“Chloe?”
My only answer was the sound of the breeze moving through the trees. I thought I felt a light, cool touch on my cheek, but I barely had a chance to register the sensation before it disappeared.
I remained in the chair for a long time, even after I heard Chloe exit the bathroom and the rustle of her clothes that let me know she was dressing. I stayed outside until I heard the quiet whoosh of the screen door opening.
“Lachlan,” Chloe murmured. “Please don’t do this. Don’t beat yourself up over what happened.”
I looked up at her. “I’m not.” Her eyes hardened and I continued. “I mean, I was, but then…” I hesitated. I couldn’t exactly tell Chloe that I was hearing the voice of my dead mate telling me that it was okay for me to have sex with another female. She would think I was insane. Instead I stated, “I was thinking of the letter Belinda wrote me.”
Confusion filled Chloe’s face. “Belinda wrote you a letter?”
“Before she died. She made arrangements for it to be delivered to me…” I hesitated. “After.” Chloe moved to the chair beside me and sat down, but she didn’t speak, so I told her the rest. “It arrived not long after you left the pack. Belinda knew she was going to die, you see.”
Chloe covered her mouth with her hand. “She did?” she asked, her voice muffled.
I nodded. “She did. I always wondered why she resisted mating with me as strongly as she did. She didn’t want me to die with her.”
Chloe’s eyes were sad as she watched me. Slowly, she lowered her hand and clasped it around her opposite wrist. “Did she say anything else in the letter?”
“She wants me to let her go. To move on with my life.”
“And what do you want?” she asked hesitantly.
Hearing her quiet question and seeing the reticence on her face made something in my chest twist into a knot. “I want that too,” I answered. “But I’m not sure how to do it.”
She remained silent.
I took a deep breath and went on. “Will you help me?”
“What?” Astonishment filled her voice.
“Will you help me figure out a way to move on?”
“How?” she asked.
“Just be here. With me. Until this is all over.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I’ve been here with you for the last few days.”
I rubbed my hands over my face. “That’s not what I mean.”
“What do you mean?” Her voice was getting stronger, her hesitancy vanishing.
“I want to spend time with you, Chloe. To get to know you. For the last nineteen months, you’ve taken care of me, learned things about me. Right now, I’d like to learn about you.”
“And when this is over?”
“We can decide what’s next when the time comes. Are you willing to do that? To try?”
With her hands folded in her lap, Chloe stared at me, considering my question. If she said no, I wasn’t sure what I would do. For reasons I didn’t understand, I needed this time with her.
“I think I’d like that, Lachlan,” she stated.
I smiled.
Before either of us could speak, her cell phone rang. Chloe shot me an apologetic look before she jumped to her feet and ran inside to answer it. I was glad for the interruption because I wasn’t sure what I might have said anyway. I was relieved and…happy that she agreed to spend time with me, yet I didn’t trust myself not to suggest we go inside and break in the mattress.
A few moments later, Chloe returned with her phone in her hand. “That was Carter. He’s going to meet us in the woods not far from here. He sent me the coordinates.”
