Mistakenly Mated by Sonnet O'Dell Page A

they weren’t going to bed right that moment, but Kerry told herself it was the same sort of principle.
    Caleb stopped when he heard the door open and close behind him. He was halfway across the road. The street wasn’t busy and his car was parked just on the other side. He twirled his keys on his finger and prepared for a quick exit.
    “Caleb, wait,” called Kerry, stepping out from between two parked cars and joining him.
    He turned around, looking down at her. “Changed your mind?” he asked a little bitterly.
    “No, I’m still working to the end of my shift but I don’t want you to go away like this. I don’t want this to be one of those relationships where we fight and one of us storms off all the time. Now, if you’ll just listen to me. I am glad you’re worried about me, that you care. I will tell you that up until the fighting I had a good time dancing with you that night.”
    Caleb smiled a little. He had enjoyed dancing with her too.
    She continued, “I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing so for years because—up until last moon—I thought I would spend the rest of my life either on my own or with a human.” She tactfully didn’t say with Dick because she wanted Caleb to be less angry not more. “I may be a woman and your mate now, but I am as capable as I have ever been. I am not dumb just because I didn’t go to a fancy boarding school in New York—oh, Ye of little accent.”
    Caleb stared at her but he smiled softly. “How do you know I went to boarding school and where?”
    Kerry’s cheeks flushed a little. “You are not the only one who can tap into the kitchen and beauty parlor gossip circle. I want to know more about you and I can find out just as easily as you can.”
    “You could just ask me.”
    “I will when we get to a point where you stop yelling at me because I won’t put on a pinafore dress and turn into my momma. I will when you stop saying stupid things to me that make me get all mad. Maybe then, I would think about things like moving in, planning a wedding, and pups. Right this minute, it’s too much all at once.”
    Caleb took a couple of steps closer to her, reaching out his arms to embrace her.
    Kerry didn’t move from her spot. She relaxed her shoulders and prepared to let him hug her.
    A deafening roar of an engine broke into their moment. Caleb’s hug turned into a shove which knocked her over on her ass, back in the space between the two park cars. He dove, barely missing the fender of the car which tried to steam right into them. It bounced off a parked car just past them and then turned, squealing around the corner before Caleb could get in a position to see the license plate.
    Kerry heard someone inside the shop scream. People, including her boss, came pouring out to see what had happened.
    Kerry groaned, she’d landed badly on her side, reopening her wound. She was bleeding through the white of her T-shirt. Caleb ran over to her, dropping on his knees next to her.
    “Is she bleeding? Did it hit her?” asked her boss, looking over at him. Bart’s face was pinched with fatherly concern and his distinct lack of stomach for violence and blood.
    “Her wounds probably re-opened. She needs to go home,” said Caleb, praying that Kerry wouldn’t kick up a fuss this time.
    She was pale and taking deep breaths.
    “Wound? Kerry? What happened to her?”
    “Hunting accident,” said Caleb quickly. He wrapped his arms under her and lifted her up against his chest. Kerry made a little startled sound and moaned with the pain.
    “Kerry hunts,” said Bart, scratching his head.
    Caleb rolled his eyes and coughed, making him focus on him for a moment. “Can you cover for her or call Susan to take the rest of her shift?”
    “Yes, things here will be fine. Just make sure she gets better, alright?”
    Caleb nodded. He carried her across to his car and strapped her into the passenger seat.
    Kerry had her eyes closed tight. Her lips were sucked in like she’d