Page 52 of Fated Despite the Moon

"Scared of what?"

"Of being broken." Griffin looked out the side window of the truck. "I've been broken. You know that. You saw what splitting from Dakota did to both of us. And I know that losing Franny had you drowning. You're afraid of that happening again. Only this time, you wouldn't just be losing Makayla. You'd be losing that baby as well."

"I love them both. Love them more than I loved Franny. Difference really is that my wolf loves them as well."

"The same way I love Dakota and our baby. I get it. And once you go all in, it just gets that much more intense. Once you two finish bonding, there's no going back—for either of you."

Caleb's gut tightened. He'd watched Makayla change over the past month. Gone was the Los Angeles city girl. Smiles were more frequent than absent. She hadn’t put on ‘fake-up,’ as he liked to call it, in weeks, and her whole countenance had become as natural as her casual clothes. He liked to think he had a small part to play in that, but at the same time, he wondered just what would happen if he let her go back and visit California. If she left Wolf River, would she be the same person when she returned? He wasn't going to keep her captive no matter what her mom's intentions had been by sending her there, but fear still lingered. If given the choice, would she leave and not look back?

Chapter 15

Caleb wasn't able to get away from work until late that night. An unexpected rain shower had his team scrambling to tarp the church to keep what was left of the inside from being ruined. By the time he got home he was beyond exhausted, mentally and physically.

He tiptoed into the quiet house and sat on the couch, taking off his muddy boots. He listened for any sounds that Makayla was awake, but there wasn't any, making him both grateful and sad at the same time. His mind and heart tore at each other like wolf cubs fighting for dominance. He wanted to give in to his feelings for her. Wanted to feel her, taste her, make her his... but fear still kept him from being able to fully open up.

The last two weeks had been great. She’d really started to peel off the layers she’d built around herself over the years. It made him happy. Not just for himself, but for her and for her baby. The only way things between them could ever work was if she was honest with both him and herself. And still, fear lingered inside him. His mom had warned him the baby’s father had been contacting her. And Caleb wasn’t stupid. He knew the only reason she stayed at the library for hours on end was because it had the best internet access. Even so, for almost a week she hadn’t asked to go into town, or even pulled her phone out of her purse when they did go in. So that had to be good, right?

Caleb rubbed his face and told himself to stop. If they were meant to be, they would be. If they weren’t… Caleb went to his bedroom and stripped down to his underwear. Who was he trying to kid? She was the one he chose. If she didn’t choose him in return, he’d never move on.

The followingmorning the sounds of the phone ringing, startling Caleb awake. He exited his room and scanned the kitchen for the sound as Makayla headed to the wall and picked up the receiver. That was going to take some getting used to.

"Hello? Hey, Mary." Makayla spotted Caleb. Her eyes widened and they locked gazes. "What? Yeah, he's up. Okay... I'll tell him. Bye."

She hung up the phone. "Uh... your mom says they're gonna start heading up within the hour. If you want to get some more sleep, though, I'm fine waiting. I know you got in late." Her heated gaze scoured him as if he were in a Magic Mike movie.

"Nah. I'm up. We can go whenever you want."

"Okay. Well, I uh..." She returned to the pies she'd made and continued wrapping them in plastic. "I'm ready when you are."

Caleb tried to read her nervousness, unsure if his lack of clothing was unsettling her or something else.

"Do you have a swimsuit?" he asked.

"What? Uh... no. I didn't think of that. With how much I feel like a beach ball right now, I hadn't even considered getting into one."

"You don't look like a beach ball. Maybe like you swallowed one, but that's different."

"Thank you. I think."

"What I mean is, you aren't fat. You aren't round... well, your belly is round but the rest of you is great. Not that your belly isn't great...” He blew out a breath and then chuckled. “You know, I think I'm gonna go get some pants on now."

She suppressed a smile. "Okay."

Caleb practically bolted from the room. He closed his door and leaned back on it. Why was he such an idiot? How in the world was it that, after living in the same house with her for over a month, suddenly talking to her was getting harder not easier?

* * *

They packedthe pies and cake into the truck along with blankets and a few other necessities and headed west out of Wolf River, further into the woods. The silence hanging between them wasn't uncomfortable or strange, but peaceful. Like two people who knew each other so well they didn't feel the need to fill the air with frivolous words.

"So, tonight when we go for the run, Dakota can bring you home. We'll probably be out late."

"Okay." She wished for the first time in a long time that she could shift and run with him. Her wolf whined at the thought, wanting that more than anything.

"Where did you run in California?"

"Uh...” She wasn’t sure what to say. “I haven't run much since my dad died. Only every six months or so, when I couldn't push off the shift anymore."

He glanced at her. "Really? I'm surprised. If I didn't run at least once a week, my wolf would drive me nuts."

---