Whispers at Moonrise (Shadow Falls #4)(8)

Did Holiday finally come to her senses?

"Are you staying on at Shadow Falls?" Kylie asked Burnett, breath held in hope.

Burnett glanced at Holiday and damn if he didn't almost smile. "I'm staying."

"Yes!" Miranda and Della high-fived each other and did a little victory dance.

A sense of rightness filled Kylie's chest. Maybe today wouldn't go down in history as the worst day in her life, after all.

Burnett, being his slightly brooding self, didn't seem to share her roommates' joy, but Kylie spotted relief in his eyes. "Next time you are under my charge, don't walk away without my permission."

Kylie nodded, too happy to care if she wasn't at fault.

"Even if you have to knock me over my head twice to get my attention," he continued, taking most of the blame on himself. Kylie's smile widened. As stern as Burnett could be, he wasn't unfair.

She watched Burnett start for the door, and Holiday turned to go with him. Again, Kylie couldn't help but wonder how far things had gone in their time together. Had their clothes been half off when they suddenly realized she was gone?

Holiday looked back at Kylie. Their gazes met and held.

Just from the quick glance, Kylie knew that Holiday, an empath like Derek, had read the swarm of emotions playing hide and seek in her mind. And not the happy ones.

Kylie seldom got anything past the fae. Not that Kylie attempted to hide a whole heck of a lot from Holiday. The bond they shared had moved past friendship. Holiday was family-not the kind you were born with, but the kind you were lucky enough to choose.

"I need to speak to Kylie." The warmth in Holiday's tone had Kylie's chest tightening and she wondered what she'd ever do without the woman in her life. She hoped she never had to find out. The thought sent a shiver down Kylie's spine.

Burnett acknowledged all of them with a farewell glance, and then left.

As soon as he walked out, Della turned to Holiday. "Maybe you can talk some sense into Kylie. She thinks she's a lizard."

* * *

Five minutes later, Holiday and Kylie sat on the edge of the porch, their bare legs dangling over the edge. The camp leader had changed from the dark dress she'd worn at Ellie's funeral to a pair of cutoff jeans and the yellow shirt that she wore inside out.

Kylie's black dress flared across her thighs, landing right above her knees. If she stretched out her feet, her toes would brush against the grass. She usually liked how the light tickle felt, but for some reason it now reminded her of sitting with Derek earlier out beside the tree.

Pushing that thought aside, Kylie stared down at their feet. Holiday had on a pair of sandals, and her toenails were painted a soft pink.

"What happened?" Holiday asked, concern deepening her tone.

"I don't know where to start," Kylie said.

"How about with the whole lizard thing? What's Della talking about?"

Kylie bit down on her lip. "Before I get into all that, what happened between you and Burnett?"

Holiday glanced away. "He's staying on."

"I know that." Smiling, Kylie bumped her shoulder with Holiday's. "Did anything good happen?"

Color brightened Holiday's cheeks. "I don't feel comfortable talking about this."

"Wow. It must have been good, then," Kylie teased.

Holiday frowned, which meant whatever happened hadn't changed much. Some clothes might have come off, but Holiday's reservations hadn't.

"We didn't..." Holiday dropped her face into her hands. "I'm confused, okay? I need Burnett at Shadow Falls. He's strong in all the areas that I'm lacking. And where he's lacking, I'm strong. But..."

"But you're scared to admit you care about him," Kylie said, even when her gut told her she needed to back off.

"You don't understand," Holiday said.

"That's because you haven't told me everything," Kylie accused, and she got that sensation again that there were things, emotional things, Holiday kept bottled up inside her.

Holiday sighed. "This is something I need to work out myself. I know we're close and I love that you care." She put her hand on top of Kylie's. "I feel that you're only trying to help, but I need to go solo on this one. And I'm asking you to accept that."

Kylie nodded, knowing she had to respect Holiday's wishes, but not liking it.

"Now, let's get back to you." She bumped Kylie's shoulder with hers. "Talk to me."

Taking a deep breath, she told Holiday about her dad's visit-both the chameleon stuff and the part about them figuring it out together ... soon.

Concern and confusion filled the camp leader's eyes. "Okay, about your dad saying you will work it out together-I don't think it means what you think. Time doesn't mean the same thing in the spirit world."

Kylie considered what Holiday said. "It's not that I don't believe you, it's just ... there was something about the way he kept saying 'soon.' And he was happy about it."

Holiday shook her head. "Your dad loves you. And I think if he knew you were going to die too soon, he'd be panicking. And the last thing he would do is share that news with you."

It hurt to say it aloud, but she did it anyway. "If I'm going to die, I should know."