Born at Midnight (Shadow Falls #1)(34)

"I have meetings with one of the camp leaders, a meet-and-greet hour where you meet one-on-one with another camper, and then I think there's some kind of art program and a hike this afternoon."

"Sounds like a ful day," her mom answered.

"Sounds boring," Kylie retorted.

Her mom ignored her remark. "Have you spoken with your dad?"

Kylie hesitated. "He cal ed and left a message, but I haven't had a chance to cal him back." Another lie. She'd had a chance, she just didn't know if she could lie as wel to him as she did to her mom.

"Wel , when you do, check and see if he plans to come up Sunday for parents day. If so, I'l wait until next week."

"You two can't even be in the same room together now?" Kylie asked, not trying to hide her feelings. Her throat tightened with emotion. "Couldn't you two have at least stayed together until I left for col ege?"

"It's difficult, Kylie," her mom said.

"Yeah, on everyone." The emotion grew in her throat, but when she looked up she saw Del a walking toward her and she fought back the need to cry. "I've gotta go."

"Okay," her mom said. "Have a good day and cal me tonight, okay?"

"Yeah." Kylie closed the phone just as Del a stepped up beside her.

"Hey," Kylie said. "I looked for you during breakfast."

"I ate earlier." She rubbed her stomach and Kylie tried not to think about what Miranda said about the vampire rituals. But the thought was already there, making the half of the Danish she'd consumed feel heavy in the pit of her stomach.

"You'l get used to it." Del a grinned as if she knew what had caused Kylie's frown.

"Maybe," Kylie said. Then, remembering to be honest with Del a, she added, "But I doubt it."

Del a chuckled, then her smile faded. "Sorry about your parents. How long have they been separated?"

"Do you make it a habit of eavesdropping?" Kylie slid her phone in her pocket.

"I wasn't trying to listen in." Resentment rang in Del a's voice. "It just, you know, happened."

Kylie bit down on her lower lip and let go of her frustration when she remembered that Del a had confided in her about her own family issues. "I'm sorry. It's just hard. It happened last week."

"I can imagine." Sincerity creased Del a's forehead. Then her expression changed. "Oh, I almost forgot what I came to tel you. Remember I told you Derek had a little thing for you? I was wrong. It's not little. It's a big thing."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because Brian, the blond vampire, just drew your name for the Meet Your Campmates Hour and Derek asked him to swap."

Kylie compared spending an hour with a strange vampire to spending an hour with Derek, who made her miss Trey, and she didn't know which was worse. "What did Brian say?" she asked, unable to stop herself.

"He said no ... unless Derek was wil ing to pay for it."

"No way. Tel me he didn't give him cash to get my name."

"Okay. He didn't give cash to get your name." Del a laughed and leaned in as if she had some juicy secret to tel . "He's paying in blood, Kylie. A pint, to be exact."

"Blood?" Kylie stood there shocked. The shock quickly turned into disgust. "He can't do that," she said.

"He can and he did. They made a deal. And believe me, you never go back on a blood deal with a vampire."

Kylie shot off to the dining hal to find Derek.

She could not, would not, let him do this.

Chapter Seventeen

Derek came through the door just as Kylie rushed in to find him. "Hey, I was coming to look for you." He held up a tiny strip of paper. "I got your name." He smiled.

His smile came off so warm, that if Kylie wasn't so furious, and disgusted, she could have gotten lost in it.

"Yeah, I know. I heard." She squinted at him in disapproval.

He studied her and then cautiously added, "I thought we'd take a walk. I found a great spot when I went hiking yesterday."

"Look, I'm flattered but you can't do this, Derek," she snapped.

"Do what?" A frown replaced his smile.

"I know what you did to get my name. And I can't let you do that."

"It's nothing." He started walking away from the door, and then looked back at her when she didn't fol ow. "You coming?"

"It's blood," she seethed, and closed the two steps separating them and grabbed him by the forearm. "Come on, I'm gonna make this right." She gave him a tug, but he didn't budge. That's when she noticed how solid his arm felt under her hand. He leaned in. "It's done, Kylie. Let's just go spend our hour together, okay?" His scent-a combination of spicy men's soap and Derek-wafted over her.

"You've already ... done it?" Her gaze shot to his neck.

"No, but the deal's done."

"I'l undo it," she said, trying to ignore his scent and how much she liked it ... and how much she liked him. Realizing she stil held his arms, she let go. Touching him caused her to recal how she used to touch Trey. How much she liked Trey, missed Trey. Derek's frown tightened. "You can't undo it. So just come on. Please."