Taken at Dusk (Shadow Falls #3)(87)

Since Kylie pretty much decided that no amount of effort would prepare her emotionally for seeing Sara here at camp, or for having to face her stepdad again, she put all that out of her mind and focused her energy into getting Miranda ready for her date.

When Miranda, a nervous witch, vetoed everything in her own closet, Della and Kylie gave her carte blanche with their own. Ellie even came over for an hour to help get Miranda ready. It was a little awkward, but ... Derek was right; Ellie really was a nice person. Besides, Kylie hadn't been able to forget the feeling she'd gotten last night, a sense that Ellie had been the one in the casket in that vision. And maybe, just perhaps, befriending Ellie had saved her life.

After trying on about six outfits, Miranda chose Kylie's LBD, little black dress.

At seven o'clock, Perry showed up on their doorstep, looking as much of a hottie as he had the night before. Burnett had loaned him his Mustang, and supposedly, Perry had a night planned that would knock Miranda's socks off.

When Miranda showed up a little past midnight, she had indeed lost her socks. And her shoes. Of course, she didn't need them because she practically floated through the door.

When Kylie and Della demanded details, Miranda said only, "It was a hell of a lot better than nice." Then she floated into her bedroom and went to bed.

Having done a little celebratory dance with Della, Kylie went to bed and waited to see if Lucas would call her. She almost called him but decided against it. She'd called him last time. It was time he made the next move. As she might have guessed, though, her phone never rang. But the ghost dropped by for another cold, silent visit.

Kylie begged her to talk, and she finally spoke, but not anything helpful. "It's not your fault. That's what they wanted me to tell you."

"What's not my fault?" she spouted out. The spirit faded, and the cold ache in the room swelled in Kylie chest and reminded her that she was no closer to solving Jane's problems than she was to solving her own.

* * *

Sunday morning, when Kylie, with Della in tow, got back to her cabin after breakfast, Lucas sat on the front porch. The moment his gaze touched hers, her heart started racing. He looked good. Was it her imagination that he looked more masculine and somehow buffer, or was it because of the approaching full moon?

He smiled at her, and she smiled back, feeling herself melt a little inside. She wanted to run into his arms and kiss him. But she knew he wouldn't like that in front of Della.

Then all those warm, gooey feelings faded when she wondered if he'd already visited Fredericka. But damn it, jealousy was such an ugly emotion.

"Don't even ask," Della said as she stepped on the porch. "I'll go inside and let you two make out." She opened the door and looked back over her shoulder. "But if you take her off this porch, I'll hunt you down."

"I won't." He nodded his thanks.

The moment the door closed, Lucas pulled Kylie into his arms. "I missed you," he whispered, and his lips melted against hers.

His kiss was light but still passionate. He held her close and she felt the subtle differences in him that she'd noted earlier-all muscle, all male. Hard in all the places she was soft.

When the kiss ended, she ran her fingers over his shoulders. "Do you get ... buffer the closer we get to a full moon?"

He smiled and pressed his forehead against hers. "Yes. It's my body's way of preparing for the shift." He swung around and leaned against the front of the cabin. Then he pulled her against him and slid his hand down to rest on her waist.

"Did you miss me?" he asked.

"Of course." She smiled at him, breathing in his scent and loving being close.

"No new ghost disasters since I left?" He arched one dark brow.

"No," she said. "No disasters. Except, I was sort of hoping you'd call me back. It's been two days."

"I'm sorry. My dad was being an ass and I had to stay longer than I'd anticipated. Didn't Fredericka tell you?"

Kylie's annoyance peaked. "Yeah, but it would have been nice if you'd called me yourself."

His gaze tightened as if he were trying to read her. "It's not like ... The only reason I called her was because Clara wanted to talk to her."

"Clara?" Kylie asked.

"My half-sister. She and Fredericka got to know each other when she went back with me before."

Great! Lucas's sister was friends with Fredericka. Kylie's jealousy inched up another notch.

He stared into her eyes. "I heard Will had to calm down Fredericka. I'll talk to her about it."

Kylie instantly realized she didn't want him talking to Fredericka. She bit down on her lip. Could she tell Lucas he couldn't be friends with Fredericka when she wouldn't want him telling her whom she could, and couldn't, be friends with?

No. She couldn't. So she just said, "Don't worry. I handled it." She stared at his chest for a second, trying to get her wayward jealousy under control.

He tilted her chin up and his blue eyes gazed into hers. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she lied. "Just ... a little worried about later. Seeing my stepdad and then Sara showing up."

"Can I do anything to help? All you have to do is ask."

Her heart tightened at his concerned tone. Lucas cared about her. She knew that. She believed it. Which meant she couldn't let Fredericka come between them. She just couldn't.