Eternal (Shadow Falls: After Dark #2)(70)

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

It went to voice mail. “Hey, Mom, it’s me, Della.” In case you forgot who I am. “I just realized we haven’t talked, and I wanted to make sure everything is okay.” I love you. Miss you. “Call me.”

Della had just tucked her phone back into her pocket when Holiday came walking up.

“Hey, I was looking for you.”

“Why, did my mom call you?” Della asked, thinking maybe she’d just somehow missed her mom’s call earlier.

“Uh, no. Is something wrong?”

“No, I just … I haven’t heard from her in a while. Has she called you lately to check on me?”

Holiday pondered a second. “Not in the last week. You worried about something?” the camp leader asked, picking up on Della’s emotion.

“Normal crap,” Della said, and then asked, “What did you need?”

“Oh, well, I needed to stretch my legs and thought you’d join me.”

Della studied the camp leader. “What did I do?”

Holiday laughed. “Nothing.”

“So what do you need to talk to me about?” Della asked. “And don’t tell me nothing because that would be a lie and good faes don’t lie.”

Holiday made a face. “We do sometimes. White lies.” She grinned. “So, okay, I want to talk with you, but you’re not in trouble.”

“If you’re pregnant and want me to deliver your second child, the answer is no,” Della teased. “I’m not over the first one yet.”

Holiday chuckled. “Well, if you need therapy, I’ll pay for it. Come on, let’s walk to the lake.”

They entered the path in the woods and it got quiet. The sounds of the other campers faded, and only an occasional insect made a noise.

“You sure I’m not in trouble?” Della asked.

“I’m just a little worried,” Holiday said.

“About what?”

“You … and the whole bonding thing with Chase. You’re spending a lot of time with him. I just wanted to make sure that you’re … okay.”

“We’re not bumping uglies,” Della told her.

Holiday laughed. “You do have a way with words, young lady. And yes, that was one of my concerns, but only part of it.” Holiday looked serious again. “So you aren’t interested in him that way, at all?”

Della kicked at an innocent rock that happened to be at her feet.

“I wouldn’t say ‘at all.’”

“So what would you say?”

“I would prefer nothing.” She shrugged.

Holiday sighed.

They arrived at the lake and Holiday motioned ahead. “Let’s go sit out on the pier.” They walked all the way to the end of the wood planks.

Holiday plopped down, took off her shoes, and rolled up the bottom of her jeans. Her toes barely met the water. “It’s a nice day,” she said.

“Yeah,” Della agreed, and it was. Not cold, not hot. The sky was a bright blue, the clouds puffy white and the sun felt warm on her shoulders. Della dropped down beside her and removed her boots and socks. The water held just enough of a chill to be refreshing on her feet.

“Where’s Hannah?” Della asked.

“I’ve hired a nanny to come in and help take care of her for part of the day. I feel as if I’ve been ignoring my job.”

After a few minutes, Holiday spoke again. “Burnett’s checked into the whole bonding thing, and there’s a little information that backs up the fact that it’s real, but what it says is vague. Very vague.”

“What did it say?” Della asked, wondering if she knew more than Chase had told her.

“That the two vampires are emotionally connected. There is some proof that it can be between family members, so it’s not necessarily a romantic type of bond.”

A fish jumped up a few feet from the pier and both Holiday and Della looked over at it. “What do you think the bond means? Is it a romantic connection?”

“Did you know fish pee and poop in the water?” Della said as Holiday stretched her legs down to submerge her whole foot.

Holiday rolled her eyes. “I do. And that was probably the worst attempt to change a subject I’ve ever heard.”

“Yeah, but I couldn’t come up with anything else,” Della said.

Holiday grinned and then her expression got serious again. “I guess what I’m saying is that what Chase did for you was a wonderful thing, but I don’t want you to feel you have to offer part of yourself that you don’t want to offer.”

“He’s not pressuring me to have to sex,” Della said, knowing it was true. The whole closet thing had been about the vision, not about them. Even if he did enjoy it. And she did, too, she admitted to herself.

“That makes me feel better,” Holiday said, and ran her foot along the top of the water. “But you feel something for him. I can tell. And I can also tell that you aren’t altogether comfortable with it. And that worries me.”

Della kicked at the water. “I hate when you do that, you know.”

“Do what?” Holiday pulled her hair over one shoulder.

“Read me.” Della frowned. “Because while you’re right about me being uncomfortable, it’s not what you think. If I’m uncomfortable, it’s because of what I feel, not because he’s trying to push me into something.”