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Chapter Nine
Getting ready for my first date in three years was harder than I thought. Between my wolf pacing in the back of my mind and the butterflies swirling inside my stomach, I don’t know how I managed to keep anything down.
I’d spent the entire morning cleaning whatever I could. From the bay windows in the living room to the kitchen and the family room downstairs, I swept, rearranged, and dusted. I rotated the cushions on the sofa, cleaned the blankets over the back, and had even dusted the deer heads my dad had mounted on the wall.
Everything was perfect. Now, all I had to do was pick Kate up after work and grab a pizza on the way home.
No problem.
Only it was.
As soon as I got in the car, my confidence fell. Going back to Kate’s place wasn’t an option. She was staying with Nora, after all, so unless I wanted to discuss my feelings for Kate with her godmother, we had to go somewhere else.
But here?I swallowed hard, then pulled out of the driveway.
Bringing Kate back to my place didn’t feel any better.
“We could always go to the park,”my wolf offered as I made my way into town.
I didn’t agree. I’d promised Kate dinner and a movie. The plan was to have a night in, which was exactly what I was going to do. Once I got a handle on myself, that is.
Turning onto Main Street, I leaned forward and white-knuckled the steering wheel.There she is,I thought when I spotted Kate standing on the sidewalk.
I could’ve gone in sooner or helped her throughout the day, but with my nerves being what they were, I figured keeping my distance was best.
So much for that.
Kate’s eyes lit up as soon as I pulled into the back lot. “Hey,” she said once she opened the passenger side door.
“Hi. Did you have a good day?” I winced inwardly at how I sounded then, like a concerned mom.
“Mm-hmm.” Kate sat, put on her seatbelt, then leaned her head back on the headrest. “It felt like I wasn't going to make it at one point, but I pulled through. What about you? You didn’t come in today.” Her brows furrowed above her eyes.
“We have to help the church down on Wallace with a few things, so I wanted to make sure we were still good.”
“Your folks don’t do that?”
“They do, but I thought I’d save them the trouble. I also wanted to check in with the pastor to see if the leak in the basement was under control. A pipe ruptured during one of our last storms. We patched it as soon as it was discovered, but we’re still waiting on a few supplies to repair it.”
“You guys really do everything around here, don’t you?”
“We try, but if we don’t have the supplies or the manpower to do it, we call in someone else. It isn’t usually this bad, but when it rains it pours, you know?”
Kate nodded, then stared out the passenger side window. “I don’t think I’ve ever been to this side of town,” she said as we neared the pizzeria. “It’s cute.”
I noted the squat pastel buildings and smiled. “This is where most of the boutiques like to hang out. And Nate’s Pizza, of course.”
“Nora’s raved about this place, but I don’t think we’ve ever ordered from here.”
“They don’t have enough room for us to dine in, so you have to order ahead of time. I called before I left the house, so it should be ready by the time we pull into the lot.”
“They’re that busy?”
“Most pizzerias are, but when it comes to Nate’s, it’s all about the sauce.”
