Remaining friends was getting more difficult by the minute.
“So, where did you get this bacon monstrosity anyway?” I said as I finished my first sandwich and dug into the next.
“There’s a bacon restaurant I found online.”
“Where’s that? I’ve never heard of it.”
He shot me a sheepish look before grabbing a handful of fries. “Um. Just a couple towns over.”
“Where?” I asked again. Honestly, these things were so good, I knew I’d be stopping by in the near future for more.
He looked down at his sandwich and said, “It’s in Hickory.”
“Hickory, North Carolina?!”
He shrugged. “Yeah.”
“Wyatt, that’s an hour from here!”
“Yeah, but it was worth it, right?”
“For a bacon sandwich? I don’t know about that.”
“For the chance to apologize and have a bacon sandwich with you? It was worth it to me.”
And just like that, I was reminded why I’d agreed to be friends with him. Because Wyatt Carter was special, and if I couldn’t have him the way I wanted, at least I had this. Bacon sandwiches and secret lunch dates would have to be enough for now.
Chapter 20
Wyatt
“Hey, Callie girl. What are you doin’ here?”
I’d just gotten off patrol and come home to find her sitting on my front step. Honestly, it was already the best part of my day.
She stood up and gave me a nervous smile. “Hey, Wyatt. How was patrolling?”
I shrugged as I stepped into her space and inhaled her rose scent. “Eh. Pretty boring which is always a good thing.” I paused for a moment and looked her over again, searching for any sign of annoyance I might have missed. “Did I forget about plans we had?”
“No, no. Nothing like that.”
“Are you here to see Mom?”
She shook her head, her eyes on the ground. “No, not really.”
Without thinking, I reached out and grasped her chin, tilting it until her eyes met mine. And just like every time before, the world fell away, leaving the two of us. The forest noise died down, the world stopped rotating on its axis, and all that was left was Callie’s big blue eyes and the feel of her face beneath my fingertips. Hell, if there really was a heaven, this had to be what it was like.
I shook my head and concentrated on her lips instead so I could get my thoughts straight, but that had the opposite effect. Now, all I could think about was that kiss we’d shared almost a month ago. It seemed impossible I’d gone a whole month without feeling her soft mouth on mine. Even now, I could remember exactly how she tasted.
I cleared my throat and looked at her nose instead. “What’s goin’ on, Callie?”
She sighed and let her shoulders drop. “There’s a bunch of people inside who want to talk to you, and I thought I’d give you a heads up.”
I looked past her to my house and focused, realizing for the first time that I could hear several voices, and not just the two I was expecting.
“Who’s in there?”
“Just my brother and sister. It’s not that big of a deal, but I thought you’d appreciate a warning.”
I looked back down at her, realizing for the first time that I still had her face in my hand. With great effort, I retracted my fingers and let them fall by my side. Callie swayed slightly for a moment before shaking her head and looking back up at me.
“You ready to hear what they have to say?”
I blew out a deep breath, really not liking where this was heading. “I don’t have a choice, do I?”
She grabbed my elbow and pulled me along with her. “Not really.”
I stepped into my house to find Abraham and Beatrice on the couch with Mom, teacups already in hand. Wes was also there, off to the side, holding up the wall. I looked around at everyone and then back down at Callie, who’d dropped my arm the second we stepped inside.
“What’s going on?”
Abraham cleared his throat and nodded to a spare chair. “Why don’t you have a seat, Wyatt?”
I sat down slowly on the edge of the cushion and rested my elbows on my knees. “Okay. I’m sitting.”
Everyone looked at Abraham again.
“I won’t beat around the bush. We have a cookout coming up on Sunday and I want to introduce your mom to the pack. It’s time, brother.”
My chest squeezed with panic as my eyes raced around the room. Every pair was looking at me, the decision already finalized in their gazes.
“Is that an order?”
Abraham blew out a deep breath and shook his head. “Of course not. It’s just a strong suggestion from someone who knows these wolves better than you do. It’s already been months. I think you owe it to your packmates and your mother to take her out of hiding.”
“We won’t let anything happen to her, Wyatt. You have my word,” Beatrice added.
My brain raced as I looked around the room again. This time, my gaze landed on my brother. “What do you think of this?”
He shrugged and kicked off the wall. “I think it’s time too, man. I know we want to protect her, but this isn’t the way. She needs to feel safe where she lives, and right now, she doesn’t because of us.”
I looked down at the carpet beneath my boots and took a big breath. It’s not like I was particularly surprised that this time had come, I just hadn’t been expecting an intervention like this.
I guessed I deserved it though. I’d been hardheaded about Mom’s safety, shooting down any suggestion that I thought would put her in danger. Now, I was clearly outnumbered and outvoted.
My eyes met my mom’s gaze and I already knew how she was going to react. “What do you think?”
“I think I’m ready to get out of this house.”
I winced slightly at her tone, but knew I deserved it. I’d kept the poor woman on house arrest for months. Now she was feeling so much better, I was truly doing her a disservice. She deserved to get out and enjoy her newfound health.
The last person I looked to was the most important.
Callie was leaning against the wall by the door, having remained silent this whole time. I met her eyes and did my best to ignore the pull of her gaze. “What about you?” I asked softly, like we were the only two people in the room. Which was exactly how it felt every time I was around her.
She stood up straighter and glanced at my mom before meeting my eyes again. “It’s time.”
I sighed again and clasped my hands in front of me before meeting the alpha’s eyes. “Okay. How are we gonna do this?”
Callie
“Is everyone clear on the plan?” Abey asked. When all we did was nod, he clapped his hands and rose from his seat. “Great. Let’s leave the Carters alone for the night.”
I stood up straighter and put myself in his path. “What about the pack, Abey? Don’t you think it’s time you told them about the murders?”
He pressed his lips into a thin line and looked away. “Now’s not the time, Callie.”
He tried to walk around me, but I stepped in his way again. “When will it be the time?”
“I think she’s right,” Wyatt said as he stood up and joined us. “If they don’t know, they can’t protect themselves.”
Abey sighed and turned to Bea. “What do you think?”
She shrugged, but her icy blue eyes were darting between me and Wyatt, making my palms sweat. “You know I’ll support whatever decision you make, but I think they’re right. We’ll be able to protect them easier if they know they need protecting from something.”
Abraham’s shoulders fell as he released a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll give the announcement at the cookout.” He turned to me again. “Anything else, Callista?”
I smiled wide and stepped out of his way. “That’s all for now, brother.”
He snorted as he walked past me and out the door, followed by Bea. I gave Nora a hug and said goodbye to Wes before turning to leave too. When I spun
around, Wyatt was only a few feet away, jump-starting my heart like he always did when he was close.
“Bye, Callie.”
I smiled up at him. “Bye, Wyatt.”
We stood there for a second too long before I shook my head and moved to walk around him. He reached out and grasped my arm before I could pass. “Actually, I have something for you. Wanna wait outside?”
I nodded and turned to leave, shaking my head to rid it of the haze that infiltrated whenever Wyatt was around. Taking a seat on his front step, I breathed in the cool night air as I waited for him to return.
The door creaked open and his rich leather scent reached me before he did. He sat down next to me, pressing the length of his warm leg against mine and sending my heart racing again. Without a word, he handed over a familiar red spiral notebook.
“You left this in the car yesterday when I drove you to the lab.”
I took it and flashed him a grateful smile. “I’ve been looking for this. Thanks, Wyatt.” I stood to leave, but he grasped my wrist and pulled me back onto the step.
“I have something else for you. It was Mom’s idea, but I picked this one out myself.” He reached behind him and pulled out a branch with a cluster of delicate little pale blue flowers on the end.
“Hydrangeas? What’s this for?”
He shook his head and looked away as the apples of his cheeks darkened with a blush. “Well, Mom thought you should get to enjoy her garden too since you helped her pick all that stuff out. I thought these flowers were almost the exact color of your eyes, so I picked them for you.”
I clutched the branch in my hand as my heart galloped ahead. “Wyatt,” I said softly. I didn’t know what else to say because every thought that came to mind would tip the scales of this balancing act we had going on.
He looked back at me, his face still pink and so handsome in that moment. “It’s nothing.”
I grabbed his arm and squeezed softly. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”
He shrugged and looked away again. “You deserve it.”
My heart thundered in my chest as I watched his profile, my hopes as high as they’d ever been.
Maybe he was rethinking this friend situation.
Maybe he was having as hard of a time sticking to these boundaries as I was.
Maybe he wanted me as badly as I wanted him.
But all he did was shake his head and stand. When he extended a hand toward me, I let him help me up too.
“I’ll talk to you later,” he said.
I let go of his hand, missing the warmth of it immediately. Clutching the notebook and flower to my chest, I nodded. “Okay.”
He turned and walked inside, leaving me on his front step, as confused as ever.
All these small moments with him were building up and piecing themselves together like a puzzle. It didn’t seem possible that I could feel so much for someone who felt nothing for me in return. There had to be more behind his friendly façade.
Or maybe I was just fooling myself.
Wyatt was a great guy. Handsome, smart, funny. It had been clear from day one that he could have his pick of women in this pack, so why would he choose me?
The bookworm.
The tree hugger.
The woman who barely gave a thought to her appearance.
If he wanted to get romantic with someone, it was clear I wouldn’t be his first choice.
That was what I’d wanted though, right? No complications. No drama. No men. Looked like I was getting my wish, even if it wasn’t my wish anymore.
I turned away from the Carters’ house and headed down to the gravel drive that led back to the lodge. With my head swirling with so many thoughts and my eyes on the flower Wyatt picked for me, I didn’t notice my sister until it was too late.
“What’s that?” Bea asked.
I jumped and almost lost my balance on the uneven road. “What the heck are you doing?!”
She shrugged. “I was waiting for you. Thought we could walk back up together, but you were taking your sweet ass time.”
I tucked the flower behind the notebook I had clutched to my chest, but it was clear I wasn’t hiding anything from anybody.
“What’s that?” she asked again.
I looked down at my notebook and shrugged. “I left this in Wyatt’s truck yesterday. He was just giving it back to me.”
She tilted her head to the side. “We’ll get back to how much time you’re spending with Carter later. I was asking about the flower.”
My stomach sank as a nervous giggle spilled from my lips. “Oh, this?” I asked, holding up the pale blue blossoms. “It’s a hydrangea.”
“I know. Mom used to have some. What I’m asking is what you’re doing with it.”
I wracked my brain for a good answer and when I came up short, decided to turn the tables. “What is this, the Spanish Inquisition? It’s just a flower.”
“I doubt it’s just a flower.” She narrowed her eyes and raked them down my body before pinning me with a stare. “Del’s right. You’re acting squirrely lately.”
“Am not.”
“Are too.”
I sighed and pushed past her. “It’s none of your business, Beatrice.”
The gravel crunched beneath her quick steps as she caught up to me. “You’re my sister, of course it’s my business.”
“It’s not.”
“I’m just concerned, Callie. You’ve never been in a relationship and I’m not sure Carter is the right first guy for you.”
I rolled my eyes but kept walking. “I’m not in a relationship, Bea, so there’s no need to worry.”
“That’s not how it looked to me.”
My belly clenched, but I did my best to act unaffected. “What are you talking about?”
“I saw the way he looked at you. He could barely tear his eyes away. And now he’s giving you flowers? There’s clearly something going on there. Talk to me.”
I stopped short and pinned my sister with a glare. “Why? So you can run and tell Abey? Or Del and Evey? I don’t need my business broadcasted across the McCoy clan and I don’t need your help, so just drop it.”
“I wouldn’t tell,” she said softly and so sincerely, I almost believed her.
But I didn’t.
“Of course you would. There are no secrets in a pack and there is no privacy in our family.”
Bea sighed and looked away before meeting my eyes again. “I know that’s how it usually is and how it’s been in the past, but I know you’re more private than that. You always have been. If you told me something and asked me to keep it to myself, I would.”
The softness in her gaze was what did me in. My older sister was never vulnerable. Never asked about feelings. If she wanted to know so bad that she would open herself up like this, I had to believe she meant what she said.
I blew out a deep breath and turned to walk again, making sure this time she could keep up. “There’s nothing to really tell, Bea. We’re friends.”
“That’s not the vibe I was getting from either of you.”
I shrugged. “That’s what he said he wanted.”
She was quiet for a while before she asked, “Is that what you want?”
The gravel beneath our feet clacked noisily as I weighed my answer and how much truth I wanted to give my sister. I shot her a glance out of the corner of my eye and saw nothing but concern in her gaze.
“No,” I said softly. “It’s not what I want.”
“Then what’s stopping you?”
I laughed, but there was no humor in it. “He’s stopping me. He doesn’t want to be in a relationship with me. He thinks he won’t be able to be romantically involved and still take care of his mom. I can’t compete with that and I wouldn’t want to.”
Bea hummed softly. “And since we lost our parents, you’d never stand in the way of someone protecting theirs.”
I nodded but remained quiet. It didn’t seem like I needed to answer her because she knew exactly where I was
coming from.
“Well, I get his reaction and his reasoning. I think he’s wrong, but I get it. What I don’t get is you.”
I turned to her with a frown. “Me?”
“Yeah. You. You’ve never in your whole entire life let anything stand in the way of what you wanted. Why are you starting now?”
“What are you talking about?”
“The Callie I know is a fighter. You fought to get this pack to recycle. You fought to get your degree even though everyone told you it was a waste of time. You fight every single day for the sake of our planet, but you draw the line at your own happiness? That doesn’t sound at all like my sister.”
My shoulders slumped as the weight of my predicament settled on them. “Maybe I’m sick of fighting.”
Bea shook her head and bumped me with her shoulder. “Not my sister. She’s been fighting since the day she was born, and she’s never let anything stop her.”
My spine straightened as I took Bea’s words to heart.
She was right. I’d never backed down from a fight before and this might be the most important one of my life. I couldn’t just accept defeat.
If I wanted Wyatt Carter, that meant I’d have to fight for him.
Chapter 21
Wyatt
“I’m glad you all could make it tonight on such short notice,” the alpha said from the patio overlooking the rest of the pack. “I have two important announcements and then you’ll all be invited in for some of Ms. Elsie’s delicious cooking before we get ready for the full moon.”
He scanned the crowd until he spotted a man with a long scraggly beard and a potbelly. “We even made extra deviled eggs for you, Jimmy.”
Jimmy rubbed his belly before holding up a thumb, which earned him a round of chuckles from the pack.
Abraham’s smile slowly faded as he looked around the wolves below him. “Now, this first bit of news might be a little shocking, but I trust this pack. I know each and every one of you and that’s why I’m so comfortable sharing this with you. I know you’ll react with respect and dignity because that’s who we are as a pack.”
Chasing Callie (Southern Werewolf Sisters Book 1) Page 17