Page 101 of Wolf's Providence

He looked at me, sadness in his eyes. “Then it’s your choice. I will understand.”

The confusion I felt ebbed even as relief settled in. “I hope so.” I hesitated, adding, “I don’t think I am handling this well,” I confessed. “I was so sure ofus, of this bond… I just…” I needed to pull myself together. “I just want to make sure I’m sure before I make any big decisions.”

“Can I touch you?”

It was such an odd request. He’d never asked permission before, and he’d never needed to. I gave a sharp nod of my head.

He pulled me into his arms, and I melted into his warmth, feeling his hand cradling the back of my neck. I could sense the protective hold he had over me, a hold that felt more like home than anything I’d known. “Take all the time you need,” he murmured, his voice low and close to my ear. “When you’re ready, if this is where you want to be…I’ll be waiting.”

I nodded, swallowing the lump forming in my throat. I wasn’t sure what to think, what to feel. This was such a mess.

He pulled back slightly, his gaze searching mine. “And if you realize that being here isn’t right for you, Willow…” The words lingered between us, raw and real. “Then you never need to come back.”

“You’d accept that?” I asked. “You’d accept me wanting nothing to do with you?”

Caleb grunted as if in pain. “It would hurt like hell,” he admitted. “But that was the last thing I held from you, no more secrets. If you choose to never see me again, then I will accept your decision.”

“My choice.”My eyes narrowed as I watched him. “You’ll accept it?”

“Of course.”

Wrapping my arms around myself, I took in the beauty of the pond and the waterfall. “You know, before this, I wasn’t leaving because I was unsure ofus, Caleb. I was leaving because I want to make sure we’re building something real, something lasting and that Icanlive here. Safely.”

He watched me carefully.

“And then you tell me that, and now I’m questioningeverything.”

“I know.”

Turning, I looked at him. “And you told me anyway.”

“I don’t want to hide anymore.”

God, this man.

“Will you be okay without me? You and Eamon?”

“We’ll survive,” he said with a faint smile, though his gaze held a hint of longing. “And when you’re ready, or wherever you decide you belong, I want that choice to be yours.”

I took a breath, nodding. “It will.” My chest felt too tight. “Just…don’t kill Eamon, okay?”

He chuckled softly, his eyes softening. “I’ll try my best.”

THIRTY

Willow

The bus rattledalong the familiar highway, and I settled into my seat, watching the landscape outside morph from rugged countryside to the edges of towns and back to countryside before I was finally on the edge of Whispering Pines.

I hadn’t realized how much I would miss this place—the way the trees hugged the road, the winding streets I knew like the back of my hand. It felt comforting and strange all at once.

I pulled out my phone, hesitating for a moment before typing a message to Lily. But before I could get very far, it buzzed in my hand with an incoming call. Lily’s name lit up the screen.

“Willow!” Her voice burst through as soon as I answered, bubbling with excitement. “Are you almost here? I’m about to explode with questions!”

I couldn’t help but laugh, the sound feeling bright and freeing. “I’m on the bus, almost there,” I said, glancing out the window at the quaint houses starting to line the road. “But save your questions for when I’m not on speaker with every other passenger.”

“Fine, fine!” she said, but I could hear the eagerness laced in her tone. “But seriously, I was so worried! You leave with that guy, I don’t hear from you, and it’s like you vanished, and thenyou call saying you’re coming back, and sounding…different. What’s going on?”

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