the hairs on my arms stand on end and the words dry up in my parched throat.
Not only had he said my name like a prayer, he’d also called me amazing. He barely knew me, and he thought so highly of me. Like I was someone important. Someone worthy of praise and admiration.
Most people who heard about what I did thought I was just some hippy who burned sage and danced around a bonfire all day. No one in my pack understood the importance of what I did or even why I did it. They just dismissed me as the bored sister of a powerful alpha, wasting her time doing something frivolous simply because she could.
But I was so much more.
And it seemed after just one simple conversation, Wyatt understood that. Understood me.
Which was a huge problem.
I was having enough difficulty trying to ignore his good looks, his masculine scent, and that powerful tug in his direction. Now I had to add onto that how understanding he was and the fact that he thought I was amazing.
I was in trouble.
I needed to steer this conversation back on course before I totally lost my way.
“Anyway, I’ve got all these water samples to test and no laboratory to do it in, so I’ve booked this time with some equipment downtown. One day I’ll have my own lab and can do this stuff on my own time but until then, I have to make it work somehow. I’d normally just take my Prius, but as you can see, there’s way more than I can fit in my car and–”
“You drive a Prius?”
I narrowed my eyes and turned to glare at his profile. Half of me was irritated he interrupted, while the other half was grateful. I’d been rambling like an idiot and it was unlikely I would have been able to stop myself. “Yes. Why?”
His lips twisted with a grin as he stared through the windshield. “No reason.”
I watched him for another minute, sure there was more to it than that. Turned out I was right.
“I just think it’s cute is all.”
My spine straightened as my heart fluttered. “What’s cute?”
“You drivin’ a little toy car. It fits you.”
“My Prius is not a toy car,” I sputtered.
His smile grew. “Of course not.”
“I’m serious. Just because it’s a hybrid doesn’t make it any less of a car than your gas-guzzling Jeep.”
His head cocked to the side as his lips turned into a frown. “How’d you know I drive a Jeep?”
Oh, crap.
“Oh. Um. I’ve seen you in it.”
There. That didn’t sound too dumb. Or stalker-ish. Right?
“Really? I didn’t see you.”
My heart raced as my mind tried to outrun it. I needed to find a reasonable excuse for knowing what he drove without making it seem like I’d been watching him for weeks. But nothing was coming to mind.
Finally, I decided a diversion was the best course of action.
“I’m not surprised you didn’t see me from the seat of your massive oil-eating monster truck.”
My words rang out between us for what felt like hours before Wyatt’s head fell back and he laughed loudly. The knots in my stomach tightened as I watched his Adam’s apple bob in his throat and listened to the joyful chuckles falling from his lips.
I knew in that moment I’d never seen or heard anything more beautiful than Wyatt Carter laughing.
He pulled the car to a stop at a red light and turned to me. “You’re something else, Callie.”
I did my best to wipe the dazed look from my face and turned to stare out the windshield. “What? It’s true,” I mumbled.
He laughed again and shook his head before continuing our drive. The streets were becoming more populated as we drove closer to the lab and the end of this exhausting encounter. It was more work than I thought it would be keeping my distance from Wyatt, and I honestly didn’t know how much longer I could do it.
“Where is this place anyway?”
I blew out a breath of relief and gave him the final directions to the lab. Thankfully, we spent the rest of the ride in a comfortable silence as I internally berated myself for getting lost in him like that.
I needed to be stronger. More distant. More aloof than that. If I was going to keep my way of life safe from Wyatt’s charms, I needed to be better at keeping him at least an arm’s length away.
I shot him a look out of the corner of my eye, noticing he still had that panty-melting smile on his face and decided then and there I’d need two arm’s lengths away from him.
When he finally pulled into the lab’s parking lot, I shot out a silent thanks into the universe that I’d made it relatively unscathed. I stuffed my notebooks in my bag and exited the vehicle, thankful I’d only have a few more minutes with Wyatt before I’d be free to watch him from afar again. Where it was safer, and I didn’t have to dodge his warm eyes or steel myself against his devastating laugh.
“Where do you want this stuff?” he asked from the back of the SUV.
I waved to the side of the building. “You can just leave all that over there. I’ll bring them in myself.”
He shot me an exasperated look as he loaded his thick arms with a mountain of sample racks. “Callie, I’m not leaving this stuff outside for you to take in. Just tell me where to bring it.”
I closed my eyes for a second as I reined in my annoyance. Not at him, of course, but myself.
Why couldn’t I just treat him like everyone else?
Why did he get to me like this?
Why couldn’t I ignore this tugging in the pit of my stomach that begged me to get closer to him when all I wanted to do was run in the opposite direction?
He must have noticed my reluctance because he sidled up next to me, bringing with him that intoxicatingly warm smell. “Callie, you can’t carry in giant loads like you did at the lodge. People will notice you’re carryin’ more than you should be able to. Just let me help you so you can get started on savin’ the world.”
My stomach tightened at his words as I tried to remember how to speak. But it was so hard to get my body to act right when he was this close and saying such sweet things. I’d never had anyone say anything like that to me before.
It made me feel powerful in a way I’d never felt. Like I really could make a difference. Like I wasn’t wasting my time. Like someone believed in me.
“Besides, you’re already late, aren’t you?” he added, breaking me out of my thoughts.
Dang it, he was right. I didn’t have time to waste arguing about this and if I had to carry all these samples in like a human, it would cut my remaining time by half. With a nod, I pulled a modest pile into my own arms and led him into the lab where I’d be working.
When we had all the samples inside, I turned to find Wyatt’s eyes wide as they wandered around the bright white room and all its equipment.
“This place is pretty cool.”
I shrugged and followed his gaze for a moment. “Yeah. It’s good enough for now.”
He turned to me and I resolutely kept my eyes on the wall in front of me. “For now?”
“Until I get my own lab.”
I watched his lips twist into a smile out of the corner of my eye. “Of course you’ve got your sights set higher. I shoulda known.”
He nodded and took a step backward. “What time should I pick you up?”
My eyes widened slightly. “Oh. Um. That’s okay. Abey can come get me.”
“You sure? He’s pretty busy today.”
I grit my teeth and shook my head. “I’m sure he’ll make time to come pick me up.”
Unless he wants the full wrath of Callista McCoy unleashed on him.
Wyatt dug in his pocket and pulled out a shiny black phone. “Let me give him a call and make sure.”
“That’s really not necess–”
“Alpha. I’m here with Callie. Should I bring her home too, or did you have plans to come downtown?”
I heard my traitorous brother tell Wyatt what a good idea it was for him to stay and bring me home as well and vowed to pay him back for this.
The two men exchanged a few more pleasantries before Wyatt hung up and shoved his phone back in his pocket. “It’s all set then. I’ll wait out in the parking lot and you can come get me when you’re ready.”
“Really, Wyatt. You don’t need to wait in the parking lot.”
He looked around the room. “Why? You want me to wait in here?”
“NO.” I snapped my mouth shut and cleared my throat before trying again. “I mean, no, that wouldn’t be a good idea. You don’t have the proper… um… training to be in a lab like this. It could be dangerous.”
Wyatt arched a brow like he didn’t believe me. “Okay then. I’ll be out in the truck when you’re ready.”
Little did he know, I didn’t think I’d ever be ready for Wyatt Carter.
Chapter 7
Wyatt
My eyes flitted from the screen of my phone to the laboratory door more times than I cared to admit. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure what I was looking at on my cell because most of my attention was focused on waiting to see Callie again.
My lips curled into a smile as I remembered I got to call her Callie now.
It was clear she wasn’t looking to get closer to me, but I wasn’t going to back down. There was something between us and I knew she had to feel it. It was way too strong to be one-sided.
With another glance at my phone, I realized I was looking at an article about free agent deals in the NFL, but I hardly cared. They could have traded Elvis to my team and I wouldn’t have noticed.
When I looked back up, she was there. Her curly brown hair seemed to have become even more unruly and she now wore a white lab coat over her t-shirt, but she was just as beautiful. Just as captivating.
Wasting no time, I hopped out of Wes’ truck and hurried over to her. “You done already?”
She twisted her pretty lips to the side. “Yeah, I ran out of time.” With a heavy sigh, she shook her head. “I didn’t even get through a quarter of my samples. I’ll have to come back next week and try again.”
“Okay, that’s no problem. I’ve got nothin’ going on.”
Her head whipped up so fast I thought I heard her neck crack. “Huh?”
I shrugged. “You’ll need a way to transport all this stuff back here, right? It’s still not gonna fit in that toy car of yours.”
She narrowed her eyes that never seemed to quite meet mine. “It’s not a toy car.”
I had to bite my lip to hide my smile. She was so much fun to rile up. “That’s right. It’s a hybrid. My mistake.”
She didn’t look pacified, but I didn’t care. Having Callie pissed off at me was way better than having Callie try to ignore me. There was only so much of that shit I could take.
“I’m sure Abey can take me next week. I don’t need to put you out again.”
I just barely held back a laugh.
Put me out? If she only knew this little trip downtown had been the highlight of my month.
I pulled my phone out and hit the speed dial to connect to Abraham. He answered on the second ring.
“Alpha, do you need me next Wednesday afternoon for anything? Callie needs a ride back to the lab and I thought I could take care of that for you.”
He breathed a loud sigh of relief through the phone and Callie narrowed her eyes further. “That would be great, Wyatt. Thanks. I’ll see you two when you get back.”
I ended the call and worked like hell to get the stupid, smug smile off my face, but I knew I wasn’t doing that good of a job. When I looked back at Callie, she was even more irritated than before, and my grin grew. “Looks like you’re stuck with me.”
“Yay,” she muttered before spinning around and heading back toward the building.
I followed without being told to, because I knew if I didn’t, the stubborn woman would try to bring all those racks out by herself again and I wasn’t having that. I knew she was strong, but a real man never makes a lady work harder than him. That was a lesson my dad taught me, and I’d never forgotten it.
“So, how’d things go?” I asked as I followed her and tried desperately not to catch a peek of her ass beneath her baggy lab coat.
She sighed and shook her head, curly hair flying. “Not great. Like I said, I didn’t get enough done, and what I did get through needs further testing.” She pushed the lab room’s door open harder than necessary and winced when it crashed into the cement wall. “Dang it,” she muttered.
My hands reached out without my permission to grasp her upper arms and spin her toward me. “Hey. You’re doin’ all you can do, Callie. Just relax. I’ll get you here early next week and you’ll have all the time you need.”
She sagged in my hold for the briefest moment before squaring her shoulders and tipping her chin up. “Thanks, Wyatt. I just can’t wait until I have a lab of my own and I can spend as much time as I need without all these restrictions.” She pulled out of my grasp and spun around. “I’ll be able to hire more scientists and we can actually get something done for a change. I’m sick of running around in circles.”
I shook my head as I walked over and grabbed a pile of her sample racks. “Callie, you’re savin’ the world and the rest of us are just livin’ in it.”
She shook her head as she headed out of the building and over to the SUV to set down the racks in her arms. “I’m hardly saving the world, Wyatt. I’m not even saving all of North Carolina. I’m only testing for contamination in this county so far.”
I grabbed her wrist as she tried to walk away and spun her to face me. As usual, her eyes settled somewhere around my chin, but I didn’t care. I didn’t need her to look me in the eye to get my point across. “If you find even an ounce of contamination and can stop it from affecting the wildlife in that area, or even worse, the humans living there, isn’t that saving their world?”
Her arm trembled slightly beneath my touch as I waited for her to process my words. Finally, her shoulders rose and fell with a shuddering breath and she pulled out of my hold. I mourned the loss of her soft, warm skin beneath my fingers and clenched them into fists to stop myself from reaching out again.
“I’ve never looked at it that way,” she said softly, her eyes on the ground between us.
My hand shook with the need to cup her face, but I somehow refrained. “Well, you should. What you’re doing is important. Never forget that.”
She took another deep breath and nodded once before spinning around and walking back into the building, leaving me standing there watching her retreating figure. I shook my head to rid it of my dazed thoughts and followed her.
Once all the samples were loaded into the SUV, we climbed in ourselves, the silence heavy between us. Callie stared out her window as I navigated us onto the main road that would lead us out of downtown Asheville and back to the lodge.
I drove unusually slowly as I wracked my brain for a way to prolong this outing. To get even just a few more minutes with her. To make the feeling I had when she was around last as long as it could.
“Um. Hey, you wanna get someth
ing to eat?”
Without turning her head, she said, “No, thanks. I’m not hungry.”
The moment the words were out of her mouth, a loud grumble sounded from her direction and my lips stretched into a smile. Not hungry my left foot.
“Are you sure? Your stomach doesn’t seem to agree with you.”
She laid a hand on her abdomen as if she could mask any further sounds. “It’s fine. I’ll get something when we get back to the lodge.”
“Do you have somewhere you need to be right now?”
She was quiet for a long time and my smile got wider knowing she was trying her hardest to come up with an excuse. I don’t know why I found it so funny. Usually knowing a woman was doing anything she could to get out of spending time with me wouldn’t be humorous, but it was different with Callie.
Everything was.
Worrying she’d hurt herself if she put too much more thought into it, I chuckled and added, “You know, I’m new around here. I could use some insider information on where’s good to eat in town.”
I let that sink in, knowing it’d have the effect I was looking for.
I’d gotten to know Abraham and Bea pretty well in the past few weeks, and if Callie was anything like them, I knew she’d find it hard to say no to something like this. The McCoys were just too polite for that.
Finally, she sighed, her shoulders slumping. “Okay, yeah. We can get something to eat.”
Again, you’d think my ego would have taken a hit at her reluctant tone, but my smile just grew. “Great. Where are we going?”
She sighed again, but it did nothing to deter me. “Well, what are you in the mood for?”
“I could do a burger right now.”
She sat up a little straighter in her seat and shot me a small glance. “Okay, well there’s a new place I’ve been meaning to check out a few blocks from here. We can give it a try.”
“Point the way.”
She rattled off a few directions that I barely heard over the thumping of my heart. I knew it was loud enough for her to hear, but what could I do? This woman did something to my insides, and it was impossible to hide.
Chasing Callie (Southern Werewolf Sisters Book 1) Page 6