Almost Midnight (Shadow Falls: After Dark #3.5)(68)

“No. It’s not about sex and I’m not pregnant.” Miranda recalled that Della’s parents were always accusing her of such things. Rolling her eyes, she sat down at the small kitchen table. “Why would you even think that?”

“Is it about that boy, Peter?”

“Perry, not Peter, and no, it is not about him.”

“Okay, then I should be able to handle it standing up and sober.”

Miranda inwardly sighed. Who knew her mom was such a drama queen? “What happened between you and Tabitha’s mom fourteen years ago?” Miranda heard her mom’s deep breath.

“What? Is Mary Esther there?”

Miranda figured Mary Esther was Tabitha’s mom. And it seemed odd that her mom would refer to her by her first name. “No.”

“So her little twit said something, huh? Ignore her.”

“Ignore what? Mom, what happened? Why do I feel as if everyone knows something that I don’t?”

All of a sudden, Miranda remembered what she had started to suspect. She and Tabitha shared the premonition gift. Shit! Did that mean…?

Miranda mentally pulled up a vision of Tabitha’s mom. The woman had similar features to her mom and was about the same height, and the same body shape. “Mom, are you and Mary Esther related?”

“Why would you ask that?” Her mom’s voice inched up to the panic stage.

“Because Tabitha and I share some talents that are mostly common in bloodlines. Tell me. Is Mary Esther like my aunt or something? Is Tabitha my cousin?”

“I can’t talk about this now,” her mom snapped, and hung up.





Chapter Ten


The kitchen door swung open behind Miranda. Still in a kind of shock, she looked back, half expecting it to be Tabitha. She was wrong.

“How bad was it?” Kylie asked.

It took Miranda a second to realize Kylie was referring to her telling her mom about the whole mess at the Eiffel Tower. “Not too bad. I sugarcoated it. But…” Miranda paused to consider how to put this. “But I think … I mean, it sounds crazy, but I think Tabitha and I are cousins. I think our moms are sisters.”

“Whoa, how did you find that out?”

“I asked. Not that she admitted it, but … remember Tabitha and I share the gift of premonition. That usually runs in families. And when I was young, we ended up going to the same day care. My mom and her mom had this big fight and Tabitha got pulled from the school. Mom told me all the fuss was about the cookies.”

“Cookies?” Kylie asked and grinned. “And you believed her.”

“Hey, I was three. Cookies were a big deal.” Miranda stood up. “I didn’t see Tabitha again until Mom started forcing me to go to competitions. And right off the bat, she hated me. I couldn’t figure it out. But just now I realized how her mom and my mom are similar. About the same height, same body shape, hair color. I mean, it would make sense, right?”

“I guess,” Kylie said. “Did your mom deny it?”

“No. But she got all panicky and said she couldn’t talk about it, then hung up.”

“Has she ever mentioned a sister?”

“No, she said she was an only child. And seeing that she’s so into herself, I never doubted it.” Miranda sighed.

“What about your grandparents?”

“They died when I was really young. I barely remember them.”

“Hey, do you think that’s what Tabitha meant when she said for you to stop acting as if you didn’t know?”

“Yeah, that’s what I think.”

“You know what?” Kylie said. “Now that I consider it, you and Tabitha sort of look alike. I mean, she has red hair and blue eyes, but if you just compare facial features, you two could be sisters.”

Miranda nodded and looked at the door. Maybe it was time for her and Tabitha to have a talk.

*

The talk didn’t happen. By the time she left the kitchen, Sienna and Tabitha had locked themselves into one of the three bedrooms. Miranda had knocked. Sienna had answered. When Miranda said she wanted to talk to Tabitha, Sienna informed her that Tabitha was resting and didn’t want to be disturbed.

Now, two hours later, past midnight, Miranda lay in bed staring at the ceiling, listening to Kylie sleep, and trying not to listen to her own heart break.

It broke over missing Perry. And over her confusion about what she felt for Shawn. It broke over missing her dad. It broke over feeling as if her mother was keeping secrets.

And in a little way it broke over knowing someone might be out to kill her.

Funny how being on someone’s hit list hurt less than the other issues. Maybe it was because Miranda really hadn’t wrapped her head around it yet.

Right then Miranda heard footsteps outside her door. Who could that be?

Throwing back the covers, Miranda tugged on her pink cotton nightshirt, reading the word princess written across the front. Giving it a glance, she decided it wasn’t indecent, and went and opened the door.

No one was in the hall, but a light flashed from the kitchen doorway as if someone opened the refrigerator. She moved her sock feet down the wood floor to see who was raiding the fridge.

As she inched past the door to another bedroom, the one where Tabitha and Sienna had taken refuge, she heard someone talking. She stopped, half considering knocking and insisting Tabitha come out and talk. But then she heard Sienna say, “Look, Mom, I can’t do anything about it. That FRU agent says I have to stay here. Fine, call him and tell him you’re picking me up and I’ll go.”