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
