Taken at Dusk (Shadow Falls #3)(10)

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Less than an hour later, still not hearing from Derek, Perry, or Burnett, Kylie sat at the kitchen table in her cabin with Miranda and Della. She'd told them about the snake and eagle and her thoughts that the incident was somehow more than it appeared.

"I would have smelled it if we had intruders," Della assured her.

"And I would have felt it if magic was being used to cover someone's tracks," Miranda said.

"See, that's why I need you guys," Kylie said. "You keep me from losing it." She leaned back in her chair, wishing their confirmation had chased away all her doubts. Then again, maybe it wasn't the doubts bothering her, but everything else on her plate.

Kylie's pet, Socks Jr.-the kitten Miranda had accidentally turned into a skunk-leapt up and landed in her lap. While Kylie still felt caught in the tailspin of the emotional storm, doing something as commonplace as their diet soda roundtable discussions brought some solace.

Miranda, up first in the discussion of their weekend woes and whines, retold everything about her witches' competition, in which she'd placed second. "I was excited that I placed so high," she said. "I thought my mom would be happy. But no." Miranda hesitated. "Second just means you're the first loser," she recounted her mother's words. The tone in Miranda's voice told Kylie how much her friend was hurting. "I wanted to impress her, and for a minute there, I thought I'd actually, finally done it. I'll never make that woman happy."

Della rolled her eyes. "Why would you want to make her happy?"

"Because she's my mom." Miranda answered with so much honesty that sadness tugged at Kylie's heart. She remembered feeling much the same way about her own mom before they found their peace.

"News flash," Della said, waving her hand. "Your mom's the biggest b ... witch I've ever heard of. At least my parents' attitude is because they're worried I'm hurting myself by doing drugs and not because they aren't happy with me." Tears brightened Miranda's eyes and anger tightened her expression as she stared at Della.

Kylie felt tension thickening in the air. "I think what Della means is-"

"I'm sorry," Della interrupted Kylie. The smartass look on Della's face quickly faded into a frown. "That sounded mean, and I ... Truth is if my parents knew the truth, they'd probably rather me be a drug addict than a vampire." Della studied Miranda and sighed. "It just makes me furious at your mom. I know how hard you worked to impress her. And you took friggin' second place, which is fabulous."

"Thanks," Miranda said, her anger dissolving but her eyes getting wetter.

"For what?" Della flopped back into the chair, as if aware she'd shown a softer side of her personality. Della seldom let that side show. Not that Kylie and Miranda didn't see it. Well, Kylie saw it. Miranda had a harder time seeing through Della's guarded front.

Miranda brushed her hand over her cheek again and sat up taller. "Enough about that. I've got other news. Todd Freeman, a warlock, came over and asked if he could have my cell number. He's like the hottest guy in my old school. So at least someone noticed I did good in the competition." She grinned. "Not that I think it was my trophy he was interested in. I caught him at least three times checking out my girls."

"Jerk," Della said. "I hope the only thing you gave him was your middle finger."

"Duh, didn't you hear me? Cutest guy in school. Besides, big boobs are natural guy magnets-that's just the way it is. Why wouldn't I give my number to him?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you still want to suck face with a certain shape-shifter?"

"Please, I'm so over Perry," Miranda snapped.

Della tapped the end of her nose. "Pheromones don't lie."

"No arguing on the first day back," Kylie said. "Tomorrow you two can threaten to tear each other's limbs off, but today ... just give me a little peace today." She picked up Socks from her lap and placed him on the table. "Besides ... you're gonna upset Socks and then we're all gonna end up getting skunked."

Della and Miranda looked at Socks. The little skunk/cat, uncomfortable being the center of attention, scurried closer to Kylie.

"Truce?" Kylie asked, stroking the scared animal's trembling body.

Thankfully, Miranda and Della nodded.

Miranda leaned closer. "I think I've figured out how to turn our little stinker back into a kitten. But I need the first rays of sunshine to do it." She reached over to pet Socks, but he backed away from her touch and then jumped back into Kylie's lap.

"Smart skunk," Della said, grinning. "No telling what you'll accidentally turn him into next time."

Miranda frowned. "Maybe I'll turn you into a skunk."

"And maybe I'll rip your heart out and feed it to our resident pet."

"What happened to the truce?" Kylie whined. Socks's nose nudged deeper into her armpit.

"Fine." Miranda huffed and then looked at Della. "Your turn. Give us the lowdown on your weekend."

"You mean besides constantly being told to go pee on a stick? They tested me four times. I think one was a pregnancy test. Like I've been doing the dirty with anyone." Della picked up her cup of blood and gave it a hard look. "The only thing we did all weekend was go see a movie, some old classic my mother loved. Boring. At least I got to sleep without having to explain why I seemed so tired in the middle of the day." She exhaled rather loudly. "So that's my weekend. Nothing exciting to tell. Nothing." She stared back into her cup.