Eternal (Shadow Falls: After Dark #2)(108)

“Yeah, but I don’t think I’m going to make it back there tonight. The council wants reports and all that stuff. Can you get away tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Della said, deciding to make it happen. She didn’t care if she had to go against Burnett’s wishes. “What time?”

“Nine in the morning? Or eight. I’ll take as much time with you as I can get.”

“Nine,” Della said. “I’ll want to check on Natasha and Liam again.”

“Sure. And when we come back, maybe I can visit with them. It’s weird, isn’t it? I kind of feel like I know them.”

“Me, too,” Della said, thinking it would be nice having Natasha in her life.

Chase said good-bye and they hung up, hoping that tomorrow would end as well as today.

An hour later, Shawn, the agent who’d helped them with the case, showed up just to check in. Della, Holiday, and Shawn talked for a while, and then he and Holiday left.

After making sure Natasha and Liam didn’t need anything and giving them her and Holiday’s and Burnett’s numbers, she left for her cabin. Miranda and Kylie were at the table again, with Diet Cokes.

Miranda had tears in her eyes. Oh, crap.

“What’s up?”

Kylie appeared to wait to see if Miranda was going to answer, and when she didn’t, Kylie did it for her. “Shawn dropped by and saw her.”

“And?” Della asked and looked at the witch.

“I think he likes me and I don’t know what to do.”

Della dropped down at the table beside her friends. “You do what you want to do,” she said.

Miranda shook her head and looked at Della. “Don’t you feel at least a little bit guilty? You cared about Steve, and then bam, you just moved on to Chase.”

Della swallowed. “Yeah, sometimes I feel guilty, but then I remember he left, I didn’t. And he told me to find out what was between Chase and me.” She looked at Kylie. “It’s just like Kylie. Derek pulled away from Kylie, and she realized Derek wasn’t the one. Lucas was.” Della inhaled. “I don’t want to hurt Steve, but whatever it is between Chase and me is bigger.”

“But I can’t say that,” Miranda said. “And both of you said Perry felt like the right one for me.”

Kylie nodded. “Maybe he was the right one for you then. I don’t regret what I had with Derek. He was there for me when I needed him. I’ll always care about him. And I think people come into our lives like that. Della needed Steve to help her move past her jerk of an ex-boyfriend, and you needed Perry to help you adjust to everything you were going through.”

As much as Della normally hated Kylie’s psychoanalytical crap, this made sense. She would probably always care about Steve.

Miranda turned the can in her hands. “I tried calling him, and he won’t even answer. I mean, if he’d just call, I’d come out and ask if he was seeing other people, and if so … I’d hate him. And I’d probably eat ice cream for a week.” She gave Della a you-won’t-stop-me-this-time look. “But then I might give Shawn a chance.”

The witch’s expression almost got teary again. “Have you heard from Steve at all?”

Della recalled the one text, but afraid that would hurt Miranda, she lied. “No.”

“How are Natasha and Liam?” Kylie asked, changing the subject.

“They’re good,” Della said.

“You should feel great,” Kylie said. “You did it. Did you get to see the ghost cross over yet?”

Della shook her head. “No.”

“That’s odd,” Kylie said.

“Not really,” Della said. “I don’t think she’s through with me yet.”

“What else does she want?” Miranda asked.

“To figure out who killed her.” Just saying it made Della more certain. The ghost needed to know.

“I hate having to do that,” Kylie said.

“Yeah, me, too,” Della said, and got a flash of the vision and the man who looked just like her father standing over her with a bloody knife. “I think I’ll go to bed.”

Della fell asleep staring at the Smurfette. She thought about Chase. Then she heard Miranda’s question: Don’t you feel at least a little bit guilty? You cared about Steve, and then bam, you just moved on to Chase.

She shouldn’t feel guilty, she told herself. Steve had known he was probably going to be leaving when he’d pushed his way into her heart. That was wrong.

Just wrong.

*   *   *

At six thirty the next morning, Della woke up to her phone ringing. Lordy, had she rolled over during the night? She didn’t think so. She really must have needed the rest.

As she reached for her phone, she spotted the silly Smurf and smiled. When she saw the call was from Chase, her smiled widened.

“Hello,” she said.

“Were you still sleeping?” he asked and his voice sounded raspy as if he’d just woken up, too.

“Yes,” she said.

“Sorry, I just woke up and … I missed you. You want to meet me at seven instead of nine?”

She grinned. “No. I’ve gotta visit with Natasha and Liam, and then go tell Burnett and Holiday I’m going to meet you.” And she wanted to call Marla, too. Just to make sure things at home hadn’t gotten crazier.