Kylie had taken the time before her dad's return to find Miranda and make sure she was okay. The little witch was still shook up. She'd made up with Perry, but had an appointment to have a sit-down serious talk with Holiday. No doubt there would be some consequences for her actions. While Miranda didn't look forward to the consequences, she accepted her wrongdoing.
"I thought you would like it," her father said, drawing her attention back to the present. "It's sort of like the one we did in Taos, New Mexico. There'll be some kayaking, but nothing too dangerous."
Her dad's eyes lit up with excitement. Kylie felt bad not sharing his thrill. She'd pretty much spent the last forty-five minutes here, praying that sword wouldn't come and stab any of the restaurant's patrons.
But now seeing her stepdad's eyes become worried, she tried harder to put on a good front.
"Remember the baby deer we saw on that trip," Kylie offered. "And that camp leader that got skunked."
"Oh, yeah." His grin widened. "We have had some great trips."
"I know." She put her hand on top of his and he turned his over and gave hers a squeeze. She felt his love seep into her palm.
"Do you know how much I miss you? I really wish you'd consider coming back and living with me."
She bit down on her lip, remembering how when he'd first left her mom, she'd thought that was all she wanted. Her life these three months had changed so much.
Giving her dad's hand another squeeze, she said, "I really like Shadow Falls. But we'll have this trip in the summer." God, she hoped Mario was dealt with by then and she wasn't lying.He nodded. "I get it. My baby girl is growing up." Emotion filled his eyes and he looked around. And Kylie's heart clutched with fear he'd recognize Lucas.
"Did you like your hamburger?" she blurted out, drawing his attention to her.
"Loved it. You were right to suggest we come here. But you barely touched your food." He waved at Kylie's plate with her hamburger and fries growing cold.
"I had a big breakfast," Kylie lied. "But it was good." Kylie glanced at her watch. It was almost one.
Burnett had had her stall her father so they wouldn't be in as big of a lunch crowd. Her chest clutched a little when she realized that in less than an hour, she would face the Brightens, her real dad's adoptive parents. Oh, hell, she still didn't have an approach plan.
She looked back at her stepdad. "You know, it's getting late."
"I know, you're gonna turn into a pumpkin if I don't get you back." He signed the credit card bill that Kylie had already asked the waitress to bring.
Suddenly the three Cokes she'd drank out of nervousness hit her bladder. "I'm going to run to the girls' room first before we head out."
"Go ahead, I need to make a call to work anyway."
When she started to the girls' room, Lucas frowned. Oh, please, Kylie thought, what was going to happen in the bathroom?
Okay, a lot could happen. Mario could happen. But she had to pee.
Chris and Lucas whispered across the table and then Chris got up and shot ahead of her toward the bathrooms. She hoped he knew he wasn't coming into the bathroom with her. With her shy bladder, she'd never get her job done.
She found him waiting beside the men's bathroom door. As if he planned to just stand guard and listen.
And just knowing he could hear her pee would probably making peeing impossible.
"Do what you gotta do and get out," Chris said like some serious special agent.
"I will." Kylie pushed the door inside.
The moment the door whooshed shut, someone inside one of the stalls turned on some weird Cajun music. Each to her own, she thought, and went into the stall.
She hadn't been in there a minute, was finally warming up to the crazy rhythm of the tune, when she heard a noise above. She looked up and saw a pair of hands gripping the top of her stall. Then a foot appeared as someone came climbing over.
Crap.
There couldn't be anything worse than getting caught midstream and in an above-the-toilet-seat squat when confronted by an intruder.
She shot upright, prepared to face whatever was about to go down. Unfortunately, she hadn't managed to stop the flow completely.
Immediately she realized she'd been wrong. There could be something worse. Being caught midstream, in a squat, with pee running down your leg, when you faced the almost-fiancee of the guy you still loved.
"What are you doing here?" Kylie snapped, knowing that to show fear to a werewolf could be detrimental.
"Isn't it obvious? I was curious?"
"About my potty habits?" Kylie snapped.She smirked. "About you."
Not thinking the girl was going for her throat-and hey, if she did, Kylie didn't want to die with pee running down her leg-she snagged her few squares and wiped the urine running down her thigh.
Panties up, jeans snapped, she faced Monique and decided to just get rid of her. "You should know any second now a vampire is gonna run in here. If I was you, I'd scoot."
Monique arched a brow. "So Lucas didn't teach you the secret trick of dealing with nosy vamps, huh?
Just a little zydeco music and their super hearing goes to shit."
Kylie frowned. No, she didn't know that trick, and she was a bit miffed that Lucas hadn't enlightened her. But why would he? Keeping secrets from her was his specialty.
"What is it you really want, Monique?" Kylie asked.
Monique shrugged. "I told you. I'm curious. Do you know how many suitors have approached my father to marry me? And then ... the lucky guy my father finally chooses to saddle me with for life doesn't even want me."
Kylie heard the resentment in Monique's voice. But oddly it sounded more about being forced into an arranged marriage than Lucas's unwillingness to go through with the engagement. Nor had Kylie missed the part about Lucas not wanting Monique. He'd told Kylie this, Fredericka had told her this, but something about hearing it from the other girl herself felt good. "So now you want to take it out on me, huh?"
"No." She tightened her brow and started checking out Kylie's pattern.
Kylie turned her head and tried to change her pattern, but obviously she wasn't quick enough.
"Wow, that is weird. What exactly are you?"
"Just a mystery," Kylie said, and grew leery of standing in a stall with Monique-leery because this was what all chameleons feared, being noticed, bringing attention to their race. "Do you mind backing out?" Kylie asked.
Monique shuffled back a few steps and unlatched the stall door by reaching back, never taking her eyes off Kylie. "Are you sure you don't have a brain tumor?"