Page 64 of Fated Despite the Moon

She touched his cheek. "I'm not going anywhere."

He smiled so broadly his eyes crinkled. He kissed her and then pulled her into a hug. "That's good news, because with all the upgrades I'm putting into this cabin for you... I'd have to send you a bill if you left."

She laughed and hugged him tight. Her wolf yipped in delight. Makayla could hardly believe that for the first time in her life she felt like she truly belonged.

There was a sharp knock on the door and Griffin stood in the doorway.

"I gotta go, Dakota is in labor."

Caleb let go of her and strode to the door. "Do you need me to drive you?"

"I... I..." Griffin was a shaky mess.

"Go," Makayla commanded. "Take him home. Hurry up."

Caleb winked at her, and the two bolted. She rubbed her stomach, realizing in a few short months, that would be her and Caleb.

The hours passedand without knowing anyone's phone numbers, Makayla had no idea who to call. Finally, when she couldn't take being alone any longer, she grabbed Caleb's keys and headed out the door. She opened the door and pulled herself up into the driver's seat. She bounced up and down on the springy bench and put the key in the ignition.

"I can do this. I can do this. Sure, it's a little bigger than my Tesla but that's no big deal. It's still a vehicle, right?"

Makayla turned on the engine and the truck roared to life. She put the truck in gear and slowly rolled backward. See, easy-peasey.

She rolled down the driveway, looking in her rear mirror. She veered too far to the right. She turned the wheel but turned it the wrong way and headed closer to the trees. She screeched and hit the brakes.

"Okay, maybe not so easy." She put the truck in drive and pulled back onto the dirt driveway before straightening out and backing up again.

What usually took Caleb less than a minute took her almost five to get out to the road. When she finally pulled onto it, she let out a nervous laugh.

"See baby, look at your mama now. I am learning how to drive a truck. Aren't you proud?"

Makayla stopped and laid her hand on her belly. She was talking to her baby. She rubbed her belly and then hit the gas, bumping down the road toward town.

It tookMakayla all of ten minutes to figure out where Griffin's house was. Riding into town had taken nine of those minutes. She marveled at the idea that everyone knew everyone in Wolf River. In Los Angeles, most people didn't even know their neighbors on either side of them.

She rolled up to the small house just down the road from Jeremiah's and pulled to a stop next to all the other cars and trucks. People sat on the front lawn talking and eating. Some burned herbs and prayed. It wasn't like any hospital birth she'd ever seen on television. She made her way through the people and up on the porch where she knocked on the door.

Voices floated to her from inside, and the door opened and Mary peered out at her.

"Hi," Makayla said. "I got worried up there, and I didn't have anyone's phone numbers so I came down."

Caleb appeared behind his mom. "Hey babe. How did you get here?"

She held up his keys.

He snorted and opened the door for her. "You drove my truck?"

She shrugged. "It wasn't that hard."

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Is it still in one piece?"

"Very funny."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her head. "You want to go get something to eat? I think we still have a while."

"Sure... but is there somewhere else beside the diner?" She didn't want to sound petty, but she wasn't sure going in there with Caleb was the best idea so soon after being approached by Alice.

"We can go to Stix's roadhouse. The food is limited, but the music is pretty good if Deacon is playing."

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