“Why would you need to focus on me?”
I shot her a look out of the corner of my eye, noticing the rash on her face was lighter than ever. That didn’t mean she was cured though. That would never happen. Which meant I’d always need to take care of her. Didn’t she know that?
“I mean I can be here for you whenever you need me now. I won’t have to divide my attention.”
She was quiet for so long I started to worry something was wrong. Turns out, I was right, but not in the way I’d thought.
“Wyatt Augustus Carter, tell me I’m hearing you wrong.”
Oh, shit.
She’d just whipped out my full name.
Suddenly, I was twelve again and wondering how long I’d be grounded for this time.
“Tell me you’re not givin’ up on that girl because you think you need to babysit me. Tell me that’s not what you meant just now.”
I scratched the back of my neck and shrugged. “Um. Okay?”
She let out a frustrated breath and reached out to grab my face. She smooshed my cheeks together harder than I thought she was capable of as she looked into my eyes, hers flaming mad.
“I. Don’t. Need. A. Babysitter,” she said slowly. Mom released my face and crossed her arms over her thin chest. “I’m doin’ just fine on my own. I can take care of myself, and if I need medical help, the dang doctor is right next door! I don’t need you sacrificing the best thing that’s ever happened to you because you think I need a chaperone.”
She paused for a minute and I opened my mouth to respond, but she wasn’t done.
“If that’s what you’re really doin’ right now, I swear to you, I will march my own butt right up to that lodge, draggin’ you by your ear to find Callie right now.”
I pressed my lips together to stifle my smile. “That’s not necessary, Ma.”
“Don’t think I won’t do it! You just try me, Wyatt.”
It was getting harder to keep a straight face, but with a Herculean effort, I somehow managed. “I have no intention of trying you, Ma.”
She settled back in her chair, but I could tell she was still miffed. Man, I loved seeing her spunky again. There was a time when she wasn’t even strong enough to reprimand me. Now I had no doubt she had the energy and strength to drag my ass up to the lodge just like she’d threatened.
The smile faded as quickly as it had appeared as I remembered the situation I was in. I sighed and shook my head. “It’s not like that, though. This wasn’t my decision. She had the chance to make things work between us, but she didn’t take it. Not much I can do about that.”
“Son, there’s always something you can do. Always.”
I let her words swirl around in my head as I wondered if she was right.
Could I reconcile with Callie and let things go back to the way they were? Could I keep quiet about our relationship when all I wanted to do was tell every sorry son of a bitch I ran into that she was my girl.
Maybe.
But the bigger question, the harder question, was could I keep loving her when she didn’t love me back.
I swallowed past the Callie-shaped lump in my throat as I thought about that.
How long could I last in a relationship like that? How far could my love take us? How could I love her without receiving hers in return?
The answer was simple: I couldn’t.
I couldn’t love her and not be loved back.
I couldn’t keep our relationship in the dark like she wanted.
I couldn’t let things go back to the way they were when I wanted, needed so much more than that.
Which was why I was sitting in my backyard with my mom, trying my damnedest to forget the women I knew I’d love for the rest of my life. I had to work on forgetting her or I’d never past this.
How I was going to get over her when I had to guard Ellie in Callie’s office building every day was beyond me, but I had to do it. There was really no other choice for me. And fuck if I wasn’t sick of saying that phrase.
I opened my mouth to change the subject when that feeling in my stomach that never really went away gave a sharp tug. I looked down at it, like I could see through my skin and muscles to the source of the sensation. While I sat there, that tug became a pull that got stronger with every breath I took.
My heart started to race as I realized she was coming closer, but that was stupid. She could be coming down to the pack houses for any number of reasons. She had friends down here. She could be visiting them.
But that didn’t stop my palms from sweating.
I stood from my seat, straining to hear her approaching footsteps. When I caught the quick sound of the crunching gravel, I knew I couldn’t stay put any longer. Even if all I could do was stand by my front window and watch her pass, I’d do it. Because I was a glutton for punishment, and she was my favorite whip.
“I’ll be right back, Ma,” I mumbled as I left the backyard and raced through the house.
The feeling in my stomach was getting stronger as she came closer and I peeked through my blinds to find her running down the road leading to the pack houses. Her curly hair bounced behind her as she pumped her arms and legs, her face set with determination.
What I hadn’t been expecting was for her to veer onto my driveway and continue running toward
