Taken at Dusk (Shadow Falls #3)(110)

She stopped abruptly. Burnett bumped into her from behind.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"You mean other than the fact that we just broke into someone's house?" She knew he didn't want to know they had company.

"It's fine," he said.

"Right." She moved into the bedroom. Jane Doe, aka Heidi Summers, sat on the bed, staring at the photos on the bedside table.

Kylie studied the woman's face behind the frame. "It's you."

"What's ... Never mind, I'll wait out here." Burnett must have realized she wasn't talking to him and wanted nothing to do with the ghost.

Considering what had happened to him the last time, Kylie didn't blame him.

"Me and Malcolm." Heidi said the name with so much love. "I remember."

Kylie picked up the picture. She recalled feeling something odd when she'd seen the man's face in the vision. The same thing hit her again. Then chills shot down her spine. Not from the cold this time, but from the realization.

"Burnett?"

"What?" He barged into the bedroom as if ready to fight.

She held out the picture. "That's him."

He took the picture. "Who?"

"That's the same man who came to the camp. The one who claimed to be my grandfather."

Burnett scanned the photo. "Are you sure?"

"Completely."

Heidi stood up. "It was him, wasn't it? I remember. And that was my sister, too."

Her sister? Kylie remembered the woman, remembered feeling a connection. "Why would they come to the camp and pretend to be my adoptive grandparents?" Kylie asked, and she meant the question for both Burnett and Heidi.

"I don't know," Burnett answered.

Heidi stood there as if trying to think. "Wait. They were from Ireland. And the neighbor said-"

"Who was from Ireland?" Kylie asked, and saw Burnett leave again.

"The people who adopted my boy. I gave him up for adoption. I went to a doctor who placed children with good parents. The doctor was human, but he knew about supernaturals. I remember there were complications, I had to have a C-section, and the doctor didn't want to do it because he didn't have the supplies to put me under; I made him do it anyway. I couldn't let my baby die. I knew whatever pain I experienced would be better than knowing I'd robbed my son of his chance at life. Then I made sure he would go to a good family." She sat up straighter. "Malcolm's looking for our son."

Tears filled Kylie's eyes as the truth swirled around her heart, making her dizzy. Heidi Summers was Daniel's birth mother. She was Kylie's grandmother. And Malcolm Summers, her real grandfather, and her grandmother's sister had posed as Daniel's adoptive parents. Why? Why not just tell her? More questions.

"He's going to find our boy. And they'll be a family, the way we should have been."

The pain of everything her grandmother had endured suddenly swamped her. Knowing she would have to tell Heidi that Daniel was dead cut like a knife.

But she had to tell her, didn't she?

"He won't find him," Kylie said.

"How do you know?"

Kylie wiped the tears from her eyes. "He's not in Ireland."

"Why else would Malcolm have gone to Ireland?"

"He went to find the Brightens."

Heidi sank back on the bed, as if trying to absorb what Kylie said. "Yes, that was their name. They adopted my boy."

Kylie nodded. "But your son isn't with them."

"Where is he?" She jumped off the bed. "Take me to him. I want to see him."

Kylie's breath caught. "He died a long time ago."

"No!" she yelled. "He lived. I went to see him right before they forced Malcolm and me to go to that place for tests. It was a few months after I had given birth. My son was fine. So healthy."

"He didn't die when he was a baby," Kylie said. "He grew up, met a woman whom he fell in love with, and then he joined the army. He died when he was twenty-one while on a mission, trying to save a woman. He was a hero. You should be proud."

Heidi dropped back on the bed. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Another wave of tears filled Kylie's eyes. "I'll bet he's waiting to meet you on the other side, too."

She looked up as if she could see heaven. "Did you know him?"

Kylie nodded. "Only his spirit." She felt tears begin to roll down her cheeks. "He's my father."

Heidi's eyes rounded. "That would mean that you..." She reached out and touched Kylie's cheek. "I should have known. You look like Malcolm. Blond hair instead of red, but those eyes..." A tear slipped from her cheek. "I think ... a part of me did know."

Kylie blinked. "I have so many questions to ask you, so many things I want to know. First, what are we?"

"What do you mean?"

"We're supernatural, right?"

She hesitated, as if she had to think. "Yes. That was why they took us in to do those terrible tests."

"So, what are we?" Kylie held her breath, waiting, hoping for her answer.

Heidi frowned as if trying to think again. "I ... can't remember. I'm sorry. But..." She pointed to the picture. "Malcolm will remember. The man never forgets anything."