"Are you kidding me?" Della asked. "If something attacked, I'd just end up having to protect both of us."

"Hey ... I'm not so helpless anymore." After thinking about what those girls might have gone through, Kylie wasn't so upset about her new found strength, either.

"Just because you broke one door in, and don't lag behind when hiking through the woods, doesn't mean crap." She grinned, letting Kylie know she was mostly teasing. "I'm fine. I'll see you later."

Della took off, and Kylie watched her go. Her heart ached for Della. Then she saw her vampire friend turn and give a couple of boys the finger.

No doubt they'd probably said something rude and crude. "Hey." Holiday stopped beside Kylie. "Is Della okay?"

"I hope so." Kylie realized that ever since they'd returned from town, the distance that had seemed to come between her and Holiday because of the whole Burnett issue had vanished. Had they bridged a gap, and could Kylie keep it from reappearing?

"Are you doing okay?" Holiday asked.

"I've been better," Kylie said honestly. "I just keep thinking about those girls."

"Maybe Sunday we can take a walk to the falls," Holiday said. "That sounds good." The thought of going there with someone who could feel the same thing Kylie did seemed nice.

Right then, Burnett looked over at them and Kylie saw Holiday notice it, too. Kylie cringed, worrying that Holiday would remember she was mad at her.

"I should apologize," Holiday said, obviously reading Kylie's emotions again. "I ... I overreacted about the whole thing with Burnett."

Shocked, Kylie looked at her. "No you didn't. I was wrong to say anything to him."

"Maybe, but your heart was in the right place. When we care about people, we sometimes overstep our grounds. I of all people should know that. I'm a famous overstepper." Holiday's voice tightened. "Today when Burnett first came to me and said they had two teens down and I thought ... Well, let's just say our issue really felt stupid." Holiday put her arm around Kylie and gave her a sweet, sisterly hug.

"Thank you." Kylie fought the swell of emotion in her throat. "But you are going to make me cry."

Holiday looked up toward Burnett. "Hey, if you cry, maybe it will send him running again. If I knew all it took were a few tears to get him to leave, I'd have been crying for the last seven weeks. "

Kylie grinned and when she looked up at Burnett, she saw Selynn walk up to him and say something. "What's she still doing here?"

"Don't know for sure," Holiday said in a whisper. "I'm sure she wants something. And I bet it starts with a B and is tall, dark, and goodlooking."

Burnett listened to something Selynn said and then walked out the door with her. "And she may have just got it," Holiday said, her voice revealing rejection.

Kylie hesitated to ask, but then it just popped out. "Are those two ... you know?"

"Dirtying up the sheets?" Holiday said.

"Yeah." Kylie mentally added that to Della's list of ways to say getting it on.

"This afternoon he came into my office and made the announcement, 'I know how things looked between Selynn and me. And it's not that way. Or at least not anymore.'"

"So they were together and they broke up?" Kylie asked.

"He said they ended it two months ago. That they were never serious."

Kylie raised her eyebrows. "And how long ago was it that you met him?"

"Two months," she said.

"Hmm," Kylie said.

"Hmm, what?" Holiday asked.

"Just a meaningless hmm," Kylie lied. "So what did you tell him?"

"I told him that I didn't have a clue why he felt as if he needed to tell me about Selynn."

"Could he tell you were lying?" Kylie asked.

"Yup," Holiday chuckled. They just stood there for a minute looking out at the crowd. "Any more info from the ghost lately?"

"Nothing," Kylie said. "It scares me that ... I've messed up somehow."

"I don't think that's it at all. She's probably trying to figure out how to tell you what she needs you to know."

"I hope so," Kylie said.

Angry sounds exploded from across the room. "What did you call me?" a loud voice boomed. Kylie and Holiday looked up. Two werewolves stood nose-to-nose, about to go fist-to-fist.

"My work is never done," Holiday said, and took off to break up the fight.

Kylie watched her go-watched her calm the tempers of two very highspirited boys. After a few minutes of feeling a bit like a lone ranger, she spotted Miranda hanging with her witch sisters. She knew Miranda wouldn't mind if she joined them, but Kylie decided against it. Helen and Jonathon sat at a table playing chess. She could go watch Helen embarrass Jonathon again with her natural talent for chess, but for some the reason, the two seemed to be enjoying being alone.

Another sweep of the room and Kylie found Derek. He leaned against a wall, arms crossed, watching her. A slow smile widened his lips. Something in his smile told her he could really use some company.

She gave the room a quick check to see how many individuals could either smell her hormones or read her emotions. They were everywhere.

What to do? What to do?

She glanced back at Derek, remembered how good it had felt when he'd held her those few minutes in the office, and she thought ... what the hell. She started walking toward him.