She shook her head. “I don’t care about that at all. Why would I?”
I shrugged and pulled her closer. “Everyone else in our lives always has. It’s all we’ve ever known.”
She sighed softly and threaded her fingers through mine where it hung over her shoulder. “Things are different here. And I don’t care who your parents are. I love you.”
I couldn’t help the stupid grin that spread across my face like wildfire. “I’ll never get sick of hearing you say that,” I told her quietly.
She kissed my hand and we spent the rest of the short walk in comfortable silence as we basked in each other’s presence. The time we’d spent apart had felt more like two years than two weeks, and I was looking forward to making up for all the time we’d lost.
We walked through my front door, my arm still around her shoulders. “Hey, Ma. We’re home!”
I waited for a response, but when none came, I frowned into the quiet house. Straining my ears, I listened for her heartbeat, but that was absent too.
Dread crept through my veins as I called out again, “Ma!”
No answer.
I pulled away from Callie and first checked the backyard but found it empty. Next, I searched her bedroom and the bathroom, but she wasn’t there either. For good measure, I looked in my room and Wes’ room, but they were just as void of life as the rest of the house.
The panic was rising in my throat as I raced back to the living room.
“She’s not here,” I told Callie.
She frowned at me as I started pacing the living room floor. “Is there somewhere she would have gone?” she asked calmly.
“No! She never goes anywhere. Why would she have left the house? Where would she go? She barely knows anyone here yet. Do you think she went up to the lodge?”
She shrugged as she pulled her cell from her pocket. “I’ll call Evey and have her check.”
I nodded, my head moving too fast. “I’ll call Wes. See if he’s heard from her.”
My hands shook as I dialed my brother’s number, every possibly scenario running through my head.
What if something happened to her?
What if someone took her?
What if someone hurt her?
I’d never be able to forgive myself.
Wes’ phone rang and rang, and just as my anxiety was reaching peak levels and I thought I’d throw up, there was a knock on the door. I stormed across the room and whipped it open to find Doc Monroe there.
“Hey, Wyatt. Didn’t see you come back. I’ve got your mom over at my place if you’re looking for her.”
The relief was instant and so powerful, it knocked me back a step. A small hand slipped into mine, squeezing tight, and I held on with everything I had left in me.
“What happened?” I croaked.
Doc turned to head back to his house and motioned for us to follow. “She had a fall and broke her leg, but luckily it’s a clean break. She’ll be in a cast for a few weeks, but she’ll be just fine.”
A fall.
She’d fallen.
She’d gotten hurt while I was in the woods, fucking Callie.
I’d never felt so disgusted with myself in my entire life.
I ran ahead of the doc and into his house, not caring about my manners at that moment. Following Mom’s scent, I raced down the hall and barreled into one of the rooms.
Mom was lying on an exam table, her leg propped up and covered in a bright blue cast. I hurried to her side and picked up one of her thin hands. “Ma. What happened?”
She yanked her hand out of my hold and waved it in the air. “Oh, I was just a clumsy fool. I tripped over one of the chair legs out back. Good thing Doc was outside because he heard me hollering and came over to help.”
I nodded slowly, my hands still shaking as I clenched them at my sides. “I’m so sorry, Ma. I should have been there.”
“Oh, be quiet. You can’t be with me all the time.”
I shook my head. “But I should have been there this time. I shouldn’t have been… out,” I finished lamely, not willing to divulge exactly where I’d been and what I’d been doing.
She leveled me with a glare, and I felt all of ten years old again. “Wyatt, I’m not doin’ this with you. It was an accident. It could happen to anyone at any time. Hell, it could have happened with you sitting right there next to me. Just stop your nonsense.”
I swallowed the rest of the things I wanted to say as I felt that tug in my stomach and knew Callie was nearby. When I turned, I caught her peeking her head in the room, a tentative smile on her face.
“Hey, Nora. Are you okay?”
Mom’s whole face lit up with a brilliant smile. “Callie! I haven’t seen you in ages! Come in here and give me a hug!”
Callie did as she was asked, her smile just as wide. “I’m sorry I haven’t been by lately,” she said softly.
Mom waved her apology away. “Don’t worry about it, honey. I’m just glad you’re here now.” She turned her bright smile my way, but as soon as she looked at me, it fell a fraction of an inch. “Wyatt, what are you doin’ walking around half-dressed? Didn’t I raise you better than that?”
I looked down at my bare chest, remembering for the first time that I was naked from the waist up. I glanced at Callie, who was tugging at her borrowed shirt, her face the
