Taken at Dusk

Chapter Twenty-four

  "Is it important?" Derek asked.

  "You had sex with her, didn't you. " Somehow Kylie had known this all along. It sucked being right, too.

  Guilt filled his eyes. "It didn't mean anything. "

  She shook her head. "How can it not have meant anything? It's the ultimate form of intimacy between two people. "

  "Not always," he said. "Sometimes it's just two people searching for something. And a lot of times, they don't find it. We didn't find it, Kylie. Ellie knew it. I knew it. And the romantic relationship is completely over. It was a mistake and we both knew it. "

  "But you brought her back with you. "

  He flinched. "She's not a bad person, I couldn't leave her there at the commune. It was awful. She'd have been in a gang in a matter of weeks. "

  Kylie pulled her legs closer to her chest and tried to sort through the emotions bouncing through her. She felt hurt. She felt justified in her feelings of jealousy. And she felt . . . relieved. The last one didn't make sense, though. Why would she feel relieved that Derek and Ellie had sex?

  Then the truth hit. She felt relieved because now there was no reason for her to experience guilt over being with Lucas. Not that the truth still didn't hurt. And if she was completely honest with herself, she still felt a tiny wave of jealousy. But she pushed it away, because now, more than ever, she could accept it. She was Derek's friend. Just his friend.

  "We're just friends," she said.

  He looked at her. "Yeah," he said, but something about that one word didn't seem as honest as his earlier words.

  "All I want to do is talk. To make sure you're okay. Give me ten minutes. " He studied her frown. "Five. Hell, give me three minutes, Kylie. Is that too much for a friend to ask?"

  She looked at the stream and then up at him. "Three minutes. Then this ends. "

  "Deal. " He looked at his watch, and then, as if competing with the clock, he started talking. "How are you? What happened at the cemetery? I heard about it. "

  She gave him the really short version. Namely, that she thought the ghost was buried there. And she'd discovered her spirit might be a child killer.

  He didn't flinch like the rest of them. "What are you going to do?" he asked instead. "How are you going to get to the truth?"

  "I'm waiting for the ghost to come back. She hasn't visited me since then. "

  "She will," he said. "And don't worry too much. I'm sure you'll figure everything out. You always do. "

  Kylie gazed up into his gold-flecked green eyes. "How do you know I'm worried?"

  "Duh, I can feel it. "

  "I thought you couldn't feel my emotions here?"

  "I can feel them, but they're just at a lower voltage. Normal range. "

  Normal. That word seemed to be popping into Kylie's mind a lot.

  She nodded. "Did you ever find your dad?" When he looked upset by her question, she added, "You told me when you left that you were going to try to find him. "

  He nodded and then swallowed. "I found him. "

  She felt his mixed emotions as if they were her own. "It didn't go well?"

  "I don't know. I thought I'd see him and it would make it right. It's still not right. I still don't know if I want anything to do with him. I'm pretty sure I don't. "

  "Why? What happened?" Kylie asked.

  "He offered me a hundred different reasons why he had to leave me and Mom. His life was a lie trying to live in the human world with my mom. He told me it hurt too much trying to stay in touch. He said he'd like to get to know me again. He said a lot of things. And not one of them meant a hill of beans to me. Maybe it will in time. I don't know. But right now, it just feels totally awkward. "

  "I understand awkward," she said, and offered him a bit of a smile. "Sara is supposed to be coming with my mom on Parents Day. "

  He reached for her and then pulled back. "I'm sure it'll be okay. "

  There was a moment of silence, then Derek started talking. "So, with your ghost . . . have you figured out what to do? I mean, how can you find out who she is?"

  "I don't know for sure. But my gut says that she's remembering more and more each time I see her. "

  He pondered her words and then said, "You know, I remember reading something years ago about how an old state cemetery was dug up and they found that about five percent of all the caskets had two bodies in them. "

  "Two bodies?"

  "Yeah. The state was burying some of the really poor, homeless folks in with other caskets. Just slipping them in so they didn't have to pay for their own burial. "

  Kylie thought about it for a second, and it made perfect sense. Catherine O'Connell said she saw Jane Doe rise from the grave of Berta Littlemon. However, if Berta Littlemon was in there, too-and the legends about such things were correct-she would have already been snatched into hell. That meant only one spirit would have risen from the grave.

  "I think you might have just solved my problem," she told Derek. "Thank you!" If things had been different between them, she would have hugged him.

  He grinned. "You're welcome. "

  She suddenly realized that they had probably been talking way longer than his negotiated three minutes. She glanced down at his watch.

  "Oh, one more thing," he said. "After we talked the other day about Red being strange, I did some checking. You know, just to see what I could find out. Contrary to the weird vibe we both got, he is vampire, or at least that's what everyone thinks. The only other thing I found was . . . about his parents. "

  "What about them?" she asked.

  "Supposedly, his mom was murdered in front of him when he was like seven. The case never was solved. It looked as if even the FRU looked into the case, but never found who did it. Then his dad disappeared less than a year later. That's when he went to live with his grandfather. "

  Kylie frowned. "Damn, I could almost feel sorry for him. "

  Derek shrugged. "Unfortunately, most people who commit violent crimes were at one time victims themselves. But one wrong doesn't make a right. And we know he killed those two girls. "

  "I know. " When she looked up and found herself gazing into Derek's eyes again, she said, "I guess I should-"

  "Go. I know," he said, and his expression turned sad. "I miss you, Kylie. Can we . . . do this again?"

  She almost said yes but realized it probably wasn't a good idea for either one of them. "I don't know," she said. "I've got a lot to figure out. "

  "Between you and Lucas?" he asked.

  "Yes," she said honestly. She wouldn't feel guilty about her feelings anymore. She didn't know what she might have with Lucas. But for the first time since she'd recognized those growing feelings, she didn't feel at fault about them. And there was something between them. But with his pack trying to break them up, and his dislike of her involvement with the ghosts, she just wasn't sure where it was going to lead.

  "Okay," he said. "But if you need me . . . or just want to talk . . . you know where I am. "

  Kylie nodded, and then the next thing she knew, she was awake, staring at her bedroom ceiling. "I miss you, too," she whispered, and then rolled over and hugged her pillow.

  * * *

  Perry met Kylie at the front door the next morning when she stepped out of the cabin.

  "Hey," she said, and forced a smile. She wasn't exactly depressed about knowing the truth about Derek and Ellie, but there was an underlying sadness to her mood today.

  It reminded Kylie of how she always felt the last day of school before summer vacation. She wanted summer to be here, knew there was no changing it, but a part of her wanted to hold on to life the way it was. She supposed she just wasn't a big fan of change.

  Perry, his eyes a bright blue, grinned. "Hey. " He looked back at the door, and Kylie
knew why.

  "Miranda already left," she told him.

  "Why?"

  Because she didn't want to see you because she's afraid of what you'll say when she tells you she's got a date Friday night with a hot warlock.

  "I don't have a clue. " And I'm really glad you're not a vampire who can read my heartbeat and tell when I'm flat-out lying.

  His eyes went from blue to a sad brown. "I thought . . . I guess I just hoped that. . . "

  "I know," Kylie said, and bumped him with her shoulder. "And while I can't say anything, all I can tell you is that hope is eternal. "

  "So I still have a chance?" he asked.

  "A little one," she said, not wanting to give him false hope.

  They started heading down the trail. "I want to see if Holiday and Burnett are in the office. I need to talk with them before breakfast. "

  "Just lead the way," Perry said, bowing at the waist. "I'm your personal shadow servant. "

  Kylie grinned. As they walked, she wondered if someday she could hang out with Derek like this and it would feel this right. Feel completely platonic, with no hint of regret about what could have been. She really hoped so. Although her heart said he would have made an awesome boyfriend, he would also make a hell of a good friend. And she hoped they could get there.

  * * *

  Holiday and Burnett weren't in the office, so Kylie couldn't tell them about Derek's theory that there could have been two bodies in Berta Littlemon's grave.

  Or ask Burnett what he'd been smoking when he'd given Sara permission to visit Shadow Falls.

  At breakfast, Lucas joined her and Perry at their table. Kylie spotted Miranda eating with the witches, and Della had a vampire thing that morning. So Kylie sat between Lucas and Perry, and much to her surprise, they both behaved. Well, Perry behaved.

  Lucas slipped his hand under the table and touched the side of her leg. Then he leaned in and whispered, "Want to go dancing in the moonlight again tonight?"

  She couldn't be sure, but she could swear the brush of his lips against her temple had almost been a kiss. She nudged him with her elbow, and as she forked a mouthful of eggs on her utensil, she whispered back, "Careful. People are going to actually know you have a thing for me. "

  "Good," he said. "Maybe it's time we make it official. "

  Her heart stopped. The eggs dropped from the prongs of her fork and landed with a splat on her plate.

  She turned and looked into his blue eyes. "Are you asking me to go out with you?"

  "Are you saying yes?" Hope danced in his eyes.

  "What about your pack?"

  "I told you I don't care what they say. "

  Joy danced in her heart. "Well, I think I should hear the question first. "

  "Okay . . . Will you, Kylie Galen, go out with me?"

  Yes. Yes. Yes. The word sat on the tip of her tongue, waiting to be released. She smiled, poised to say it, and-

  "Can I borrow Lucas for a minute?" Burnett's deep voice shattered the moment. He stood behind them, six feet plus of solid vampire.

  Lucas looked up at Burnett. "Is something wrong?"

  "I need a word with you. "

  Lucas got up and left. Kylie watched them leave, so in shock from Lucas asking her to go out that she completely forgot to give Burnett a large ration of shit for agreeing to let Sara come to the camp.

  * * *

  A bit later, Kylie stood beside Perry while Chris announced names for the Meet Your Campmates hour. Lucas still hadn't come back from his talk with Burnett, and that worried her.

  Looking up at Perry, Kylie asked, "How are we going to do this?"

  He stared over at Miranda. "I pulled my name from the list. "

  "So we don't have to stay?" Kylie asked.

  "I pulled my name. Not yours. I figured I could just tag along with you on your hour. "

  "Isn't that against the rules?"

  "I'm sure Burnett wouldn't mind. "

  "Speaking of Burnett," Kylie said. "I didn't know you two knew each other. "

  "He told you?" Perry seemed surprised.

  "No. Well, he sort of did when I asked him about it. But during the whole dragon thing, you said something about him telling you something when you were six. "

  "Oh," Perry said. "And what did Burnett say?"

  "Just that he knew you from before. Was he like your foster contact person or something?"

  "Yeah, sort of. "

  "And Kylie Galen. . . " Chris's voice rose, and so did Kylie's attention. She glanced to the front where Chris stood pulling names out of a hat. Yes, a real-life magician type of hat, too.

  Obviously, Chris had decided to jazz up his few minutes in the limelight. "You are spending an hour with . . . Ellie Mason. "

  "Oh, hell!" All her unresolved feeling about Derek and Ellie came bubbling to the surface.

  "Oh, boy," Perry countered. "This should be loads of fun!"

  Which only went to show how she and Perry had different definitions of fun.

  * * *

  A minute later, Kylie, Ellie, and Perry took off walking along one of the trails. For the longest time, none of them spoke.

  "Where are we going?" Ellie broke the unspoken code of silence.

  "Down by the creek bed," Kylie said.

  "Okay," Ellie said.

  They continued for another ten minutes, walking fast, supernatural fast. No one complained. At least not about the speed.

  Ellie piped up again. "I'm new here, but I thought the objective of campmate hour was to talk-to get to know each other. "

  "So talk," Kylie snapped, and dodged a few limbs that seemed to try to reach out and grab her. She also dodged logic that said she should fake a huge migraine and send the little sex kitten on her way back to camp.

  "Okay . . . My name is Ellie Mason and I have a feeling you don't like me. "

  Kylie stopped and swerved around-she had the script down in her head for faking a sick headache. She wouldn't even have to fake it because now her head was actually throbbing. But when she opened her mouth, her words had nothing to do with migraines.

  "Okay, let's get something out in the open. I know you had sex with Derek. " Her voice seemed to bounce from tree to tree.

  "Damn!" Perry said, and grinned. "This is gonna be better than I thought. "