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"I didn't tell him. I've had a busy morning, and Jeremiah needs me to head into Moscow to pick up some supplies, and I wondered if maybe you wanted to come with."

"Um, sure. Getting to know the area is probably a good idea," Makayla added.

"I'll wait for you in the truck."

Makayla nodded and jogged to her room. She rifled through her suitcase for a sweater and some decent walking shoes, but all she had was a pair of black flats. They were better than heels. She slid them on then slipped on her sweater and grabbed her purse.

As she closed the front door she realized she didn't have keys to the house. Not that it mattered, she supposed. Caleb never locked the door.

They backed out of the drive and headed down the bumpy dirt road.

"Caleb's done quite a bit to the cabin in the past few weeks. Before you came I thought he'd live in it unfinished forever."

"Yes. The kitchen is really nice. Please thank Jeremiah for helping him finish it."

"Makes me a bit jealous to see how nice yours is. Not that I'm complaining. I'm glad he has a nice place to call his own. He deserves it."

Makayla nodded and smiled. Mothers were not people she tended to get along with. And considering Mary was wife of the Alpha, and her sort of mother-in-law, had her at a loss for what to say.

Silence fell between them until they hit town, when Makayla's phone went crazy. She'd forgotten she even had it with her. She pulled it from her purse. There were dozens of messages from her friends. One from her brother and one from—Derek.

The heat of Mary's gaze had her shoving her phone back in her purse despite the curiosity scratching over her skin and having her almost choking.

"Your friends afraid we're keeping you chained in a shed up here?"

Makayla laughed. "Something like that."

Mary’s gaze slid to Makayla. "You know, we're really not all that bad if you give us a chance."

Makayla swallowed hard. It was going to be a long day.

After thirty minutesof silence Mary broke it. "Your mom called to see if you were doing okay."

Makayla snorted. "To see if I was doing okay, or to make sure I was still here?"

Mary laughed. "You remind me so much of her."

"What?"

"Your mom. She was just like you are when we were in high school and college. Man, I remember she couldn't wait to get out of Wolf River."

What?"I thought my mom loved it here."

"Oh, she does now. Now that she sees the value of it. But back then... When your dad and Jeremiah started that software company and decided to move to Silicon Valley, it was as if all of her dreams had come true. She had your dad, and your brother on the way, and she was finally getting out."

Her mom never talked about Wolf River, or about Mary, for that matter. "You two were close then?"

"Close as sisters back then. It was interesting to see her change."

"Change?"

"For me and for Jeremiah, Wolf River was always our home. We never wanted to stay in California. But your mom was so enamored with the fast pace of things. After we moved back to Idaho, your mom and I lost touch. I had the boys, and she had you two, your dad, and his business to help with. It makes me sad we went so long without talking, now that your father is gone. He was a good man."

"Yes. Yes, he was." Makayla stared out the window. It was strange to hear about her mother through someone else's experience. She’d never thought of her mom as a teen or as anything more than, well, her mom. But it made sense her mom was a person too. And at one point had been a girl with her own dreams and ambitions. But had her mom really wanted out of Wolf River? Had she really preferred the big city and all the things she’d spent her entire life trying to get Makayla tonotwant?

"Anyway, a while back your mom contacted me. She wanted to come home, but said your dad wasn't ready. It was the summer she sent your brother Colt to come stay with us."

Makayla remembered that summer. Colt had come home so angry and sad, and at the time, she hadn’t understood why. "Apparently he didn't like it here."