I caught her pale blue eyes and held them. “Are you willing to bet her life on that?”
She opened her mouth to respond but closed it just as quickly. That was all the answer I needed. “I’m not either. We took her out of a dangerous situation in our old pack and I won’t put her in a new one here.”
“So, what’s the plan, Wyatt? Keep her hidden for the rest of her life?”
A sighed and shook my head. “I don’t know.”
She took another step closer and my heart instantly picked up its pace. “I’d stand with you, you know?”
My brow furrowed as my heart thumped harder.
“We. I meant we would stand with you. My family. None of them would let anything happen to her.”
I swallowed harshly as I tried to get my pulse back under control. “Thanks, Callie. That means a lot.”
She looked like she wanted to press the issue, but when she sighed and looked away, I knew it was dropped for now. “Just don’t wait too long, okay? I think the longer you take to tell everyone, the worse it’s going to be.”
I scratched the back of my head again. “Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard.”
We were quiet for a long moment after that. The woodland sounds around us amplified until they were almost deafening.
Finally, she put her hands on her hips and said, “You know, I came here to yell at you.”
My lips twitched with a smile, but I somehow contained it. “I figured.”
“Because you really deserve it.”
“I know.”
She blew out a big breath and looked away. When she met my eyes again, I found something in hers I hadn’t seen before. It looked like vulnerability with a hint of sadness, and it made my gut clench because I’d put it there.
“You kissed me,” she said simply.
My lips tingled just thinking about it. “I did,” I said, my voice rougher than I’d intended.
“And then you ran away.”
“Yeah, I did that too.”
“Why?”
I took a deep breath and looked away. I couldn’t stare into those big eyes of hers and talk about this because all I wanted was to do it again. To pull her as close as possible and lose myself in her lips. But I couldn’t do that.
Excuses, truths, lies, half-truths, they all spun around my head as I tried to figure out what I was going to tell her. Unfortunately, it seemed like what I could tell her and what she deserved to hear were two different things. Around and around they went while I watched her grow more agitated by my silence.
Finally, I blurted out the first thing that came to me. “It was a mistake.”
Her eyes widened for a second before dimming and looking away. “Oh.”
My gut churned as I watched this beautiful, confident, amazing woman wilt before me. “Callie, you have to understand. I have my mom to think about.”
“It’s all right.”
But it wasn’t.
“I’m serious. I can’t get involved with anyone.” Especially you. “I need to make sure all my attention is on her and her health or I don’t know what could happen.”
“I get it.”
I blew out a big breath. “Really?”
She finally looked back at me, a weak smile on her face. “I do. If one of my parents were still alive, I’d do anything I could to protect them.”
My heart ached at the sadness in her voice. I knew it wasn’t all because of me, but enough of it was that I still felt guilty.
“I think I should go,” she said, her eyes avoiding mine again.
I watched as she turned around and began walking away from me. My chest felt like it was being squeezed in a vice as panic ran rampant through my veins. It was in that instant I knew I couldn’t let her just walk away. I couldn’t let her leave like this.
I couldn’t let her go.
“Callie, wait.”
She paused and turned to me, curiosity wrinkling her brow.
“Can we still be friends?”
Her brow furrowed more. “Friends?”
She asked it like it was a stupid question and maybe it was, but I wasn’t willing to give her up completely. I’d tried that, and instead of keeping my distance, I’d kissed the shit out of her. Maybe if we found a happy medium, I could keep my sanity, keep Callie in my life, and keep my mom healthy all at the same time. It was worth a try, right?
“Yeah, friends.”
She turned to face me and crossed her arms over her chest. “So, that means what? We hang out and stuff? We talk on the phone? We have lunch together? Or does that just mean you don’t avoid me anymore?”
Jeez, she really went right for the jugular, didn’t she?
“All of the above?”
Callie pursed her lips as her pale eyes bore into mine. I did my best to stand still and not fidget under her gaze, but it wasn’t easy. This moment felt pivotal. Like the rest of my life depended on her answer.
Truthfully, I didn’t know what I wanted to hear more.
If she said yes, I’d get to keep her in my life. I’d get to dig deeper, learn more about this fascinating woman. I wouldn’t have to slink around the shadows like a creep just so I didn’t run into her anymore.
On the other hand, if she said no, it would probably be for the best. Even though I’d said I wanted to be her friend, I wasn’t even sure I could do that. This heat, this connection between us was impossible to ignore. I didn’t know
