Midnight Hour (Shadow Falls: After Dark #4)(91)

He nodded. “Then I guess I need to tell you that I turned into a pink polka dotted elephant tonight and was shot.” He explained. She looked

worried, but then she laughed, just as he’d hoped. And it was a beautiful sound.

She looked up, the humor fading from her eyes. “About your parents?”

“Yeah.”

“It hurts you.” She put a hand over his heart. “I can feel it.”

Not ready to talk, he said, “It hurts a lot less when I’m with you.”

She nodded. “I know, I have this lump of worry over Tabitha. It throbs like a toothache when I think about it, but when I’m with you, it

doesn’t hurt as much.”

She rested her head on his shoulder again. “Did they ever say they were sorry?”

“What?”

“You parents?”

Emotionally, he flinched. “Not really.”

She looked up, her eyes bright with tears.

“Don’t…” He brushed a finger over her cheek. “Let’s not talk about—”

“No.” She inhaled a shaky breath. “See, you’re doing it again. Not talking to me. At least let me cry for you. Because I know you want to.

”

“Tears won’t fix this. Not mine or yours.”

She swatted at her cheeks. But the tears kept coming. “I cannot imagine how someone could … My mom and dad have done stupid stuff that’s

hurt me. Mom sometimes can’t hide the fact that she’s disappointed in me, and that really hurts me. She won’t even talk to me right now, but

… I know they love me. And to think your parents would…” A few tears slipped down her cheek. “And not even apologize … How can they live

with themselves?”

He didn’t want to spend this time with her talking about his parents, but the words spilled out. “I think my dad regrets it. He acts like he

cares.” He drew in a gulp of air. “I wish he didn’t.”

Miranda inched closer.

“My mom was the one who put him up to abandoning me.” He exhaled. “I don’t even think she has a heart.”

“I hate her,” Miranda said. “Hating people is wrong, but I hate her.” She held up her pinky. “I want to put a hex on her ass!”

“Turn her into a kangaroo?” He chuckled.

“How about covering her face in pimples?” she said.

He laughed. Miranda didn’t.

“What about you?” he asked. “Why isn’t your mom talking to you?”

Miranda told him about their argument.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “She doesn’t like me.”

“She doesn’t dislike you. She just gets like this when she and my dad are arguing. And I apologize if she calls you Peter for the rest of

your life. Because I’ve corrected her a dozen times and she still does it.”

He chuckled. “I don’t mind being Peter.”

They just sat there holding on. She glanced up, a little nervous. “If I tell you something will you promise not to tell anyone?”

“Of course.”

She bit down on her lip. “The armadillo showed up again the night before last.”

His breath caught. “The one who was at the drug house?”

She nodded.

“Are you sure it wasn’t just a regular armadillo? They live in the woods and—”

“Definitely not a regular one. It was under my bed. It talked to me.”

“What did Burnett—”

“I didn’t tell him. That’s why you can’t say anything.”

Perry’s mind raced. “Wait. If it’s not a real armadillo, how could it be here without Burnett picking it up on the radar?”

“I don’t know, but remember you promised not to say anything.”

He frowned. “What if—”

“He said he wanted to help me find Tabitha. Then Della came in and he disappeared. And I’ve called him, looked for him, but he hasn’t come

back.”

“He disappeared like a shifter?”

“I didn’t see any bubbles.”

Perry tried to wrap his head around it, and the more he thought the less he liked. “How do you know it wasn’t lying?”

“Because it was the armadillo who made me leave the house before it blew up, and it woke me up when all the smoke was blowing at us. So he’s

practically saved my life twice. It doesn’t make sense that he would try to kill me now.”

“I see your logic, but—”

“No!” She put a finger to his lips. “You said you wouldn’t tell.” The glint of stubbornness highlighted the gold flecks in her hazel eyes.

He didn’t like this. “But you’ll tell me if he shows up again? Promise?”

She nodded. Then she leaned her head against him and just sat there. He rubbed his cheek against her hair.

“It doesn’t feel cold in here, does it?” she asked.

He pulled the sofa throw beside him and handed it to her. “Here.”

She lifted up and looked around the room. “I’m not really cold. I’m just kind of worried about the ghost.”