Page 63 of Fated Despite the Moon

"It's not a closet." He opened the door and turned on the light. It was the baby room Dakota had mentioned. She'd completely forgotten. She’d never even taken a second look at the door next to the front door. She’d assumed it was storage or something. But apparently it was a nursery that adjoined his bedroom.

Her gaze traveled over the various items in the room. A small wooden cradle, an antique crib, a blue baby blanket, and several boxes sat in the corner. Next to them stood a small white rocking horse.

"Oh my gosh, is that—"

"Your mom sent it. Along with the boxes. She thought you might want them when the baby was born."

Makayla walked into the room and knelt in front of the horse. The felt hair was patchy and worn and one of the blue painted eyes had almost rubbed off completely. The leather saddle had cracked and dried out, but she ran her fingers over it, anyway.

"This was my dad's when he was little." Tears flooded her eyes.

"We can leave it like it is, or I could help you fix it up."

Makayla jumped to her feet and ran to him. She threw her arms around Caleb's neck and kissed him.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I honestly don't deserve you."

He wiped the tears from her eyes and kissed her again. "Don’t thank me, thank your mom. And just so you know, I think we deserve each other just fine."

Makayla spentthe morning going through the boxes her mom had sent up. They were full of things from when she and Colt were young. Toys, blankets, some special clothing. She couldn't believe her mom had saved all that stuff. She'd thought her mom had just gotten rid of it. In the last box she opened, she found a note. She thought about tossing it when she saw her mom's distinctive handwriting scrawled across the front. She couldn't remember how many notes her mom had left for her over the years. Notes telling her she was angry. Notes telling her which chores to do. Even the occasional note telling her she loved her, though those were few and far between. Every time she saw a handwritten note from her mom, her gut clenched, and she felt like a twelve-year-old girl about to be scolded again.

Despite her intuition telling her not to open it, she did, anyway. To her surprise the note told her how much her mother cared and how she'd kept all the baby things in hopes that one day, Makayla would cherish them as much as she had. The sentiment that flowed through the letter struck Makayla right in the chest. She wondered if she'd misjudged her mom.

A knock on the door pulled her attention as she picked up an old, ratty teddy bear.

"Hey," said Caleb.

"Hi." She stood, pressing the bear to her belly.

"Dad and Logan took off for some food. We'll finish up with the water heater when they get back." He looked at all the items she'd unpacked. "Looks like a lot of stuff."

"A lot of it was mine from when I was little. I'm surprised she still had it."

He rubbed her arms. "Do you think maybe she cares a bit more than you thought?"

"I'm starting to think maybe. I mean... She kept this stuff and shipped it here and she sent me here."

"And that's a good thing?"

"A very good thing."

He smiled. "So, you're happy?"

"It feels... right." Her wolf chuffed in agreement.

He nodded. "So... you think you might want to stay?"

Her heart quickened, and her throat dried as she asked the question. "Do you want me to stay?"

"I don't want you to leave."

She stared at him for a moment. Words weren't easy for Caleb. He used his lack of words to protect himself.

Makayla set down the teddy bear and walked to Caleb hooking her fingers into his belt loops. "Ask me to stay with you, Caleb."

She watched fear flash through his eyes.

He brushed her hair over her shoulder and cupped her cheek. "Stay with me." His words barely came out above a whisper.

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