Chosen at Nightfall (Shadow Falls #5)(55)

"Hey..." Holiday glanced at Della. "I need to borrow Kylie."

"Okay. Are you going to deliver her back to the cabin later? Or do I need to meet you somewhere?"

"I'll walk her back to the cabin."

Della looked a little concerned at having her shadowing duties yanked away.

And she wasn't the only one. "What's wrong?" Kylie asked as soon as Della was out of hearing range."Nothing's, hiccup ... wrong. Except that-" She pointed to her mouth. "Actually, I have a few things to discuss with you, but first things first." She let go of a deep sigh, as if to impart bad news. "I kind of told a roundabout untruth to Burnett. And I kind of need you to back me up."

"You want me to lie to a vampire?" Kylie asked. "Wow, you don't ask very much, do you?"

"No, not lie." Holiday reached back for her hair and twisted it in a knot. "He's not going to ask you anything. I just need you to follow through with something."

"I don't understand."

"Okay, here's what happened. I told Burnett I needed to run to the drugstore and he told me he'd just pick up whatever I needed.

"So I went into this song and dance about how I'd told you that you weren't a prisoner here and I thought you might like to get out. I said you hadn't actually told me this, but I had a feeling you needed something from the drugstore, some tampons or something."

Kylie gasped. "You told Burnett I needed tampons?"

"No, I told him that you hadn't said it, but I had a feeling you might need them. And thankfully it wasn't a lie because Miranda told me while you were away that she had to borrow some of yours."

"Okay...," Kylie said, still not understanding what was really going on. "So..."

"So I need you to come with Burnett and me, and when you go to buy the tampons, I need you to also ...

hiccup ... buy me a pregnancy test."

"Oh, I get it. But what if he asks ... Wait. He won't ask what I bought because he thinks I bought tampons, and guys can't stand any talk of tampons."

"See, I knew you'd get it," Holiday said.

"That's clever," Kylie said.

"You have to be smart to deal with a vampire."

They started walking. "But wait." Kylie stopped. "What kind of test do I buy?"

"I don't know, I've never bought one ... hiccup ... but buy two of them. Different kinds. Something that looks accurate. I'll have Burnett with me helping pick out something for my hiccups."

Kylie tried to think. "How does an accurate pregnancy test look any different from one that's not accurate?"

"Just buy two, but not the cheap ones." Holiday sighed as they made their way down the path back to the office.

"Here." Holiday handed her a couple of bills and Kylie stuffed them in her pocket with her small wallet. "Now that's taken care of, let me tell you the other stuff."

Oh, yeah, the other stuff. "What is it?" Kylie asked, suddenly concerned.

"Your dad called. You need to call him."

"Okay," Kylie said. "Can I use your phone?"

"Yeah." She reached in her pocket and handed Kylie her phone. "And the next thing-"

"There's more?" Kylie asked.

"Yeah. Tomorrow you're getting visitors. If you want them."

"Visitors? Who?" Kylie stuck the phone in her pocket.

"The Brightens. Your real dad's adoptive parents. They are back from Ireland and got all the messages.

They're eager to meet you."Chills ran down Kylie's arms. "I'd almost given up on meeting them."

"Well, they will be here tomorrow, at two, if you agree to it."

Kylie swallowed. "Yeah, of course I want to meet them." And just like that, Kylie started missing her dad again. More than that, she could swear she felt a touch of cold. Cold that reminded her of him. And oh boy, could she ever use a visit from him now.

* * *

When they arrived at the office, Hayden and Burnett were standing by the coffee machine-not talking.

The awkward silence told Kylie that they'd recently halted the conversation when they heard them coming. Meaning they were keeping secrets.

Which frustrated the fire out of her, because after all, this was about her, wasn't it? She almost called them on it, too, but realized an argument might delay the trip into town. And Holiday needed her. So Kylie buried her frustration, vowing it would be unearthed, resuscitated, and dealt with full-force later on.

Holiday cut a glance to Kylie as if she'd read the emotional marathon happening inside her. After a few nods of uncomfortable greetings, Holiday glanced at Burnett. "You ready?"

On the ride to town, Holiday drove and hiccuped the whole way. Burnett fretted over her hiccups and kept a keen lookout as if he was worried Mario would drop in.

"We should call the doctor," Burnett said when Holiday let out another one.

"I'll just pick up some antacid or something," Holiday said.

When they entered the pharmacy, Kylie started to the feminine product aisle. Burnett started after her, but when he saw her walk up to the tampon rack, he turned around.

Kylie saw Holiday pull him with her to a different aisle.