Page 8

An hourlater Caleb drove Makayla to his house, through main street and headed toward the hills.

"There's the market." He pointed. "And that's The Hairy Dog bar. That's the library. It's small but it's connected to all the libraries in Idaho, so you can get just about any book or movie you want. And that's Josie's café. The coffee is good but the pie sucks."

Makayla pulled out her phone and glanced at it. "Is there anywhere around here that gets cell signal?"

"The best signal is in the library but if you hang on a minute, we'll pass by the church, and you can get a little for about a mile."

She looked around. "How do you live up here with no cell signal?"

"I've never had one so I don't know any different."

She stared at him incredulously. "You’ve never had a cell phone?"

He shrugged. "No need. I'm either at home, at work, at Josie's, at the Hairy Dog, or at church. Wolf River is a small town. If people need to get a hold of me, they know where to find me."

She laughed. "I don't even know how to respond to that." Her phone beeped repeatedly in rapid succession.

"Your mom trying to get a hold of you?"

She snorted. "Not likely." Her fingers flew over the phone, her long nails clicking on the screen faster than he thought possible. "It's my friends Rachael and Mindy. We'd just gotten home this morning when I was informed I was being married off, so they have no idea where I am."

She continued to type furiously as he drove down the road.

He furrowed his brows. "Wait. You only found out this morning?"

Her fingers stopped, and she looked up at him. "Yeeesss." She stared at him. "How long have you known?"

Uh-oh.No use lying to her. "A week."

"A week?" Anger flashed in her eyes like lightning. She clenched her jaw and went back to her phone.

He slowed slightly as the end of the pavement drew closer. "We're gonna hit the end of the cell zone."

She didn't respond. Instead she typed even faster.

He came to a crawl as the road faded into dirt. He stopped the truck at the edge of the asphalt and waited.

Her phone beeped several times, and she scanned the screen.

"Everything okay?"

"Peachy." Her fingers flew again then she tapped the screen off. "Okay. I guess the rest can wait."

He nodded, and she pushed her hair from her face giving him a glimpse of her slender neck. His wolf paced at the sight.

She leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes.

Caleb continued down the road. Gradually the road grew bumpier and the truck jolted, making Makayla open her eyes.

"How far out do you live?"

"Not much further."

She stared out the window. "There sure are a lot of trees here."

"Well, this is a forest."

"And you live in it?"